Effect of Indiscipline on the Academic Performance of Primary School Pupils

EFFECT OF INDISCIPLINE ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS

 

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the effects of indiscipline on academic performance of primary school pupils in Mathematics in the study area. The design adopted for the study was survey research design. The population of the study was made up of all teachers including head teachers and their deputies saddled with the responsibility of teaching in primary schools in the study Area. The simple random sampling technique was used in selecting five (5) primary schools in the study area out of the available schools. In each of the primary school chosen, ten (10) teachers were randomly chosen to give a total of fifty (50) teachers which form the sample population for the study. The major instrument used to gather data for the study was the structured questionnaire.

The researcher constructed a fifteen (15) item questionnaire for the teachers selected in the sample population and the scale used was ‘Strong Agree’ (SA) and ‘Strongly Disagree’ (SD)’ respectively. Three research questions and three research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study.

The finding from the analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between indiscipline behaviours and academic performance of primary school pupil in Mathematics in the study area. Base on the result of findings, recommendations was made among others that;  trained counselors should be posted to all the primary schools so as to help counsel pupils against the danger of various indiscipline behaviours, parents should have effective supervision and should not allow other home environmental factor distract their children, there should be massive incentive for pupils who excel academically and severe punishment for those who are failures and that, the Government should try to give more attention to schools by providing all the basic amenities, social facilities and incentives for teachers to motivate them to give their passion and experience to the teaching profession and for the good of the pupils, school, government and the entire society.

 

Effect of Indiscipline on the Academic Performance of Primary School Pupils

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background of the Study

Indiscipline cuts across all aspects of human environment and has caused a lot of setbacks in schools and the society at large. Indiscipline is like a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabric of the society. It breeds lawlessness and lawlessness breeds crime, and consequently self-destruction. Indiscipline in schools contributes to lack of success in one’s life, if allowed to linger on for a long time.

Indiscipline is a behavioural disorder that is classified as an act of delinquency. Just like lying, stealing and playing truancy. It is often the cause of a lot of mental, emotional and also physical damage, such as damage to property in homes as well as in schools. By extension, the term connotes the violation of school rules and regulations capable of obstructing the smooth and orderly, functioning of the school system (Adeyemo, 2015).

School rules and regulations in most cases affect students more than any other thing because they are made by the school authorities in order to guard and protect the students while in school. In the same vein, Akpan (2013) sees indiscipline as those forms of disobedience within the school system. It connotes willful disobedience of constituted authority. According to Akpan it could be done by one person or a group of people. The author called individual or collective misbehaviour.

On the other hand, Olagboye (2019) sees indiscipline as an act which is deemed educationally and socially harmful, and specifically defined and forbidden by school rules and regulations. Indiscipline refers to deviant behaviours. It is a situation whereby students set aside the school rules and regulations and do what they like and leave undone what they are expected to do. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2010), defines indiscipline as lack of control in the behaviour of a group of people. In other words, it is the inability of a person to live in accordance with rules. Indiscipline is regarded as an act that does not conform to the societal values or norms.

However, it has been observed that cases of indiscipline abound in the study area. This ranges from truancy, fighting, shouting, snatching other learner’s property, bullying, cheating, viewing pornographic materials, and threatening teachers among others. Research consistently documents that school indiscipline reduces teaching hours as more time is devoted to managing students’ misbehaviours rather than on teaching.

School Indiscipline owing to outbreak of aggressiveness among peers, violence within teachers to students’ relationship and vandalism, truancy, bullying, alcohol and substance abuse, inability and unwillingness to do assigned class work or homework, refusal to obey given orders, teasing of other learners, disrespecting educators, swearing at educators or other learners, carrying dangerous weapons to school, threatening other learners with dangerous weapons, assaulting other learners, thus leading to perpetual existence of problem of drop outs, deviant behaviours, examination malpractices, thuggery, lateness and above all poor academic performance among students (Idu & Ojedapo, 2011 & Tunor, 2011).

Acts of indiscipline in schools are many and consequences devastating. In fact, scholars have carried out extensive studies on the subject and have been able to identify several factors that have led to its occurrence in our institutions of learning being it locally, nationally and internationally. For instance, Ozigi and Canlanas cited by Oyetubo and Olaiya (2019) presented seven likely causes of the phenomenon in school which include: (a) the idea of democracy with its emphasis on the rights and freedom of the individual; (b) the “generation gap” in ideas, beliefs and values about the nature of man, life and society.

There is a wide difference of opinion in these matters between the two generations, the young and the old; (c) the high level of sophistication of young men and women compared with that of the old generation; (d) the influence of the media (i.e. the newspaper, the radio and television) which carry regular reports about students power against authority; (e) the failure of the adults, both in society and at school to set standards of good behaviour for young men and women to follow; (f) the failure of many homes to provide basic and essential moral training in the upbringing of the children and the failure of parents to set good examples and (g) the failure in communication between young men and women insisting on their right and the authorities who tend to see the issues involved simply from the “official” point of view.

Indiscipline behaviours have impacted negatively on academic performance in mathematics among primary school pupils. According to Ntem (2012) Indiscipline behaviours is an age long problem affecting youth especially their academic performance in schools. The matter, that is, indiscipline behaviours has become a matter of growing concern to parents, educators, spiritual land community leaders, law enforcement agencies and political leaders. Accordingly, indiscipline behaviours pose a threat to the society. It is a pitiable sight that today’s youths of our land, which are tomorrow’s adults of the nation are increasingly seen entrenching themselves in the path of indiscipline. These behaviours affect their studies in school thus leading to poor academic performance in mathematics in primary schools.

