1.1 Introduction
Indiscipline is a destructive behaviour which does not promote peace and co-existence in society. This behaviour is a canker to many nations in the world as it is a threat to the lives of these young ones. Many efforts have been made by several world leaders to curtail this growing notoriety especially among school children but it is regrettable to say that there is no single day the media will not report of incidence of indiscipline in newspapers, on the radio and television (Clinard & Meier, 2015). The causes of these acts of indiscipline among pupils as stated by teachers and parents were attributed to the home and school environment, teacher related factors in addition to the other emerging phenomenon outside our Nigerian culture.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
School discipline implies students with a code of behaviour often known as the school rules (Koomson et al., 2005). Again, they state that some of the school rules may set out the expected standards of clothing, time keeping, relationship with peers (both teachers and pupils) and school work. They concluded by saying that there are several of such rules in every school.
Indiscipline, in the view of Ayertey (2002), is a kind of behaviour that deviates from the generally accepted norms as seen in almost all facets of the society; at home, in schools, government and religious places. Keoreng (2004) also contended that indiscipline among school children has become a global problem. He mentioned that the rise of cultism, vandalism, examination malpractices, squandering of school fees by students, and truancy among many others are common among school children. He emphasized that indiscipline children are everywhere. Indiscipline is a behaviour that calls for application of sanctions. Indiscipline is a kind of human behaviour that is purely unethical and not in conformity with the norms and values of the society.
Economic background of the students, Adeyemo 1999 says that there are some students who are house help, so such student find it difficult to come to school early, because they have too many house choose to finish before coming to school. This make them come to school late, there by disobeying the school rules and regulations.In the development of every nation, children are seen as future assets, since they serve as potential human resources to replace the old ones in the near generation. For this to come into realization, it is important to ensure that these young ones are not only preserved but disciplined so they can remain focused in life, sharpen their skills and enhance their talent. In contrast to these expectations from the young ones,
Koomson et al (2005) further asserted that sometimes, the term school discipline may not only apply to code of school rules. They claim the term may also be applied to punishment as a consequence of transgression of the school code of behaviour. For this reason, the usage of school discipline may sometimes mean punishment for breaking school rules. Discipline can be defined as training, especially of the mind and character, to produce self-control habits of obedience, the result of which sets rules for conduct and methods by which training may be given (Kuh et al., 2004).
Indiscipline may be seen as quality of individual always doing things in a wrong way by neglecting the rules and regulations. The oxford advanced learners dictionary, defines it as lack of control in the behaviours of a group of people. In other words, it is the inability of a person to live in accordance with rules. Humidity, there are some student whose parents are naturally bad. That is those parents who make trouble with people outside, insult people and even get to the extent of fighting. Etc. The children of such parents are not expected to be have different from their parents because they will eventually inherit.
Prout & James (2003), in their study, observed growing acts of indiscipline among school children which has become a universal challenge facing many countries. Indeed, the acts of indiscipline could be traced to the early period when individuals became conscious of organizing themselves into groups. This act of moral decadence is evident from several studies, pointing to the fact that the level of indiscipline, especially in schools has escalated (Idu & Ojedapo, 2011; Maphosa & Shumba, 2010).
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Causes and Effects of Indiscipline Among Senior Secondary School Students.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that the word indiscipline has eaten the heart of many students in Enugu north local government area of Enugu state. As we all know that during the management of missionary in our educational system, there was high level of discipline in our educational system, which can never be over emphasized. Because every child wants to go to school and learn so students come to school early, dress in their correct uniform, obeys the school rules and regulation and respects their teachers. There was high level of discipline in the school system then because teachers are always there to guide the students on what to do and what not to do.
But now the high level of indiscipline can never be over emphasized. Students do no longer obey the school rules and regulations any more. This is a result of poor system of administration, student come to school any time they like, you find out some people or student going before the dismissal time, sleeping while the class in going on, putting on the wrong uniform, fighting among themselves. All this and many more which has constituted to the high level of indiscipline in our educational system especially in Enugu north local government area Enugu; With a view to suggest ways and means of eliminating those evil attitude among secondary school students.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the Causes and Effects of Indiscipline Among Senior Secondary School Students in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To find out the causes of indiscipline among secondary school student in the area under study.
- To determine the effects of indiscipline among secondary school student in the area under study.
- To determine the solution to indiscipline among secondary school student in the area under study.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What are the causes of indiscipline among secondary school student in the area under study?
- What are the effects of indiscipline among secondary school student in the area under study?
- What are the solutions of indiscipline among secondary school student in the area under study?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: There is no significant factor instigating indiscipline among secondary school student in the area under study
- H1: There is a significant factor instigating indiscipline among secondary school student in the area under study
1.7 Significance of Study
The significance of this study is to eradicate the causes and effect of indiscipline among secondary school student. This research work will help post the root causes of indiscipline among secondary school student in state; it will help the parents, and the teachers to train the children to have good morals in all they endeavours, in order to be responsible to produce good moral life.
The significance of this study will help school principals or administrators to organize (PTA) in schools to ensure good relationship between the teachers, students and parents in order to fight the causes and the effects of indiscipline in homes and in schools at large.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Causes and Effects of Indiscipline Among Senior Secondary School Students using Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State as a case study.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
Indiscipline: It is a kind of behaviour that deviates from the generally accepted norms as seen in almost all facets of the society; at home, in schools, government and religious places (Ayertey, 2002).
