Introduction
1.1 Background To The Study
From time immemorial, the alarming rate of bizarre behavior among Nigerian youths particularly in the public school had increased tremendously. In the last decade, government negligence, and socio-economic factors have contributed to the increasing neglect of youths in the society. No doubt, the obvious effects of this is the risk in criminal tendencies among our secondary schools students many of whom are alienated not only from their families but also from the entire society. Smoking, fighting bullying and stealing have proliferated among young students in our secondary schools.
Consequently, bizarre acts in our schools continue unchecked, dressing mini, bushy and devilish haircut, ear notching, use of designer hair ring among male and female students are common sight. Worse and common is extortion of money from the junior ones by the senior ones under duress.
Hence bizarre behavior can be regarded as that behavior on the part of children and youth which may be regarded as deviation of youth and children of school age from accepted or established norms and values or reasonably ways of life in the schools as a subsystem of the society Adedokun (2004).
Bizarre behavior is typically defined as psychological disorder in which are in one way or the other maladaptive. This is because they threaten the well being of the individual student, youth around them, block the growth and fulfillment of the students potential which are within the secondary school age range between 10 and 20 years. It is also a term used to connote anti-social and personality disorders, an act done by children or youths, which when committed by adults would be a crime (Denga 2001)
Howels (1986) defines bizarre behavior as someone who has fallen out of his culture and deficient in socially accepted and adaptive behavior. He explained further that the deviant behavior may be viewed as part of a rebellion against schools, culture, norms and society in general
Dunken (1988) sees bizarre behavior as a realm of cultural criticism, lawlessness and non-conforming behavioral tendencies of our youth and children He sees behavior of this nature among our school youth as antisocial personality disorder and therefore call them as non conformist.
Bowlby (1974) in his book “Maternal Care and Mental Health” wrote on children in schools and their life pattern, in his research, he came to a conclusion that, unless there is a warm intimacy and continuous relationship between the school and home, whatever that disrupt and disturb the good relationship. This could lead to delinquency in our children.
In the encyclopedia of the social sciences, the status of a “child offender” is well defined. Bizarre behavior is not a crime and rejected youngsters cannot be charge with such crime and must be adjudge delinquent such “child offender” must be counseled, corrected and rehabilitated.
In general abnormality or abnormal behaviors observe in secondary school students which are bizarre and disruptive in nature, focuses on people who are consistently unable to adapt and function effectively in a wide varieties of school conditions and activities. One that goes against common or majority or presumed standard of behavior in the school environment, feeling of strangeness, depressed, isolation, loss of feeling, guilt, lost of reality and all other sensation recognized and labeled by an individual as out of the ordinary, out of common sense and of no moral justification for such bizarre behavioral tendencies in our secondary schools.
These inabilities to adapt and function can be affected by a number of pre-disposing variables including school physical condition, school administrative life-style, learning condition, peer group, home background/upbringing and parental responsibilities which are both educational and environmental in nature.
No doubt, today we talk about secret cults (cultism), examination malpractices, rapping and other highly criminalized vices, tendencies in our tertiary institutions, all these violates socially and educationally acceptable standards.
It is therefore very disheartening to see and read negative reports about the attitude of the young school students particularly the male involvement and the high incidence of destructive behavior. These acts were hitherto very common in Lagos, Ogun and some other states in Nigeria including Africa and all over the world. It may be attributed to many factors such as loss of moral values, high level of parental literacy, teachers neglect, poor home background, parental neglected, child abuse including unfavorable school structures and environment. Chukwuede, (2002) supports this view when he post that most of the children of low-income earners and low socio-economic background indulged in bizarre behavioral tendencies more often irrespective of their age, sex, class and administrative style of schools.
From the above, this study examines bizarre behavior, implications and consequences on students academic performance. Studies have pointed out that bizarre behavior is more a product of bad parenting and parental irresponsibility than social and economic factors. For instance, Denga (1999) lamented that poor dressing among young male school students have psychologically imposes other problems like flying the uniform polo, sagging and mini-skirt, which consumes much of the students serious school time that necessitated the poor academic performance in schools, in public examinations such as Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSSCE), West African Examination Council (WAEC), and National Examination Council (NECO), in recent time and drop-out syndrome noticed among the secondary school age students
There are many things students does that we find strange and unexplainable nowadays we see various body tattooing and ear piercing and branding among younger generation of students. Their life style of dressing may seen bizarred to adults and teachers including school counselors and administrators. Bizarred behavior that usually has no rational basis and even unexplainable to the students, however seems to indicate that the individual student is confused and this frequently brings on hallucination.
On the other hand destructive behavior are characterized by behavior which are schizophrenic and anti social in nature, are very common sight including personality disorder such as bad dressing, indecent dressing, bushy hair, sagging, use of wrong socks, examination scandals, including youthful display of high handedness, bullying extorting, gangsterism, damage to school facilities and display of thuggery among our school youths, in their late teens and early twenties.
It should be kept in mind that parental roles in child development and education are vital. A child needs good reading, teaching and learning environment, mental relaxation to perform better with good parenting at home, provision of secure, stable and effective study condition that stimulate intellectual development. A child needs from parent and teachers, a positive involvement in positive learning that effect positively on their academic performances. Fan & Chen (2001).
Parental help and responsibilities which are armed at greater cognitive competence, greater problem-solving skills, greater school enjoyment, better school attendance and fewer behavioral problems at schools. In effect a more powerful indicator and predictor of achievement at teens must be geared towards, good parental interest and perception of their roles and responsibilities in full filling it.
This study therefore examines the home and learning environment as a factors, a breeding ground that expose students to bizarre acts, as well as responsible for their poor academic performance among the Secondary School students in Oshodi/Isolo Education District Six of Lagos State.