In addition, behaviours such as vandalism, truancy, stealing, violence at home, lying, examination malpractice for the senior primary and the general deviance behaviours in school and homes contribute greatly to pupils’ poor academic performance in mathematics in primary schools. Thus view is shared by Ntukidem (2013) who observed that some children are spoilt too much and that parents tend to give the children all they demand. Thus, as stated by the author, the child can do damages if ever it happens that the parent does not give him/her what he/she asks for. The child becomes stubborn and determined to have everything.

But such hebaviour is not adequate. At school too he/she will tend to be authoritative and this could be difficult to maintain discipline with the child. This will in turn affects the pupils’ study habit in both home and school and consequently attendance, the pupils may join peer groups which encourage socially unacceptable behaviours. They form and lead group of truant pupils and this discourages learning and has negative attitudes to what the school values highly which is discipline and high academic work. Thus indiscipline behaviours leads to poor academic performance in mathematics among primary school pupils. It is against this background and more that the researcher attempt to examine indiscipline behaviours and academic performance in mathematics among primary school pupils in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area.

Effect of Indiscipline on the Academic Performance of Primary School Pupils

1.2   Statement of the Problem  

Primary school pupils have not been able to progress steadily in the study of mathematics in schools. This is due partly to indiscipline behaviours exhibited by the pupils themselves. Pupils in the various primary schools shows indicipline behaviours such as disobedience, truancy, dishonesty, stealing, general wickedness, bullying, fighting and other deviant behaviours.

Indiscipline cases are so common among pupils of primary school. They are undoubtedly caused by certain factors such as the school, home and peer group influence to mention but few. It should be noted that children are not born with indiscipline behaviours, neither could it be hereditary, but most of these behaviours are practiced and learn overtime till it becomes habit forming. The end or result is that these behaviours affect pupils’ study habit, class attendance, academic concentration and general discipline life.

The authorities also have failed to provide school counsellors which would have provided quality and nice counsel to these pupils. In addition, the researcher have discovered that a proper provision of consistent and loving guidance and training of these indiscipline pupils can positively change their indiscipline behaviours thus improve their academic performance in mathematics in primary schools. With these and other problems, the study examined effects of indiscipline on academic performance of primary school pupils in Mathematics in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

 

1.3   Purpose of the Study 

The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of indiscipline on academic performance of primary school pupils in Mathematics. The specific objectives of this study include:

• To determine effect of examination in dishonesty on academic performance in mathematics among primary school pupils.
• To assess effect of truancy on academic performance in mathematics among primary school pupils.
• To examine effect of lateness on academic performance in mathematics among primary school pupils.

 

1.4   Research Questions

        The following questions were used in this study:

• Does examination dishonesty have any effect on academic performance of primary school pupils in Mathematics?
• To what extent does truancy affects academic performance of primary school pupils in Mathematics?
• How does lateness affects academic performance of primary school pupils in Mathematics?

 

Effect of Indiscipline on the Academic Performance of Primary School Pupils

1.5   Research Hypotheses     

This study is guided by the following research hypotheses:    

• There is no significance relationship between examination dishonesty and academic performance in mathematics among primary school pupils.
• There is no significant relationship between truancy and academic performance in mathematics among primary school pupils.
• There is no significant relationship between lateness and academic performance in mathematics among primary school pupils.

1.6   Significance of the Study

This study shall be useful in a number of ways: the school administrators and stakeholders including Head teachers, Classroom teachers, Deputy teachers will find this work useful. The data will help them deal adequately with pupils with indiscipline behaviours among school children in primary schools. Parents will also benefit from this study as it will enable them to bring up their children/wards in a more discipline way. All these will lead to a more meaningful organization and discipline in our schools and homes.

Apart from the aforementioned, pupils/scholars researching into indiscipline behaviours and academic performance will find the result of this work a useful material in their work.

 

1.7   Delimitation of the Study         

This study was made to cover primary schools in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. It was made to examine indiscipline behaviours and academic performance in mathematics among primary school pupils. Indiscipline behaviours includes, truancy, examination dishonesty, general wickedness, bullying, lateness to school.

 

1.8   Limitation of the Study

This study was faced with a number of difficulties. Firstly, the research was constrained by limited time frame for its execution. Also, insufficient funds did not allow for a wider coverage of all the primary schools in the study area. The respondents were not very willing to respond to the questionnaire within the expected time.

 

1.9   Definition of Terms

The following terms used in this work are defined as thus:

Indiscipline: This refers to the inability to keep orders or rules in order to train the mind to produce self-control. It is also the lack of control in the behaviour of group of people.

Peer group: This means a social group of equal status or equal social standard, example, classmate, age mates, roommates. They are people with the same social standing.

Academic performance: This refers to educational attainment of each child either in the positive or negative standard.

Discipline: It refers to training, especially of the mind and character aimed at producing self-control, obedience, ordered behaviours in an individual.

Problem child: It is a child who continually behaves badly and does not learn well in home and school.

Mathematics: This means science of numbers, quantity and space of which, example, arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry and geometry are branches. Mathematics has to do with calculations.

Indiscipline behaviours: Lack of control in manners towards one another as shown in fighting, disobedient, bullying, stealing, general wickedness, etc.

Truancy: This is an act of purposely staying away from school without permission by pupils.

Juvenile delinquency: This refers to criminal or anti-social behavior by a young person or a child before the age of 18.

Aggression: This is a violent and destructive behaviours that is purposely directed against other people or the environment. This may take the form of fighting and damaging of properties both in home and school.