BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS OF CHILDREN IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Behavioural problems are bad, unacceptable behavioural in a given society. Behavioural problems (maladjustment)is defined as bad or unsatisfactory adjustment of behaviour (Webster Encyclopedia unabridged dictionary, 1994). Ross (1980) views behavioural problems to be presented when a child emits behaviour that deviates on arbitrary and relative social norm in that it occurs with a frequency or intensity that authoritative adults in the child’s environment judge under the circumstances to be either high or too low.
From the perspective of public welfare and safety personality disorder or maladjustment was defined as an antisocial personality which is marked by a long-term of irresponsible, impulsive, unscrupulous, even criminal behaviour beginning in childhood or early adolescence (Berstein, Roy, Srull, and Wickers, 1991). To the teacher, the meaning of behavioural problem in the classroom situation “is a higher or explicit attempt to give a symbolic interactionist account of discipline problems in the calassroom (Stebbings, 1970). There are over 427 behavioural problems identified by Ross (1980) but those of very serious implication that has relevance to teaching/learning process and research work has been done extensively is by Stouffer. He had 50 behavioural problems exhibited by school different. Although not of equal seriousness. None of them can be said to be entirely unimportant (Stouffer, 1998).
According to Stouffer (1988) information from the white house conference on child health and protection indicates that one out of every three school child’s maladjusted in one or the other. It had also been estimated that 12 percent of school children are so emotionally up-set as to require the services of guidance specialist and physiatrists (Mukhurjee, 1978). To obtain a situational report, the researcher also found from social welfare center Kaduna and the Borstal Training Institute Kaduna State alarming increase of about 80% and 100% respectively in the number of maladjusted children/youths which must bear it roots since their childhood. This is because any maladjusted preschool child will turn to the maladjusted in childhood and then turn out to be a maladjusted adolescent and finally turns out to be a maladjusted adult if nothing is done to curb it at the initial stage. This opinion is shared by Kagan and Moses (1962), Kolo (1992) and Coplan (2005). Where they stated that behaviours exhibited by children at young age tend to stabilize throughout life. Wickman (1978) found a marked discrepancy between the rating of teachers and mental hygienist on the relative seriousness of behavioural problems in school children. Teachers stress the importance of problems relative to sex, dishonesty, disobedience, disorderliness and failure to learn. For them the problems that indicate withdrawing, recessive characteristics in children are of comparatively little significance. This opinion is also shared by (Stebbins, 1970) Research work has been done extensively by Stouffer (1998) on the ratings of teachers on behavioural problems of children in the developed nations. Literature has shown the non-existence of such data in Nigeria. Their research findings cannot be authoritatively said to be true of our own school children in Nigeria due to certain factors such as environmental, social economical and political.
