THE IMPACT OF INDISCIPLINE ON SECONDARY STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

THE IMPACT OF INDISCIPLINE ON SECONDARY STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

CHAPITER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

There are many different groups that make up our society, and each has its own set of goals. But none of these would be possible without some discipline. All of them have a set of rules and guidelines that employees are expected to abide by; if they don’t, proper sanctions are put in place to reprimand them. Likewise, in regard to academic institutions. Schools must maintain discipline in order for real learning to occur. According to Mbiti (2007:83), discipline is a moral proclivity or propensity that, when imprinted in a person’s potential, grows into a formidable self-control habit. Therefore, discipline calls for the development of an educated conscience as a crucial component of one’s identity. According to Jeng (2011), self-control and a habit of compliance are the results of character development and mental training. The main reason students attend school is to get a good education. Students may only acquire a quality education in a regulated school environment. Discipline is the most crucial issue in school. According to Soet (2005), who cited Charles (1981), discipline is the top worry for educators, parents, students, and the general public. Teachers regard discipline as the most important component in determining a teacher’s effectiveness because it impacts learning and their emotional well-being. It also outweighs all other criteria put together. According to Jeng (2011), discipline is one of the most fundamental characteristics of a human being in school, at home, and all across the world. Stakeholders concur that upholding school rules is crucial because moral character is essential to learning. Soet (2005) titled his study “Perception of the causes of indiscipline among students in secondary schools.” It is the one feature of learning that everyone looks forward to and wants. Since even the best efforts of a teacher could be in vain without discipline, most educators believe that it is the one thing that can make or break a school. The concept of discipline is viewed in different ways by different people. Discipline for some people equates with being cautious. According to Okumbe (1998), this approach seeks to prevent problems before they arise and may involve giving pupils guidance or outlining rules and ideals. Padilla (2012), a seasoned speaker who facilitates parent education sessions for California school districts, concurs that it is a constructive approach that encourages and rewards good behavior rather than punishing it. As Mbiti (2007) notes, some individuals viewed discipline as a kind of punishment, with supporters of the previous system arguing that physical punishment was an essential deterrent to a child’s propensity for misbehavior. This opinion is shared by Wilson (2000). Despite the fact that it is a difficult line to walk, he points out that any parent who wants to stop their son from bullying their younger sister or any sincere teacher who wants to make sure that the weaker students in the classroom are not bullied knows that such a line must be crossed occasionally. Paper No. 6 for the 1988 Session on Education and Manpower By training, all schools can be categorized as either public or private. Public schools receive financial support from the government. According to this plan, all public schools must be constructed with the resources and staff needed to meet the demand for high-quality education. In addition to this sessional paper, the administration has proposed a number of other proposals to raise education standards across the nation. Nigerian educational institutions have been beset by incidents of student unrest and indiscipline despite the laws and several sessional papers put in place by the government to provide high-quality education. Discipline is the willful disregard for a society’s rules and laws. It is deeply ingrained not only in Kenyan schools but also in those in the region and around the world. Student unrest has become more common in educational institutions, according to the Wangai report from the task force on student discipline and unrest in secondary schools. Learner disobedience has long been a contentious issue on both a national and local level. Khanbab (2010), for instance, makes the case that India’s colleges and institutions have turned into havens for misbehavior to the extent that exams must be given with the help of the police. He places the blame for everything on students’ poor study habits, ineffective educators, and political figures that incite them to fight against the state. According to a recent study in the United States, bullying is a common and potentially harmful form of child violence that not only hurts the intended victims and perpetrators but also chills the school environment, harming all children’s ability to learn to the best of their abilities (Limber and Nation, 1997). Neither have the nations of West Africa been spared. Two students from Ghana’s Shama Senior High School were expelled on March 13, 2011, for viewing porn on campus, according to Kwajo (2011). The kids were given an internal suspension with hard labor because they had downloaded pornographic files onto their mobile devices. The sexual advances made by certain male teachers at Wesley Girls Senior High School on June 18, 2011, infuriated angered pupils, who violently protested. They were instructed to go home again (Kwajo, 2011). On the other hand, the goal of this study is to shed light on the prevalence of indiscipline in Nigerian secondary schools as well as how it affects students’ academic performance.

Statement of the problem: 1.2

Discipline is the action of being morally upright, adhering to all rules diligently, and showing respect for a higher authority. Indiscipline is the action of disobeying established norms and acting immorally. Nigerian secondary schools are riddled with disobedient kids who now use civilisation as an excuse to engage in immoral behavior. Young ladies droop and dress scantly, exposing sensitive body parts, while young males sag their pant legs and paint their hair (Okumbe, 1998). According to the definition of a school, it is a formal environment where students learn, yet this is not the situation in the majority of Nigerian schools. Formal means carefully planned and structured, so for something to be considered formal, there must be guidelines for participants, a dress code, and a start and end time for the day. Today’s schools lack all of these characteristics, particularly in Nigerian public schools where pupils threaten to assault instructors after school.

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

This study’s main objective is to ascertain how indiscipline affects secondary school students’ performance in Nigeria. The precise objectives of this investigation are as follows:

i. To identify the main causes of adolescent indiscipline.

ii. To determine if any effective measures to curb indiscipline have been implemented.

iii. To ascertain the part parents play in helping to discipline their kids.

iv. To gauge the severity of indiscipline among secondary school pupils in Nigeria.

1.4 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH

Which factors are the main causes of student indiscipline?

ii. What positive actions have been taken to combat indiscipline?

What are the responsibilities of parents in helping to discipline their kids?

iv. How frequently do pupils in Nigerian secondary schools experience indiscipline?

1.5 THE STUDY’S SIGNIFICANCE

The results of this study added to the corpus of knowledge regarding the specific causes of student indiscipline in secondary schools. It also demonstrated the type of indiscipline that would follow from these causes. The research was essential for figuring out beneficial strategies to increase discipline. Teachers typically disciplined children without considering the rationale behind the infraction; they infrequently made an effort to understand the underlying problem. They will be able to comprehend and communicate with their students more effectively by concentrating on these elements. It might also assist parents in keeping tabs on their kids’ whereabouts and relationships so that they can direct them toward growing up to be responsible people. They are in a better position to guarantee a good upbringing for their kids.

1.6 THE STUDY’S SCOPE

The federal republic of Nigeria’s secondary schools are the focus of this investigation.

1.7 THE STUDY’S LIMITATION

This study will concentrate on a few states in Nigeria, however the researcher will encounter difficulties because of the constrained time and insufficient funds for the project.

1.8 TERMINAL DEFINITIONS

Disregarding established rules and doing immorally is INDISCIPLINE.

DISCIPLINE: the quality of being morally upright, the strict observance of all laws, and the respect for a higher power.

Academic: anything having to do with learning.

A student’s performance is measured by how well they accomplish their academic goals.

A person who is studying or learning formally with the aim of accomplishing a certain goal is referred to as a student.

A secondary school is a learning institution between elementary and college levels.