SURVEY ON AND TYPES OF INDISCIPLINE IN SECONDARY SCHOOL (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Children are often described both as the wealth and pride of a nation. The future of any nation therefore depends on the young ones who constitute the potential human resources needed for the continuity of the society. Thus, to achieve sustainable development of a society, the young population must not only be preserved but also disciplined. School indiscipline has been over time an issue of concern for educators, policy makers and public opinion in general, owing to the outbreak of aggressiveness among peers, violence within teacher – student relationship and vandalism as well, leading to perpetual existence of problem of drop out, deviant behaviours, examination malpractice, lateness and poor academic performance among students. Indiscipline is a multifaceted phenomenon regarding its displays and causes as well as its meanings and functions in the social, psychosocial and pedagogical fields. Concerning its displays, Amado and Freire (2009) believed that the major situations are framed in what they point out as the first level of indiscipline and which are those incidents of disruptive nature whose disturbance affects the good classroom functioning. The incidents that might be framed in the second and third levels are conflicts among peers and conflicts within teacher – student relationship which might be taken on proportions of violence and even delinquency. The problem of indiscipline according to Yaroson (2004) permeates all facets of the life of man and has brought man down to the knees. School discipline according to Gaustard (2005) has two main objectives. The first is to ensure the safety of staff and students and the second to create an environment conducive to learning. Acts of indiscipline occasioned by students’ misconducts involving violent and criminal behavior defeat the goals of education.
Mbiti (2007:83) defines discipline as the moral capacity or disposition which when ingrained in the human capacity, becomes a powerful habit for self-control. Discipline therefore involves the development of an informed conscience within the individual person as part of his or her personality. Jeng (2011) points out that indeed it encompasses training of the mind and character of a person which results to self-control and a habit of obedience. The main reason why students attend school is to receive good education. Sound education can only be provided when there is discipline in schools. Discipline is the number one topic among others in education.
Soet (2005:1), quoting Charles (1981), on attitude towards Education, stated that, teachers, parents, students and the public all place discipline at the top of their concern, with teachers ranking it at the top because it affects learning, their emotional lives and it outweighs all other factors combined in determining a teacher’s success.
