ABSTRACT
This study examines the academic indiscipline and failure among secondary school students in Economies, a case of study of Ika South Local Government in Delta State, The purpose of the study is aimed at investigating the causes and eect of academic indiscipline and failure among secondary school students in economies, for the above purpose to be achieved, descriptive survey research design was adopted in order to make use of primary data using questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. The questionnaire were distributed to a sample size of 100 respondents and data collected were analyzed to determine the eect and causes of academic indiscipline and failure among secondary students in Economics. The result of the findings have shown that autocratic attitude of parents towards their children, poor family upbring failing to wear correct school uniform, fail to do home assignment, and fail to stuck in their shut contribute to academic indiscipline and failure among secondary school students in Economics. Finally, the research suggest that parent should avoid confronting or fighting themselves in the presence of their children. They should not go the school to challenge teachers for punishing children since this would encourage the children to some indiscipline act.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Education in any perspective finds its usefulness in the areas of moral, intellectual, social and spiritual development of the child. This development to a great extent is a function of the quality of the educational system, which is partly measured on the basis of students’ discipline. Discipline constitutes one of the fundamental, critical and challenging functions of the teacher. Mostly, when viewed from the fact that students whom they manage their affairs are drawn from different home background, accommodates the influence of peer groups and thus, were bound to exhibit dierent patterns of behaviour that may not conform with the instructional standard of the school.
Discipline is an aspect of school function which if not well maintained can render the school system ineffective. School discipline as a matter of fact is seen as a vital element in the process by which students are enabled to function in the society. The general idea underlying this fact is that if the school is situated in the society and it is hoped that the products of these schools will be absorbed into the society, the students must therefore be made to develop rule-following and law, adding habits so that they conform to the general social expectations of the main culture absorbing its basic attitudes and beliefs, Sieber and wilder (1997:70) point out that a society without rules is inconceivable, and rules without attitude of disapproval towards them are inconceivable. In the English Elementary School, obedience was enforced mildly without any military goal in mind and in that discipline was seen essentially as a process of obedient training for society at large. On the other hand, thinking of discipline in terms of training for society, Docking (1990:4) says it may encourage schooling for subordination where teachers use their disciplinary authority to satisfy some unfulfilled need within themselves so that they are to view children as a means rather than as ends. The promotion or maintenance of eective discipline is essential if organised group action is to be eective or productive whether the group is a club, society, a union, a company, a business or industrial concern or a nation. The word discipline connotes that the members or a group should reasonably conform to the rules and regulations, which is the code of behaviour which have been formed for it or by it, so that every one may benefit by them. People’s morale or industrial peace are definitely proper by maintenance of discipline if the members of a group do not abide by the rules of the organisation, it may collapse. Chaos, confusion, disobedience, disloyalty and antisocial or anti-organisational activities develop to the detriment of every one. In the word of Spriegel (1997:34) “discipline is the force that prompts an individual or a group to observe the rules, regulations which are seemed to be necessary to the attainment of an objective”. It is a factor, which restrains an individual from doing certain things, which are deemed to be disruptive for the group objectives. It is also the exercise of restraint or the enforcement of penalties for the violation of group regulations.
Thus, discipline can be said as an attitude of the mind, a product of culture and a particular environment which promotes an individual to willingly co-operate in the observance of the rules of the organizational to which he belongs. School discipline is oen seen as an important ingredient in the process by which children are enabled to function in the society because living in the society entails living in association with certain agreed rules, which govern one’s behaviour. Thus, keeping order in the school is a multi-faced problem associated with range of interacting factors, such as the child himself, home and neighbourhood influence, changing societal values and expectations, the school and its natural environment, and the individual teacher.
The problem of indiscipline is more apparent among secondary school students all over the world. Indiscipline among them has attracted serious attention of scholars and administrators. These scholars and administrators attributes to their state of development. They opine that when students notice certain biological changes signalling maturity in the course of the growth and development, they tend to misbehave by faulting school rules and regulations ( Mukhargee 1995:17). Indiscipline is a mode of life not in conformity with rules and non-subjected to control. 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 1995:22). School rules and regulations in most cases aect students more than any other thing because they are made by the school authorities in order to guide and protect the students while in school.
