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1. Introduction
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, 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).
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 growing incidents of apparent decay of our moral fiber are therefore a concern to all and sundry across the
world and for that matter, the citizens of Ghana. Aliu Mahama, a former Vice President of Ghana, during his
2002 Independence address to school children and the nation as a whole said indiscipline was a growing canker,
which threatens the cohesiveness of peaceful co- existence of Ghanaians. As he referred to it, “Today,
intolerance, impatience and violence which are fruits of indiscipline has eaten deep into all facets of life of
Ghanaians including Junior High School students" (Daily Graphic, 7th March, 2002, pg3).
According to Maphosa & Mammen (2011), basic schools of today are noted for disrespecting authorities, going
to school late, fighting among themselves, refusing to do homework and dressing indecently. Some of the pupils
go to the extent of vandalizing school property and assaulting teachers for taking disciplinary actions against
them or a colleague. Pre-marital sex, armed robbery, drug abuse, drunkenness and smoking of marijuana
popularly known as “wee” in Ghana have been reported to be prevalent among basic schools in the country
(Director-General, Asare, & Twene, 2003).
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
Ghanaian culture. Intolerance and indiscipline behaviour brings about disorder, destruction and anxiety among
the pupils. Indiscipline behaviours therefore do not create conducive environment for learning but leads to poor
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academic work.
There is a general notion that standard of education in Ghana is falling and this has been attributed to internal,
external, political constraints and human factors (Inglehart & Welzel, 2005). Indiscipline behaviours could be
one of the human factors that might have contributed to the falling standards of education. Despite the threat and
negative impact of indiscipline on students’ learning, few researches have been done to assess the effects of
indiscipline on students’ academic performance in schools within the Fanteakwa District in the Eastern Region
of Ghana. The main purpose of this study was therefore to delve into causes and effects of indiscipline
behaviours on the academic performance among students in the Fanteakwa District of the Eastern Region of
Ghana. Specifically, the study was to address the following research questions:
a. What are some common indiscipline acts exhibited by students in schools in the Fanteakwa District of
Ghana?
b. What are the causes of the indiscipline acts shown by students?
c. How do indiscipline behaviours affect students’ academic performance in school?
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property and disorganize orderly life in the school or classroom. In the opinions of Ayertey (2002) and Sekyere
(2009), a school that has a high number of deviants or indiscipline pupils is likely to have its code of discipline
broken and be plunged into disaster. A school plunged into a state of anarchy does not support learning. The end
result is poor performance of students and poor examination results. In addition, indiscipline behaviour creates
panic and a sense of insecurity in the school. Most deviants are responsible for theft, destruction of property,
violence, assaults, rape and armed robbery in the society. These negative acts can create tension and fear in the
minds of other students and authorities in the school. This will prevent the teachers from giving out their best
since most of their time would be concentrated on their safety in the school environment (Carr & Chalmers,
2005). Indiscipline is blamed for improper teaching and learning in school due to what is stated above.
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and fairness on the part of the school head can also promote indiscipline in the school.
The removal of corporal punishment in schools has caused even more indiscipline to fester or aggravate among
students. This is not because it was necessarily wrong to do that but it was not first thoroughly discussed among
all the stakeholders, parents, students and teachers, with a view to replace it with measures of discipline that are
just as or more effective (Fullan, 2011). As a result, teachers feel more vulnerable and are increasingly being
attacked by students and parents, who feel that they now have the right to behave as they like with no effective
consequences to their actions. This has created even a more violent school atmosphere.
3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design
The research design used for the study was non-experimental, descriptive survey. The design was non-
experimental because the variables were not controlled. Descriptive research design refers to the process
whereby respondents’ information regarding their background characteristics, attitude and experiences are
obtained through questioning (Kemetse, Nyarko-Sampson, Nkyi, & Nyarko, 2018 citing Leedy & ormood, 2005)
3.3 Instrumentation
The instrument used was a questionnaire for the headteachers, teachers and students. The use of the
questionnaire was appropriate because the study aimed at finding out their views about the, incidence, causes
and effects of indiscipline on the academic performance of students. Questionnaire was more appropriate
because it is the instrument that could be used to scan the views of the respondents who were scattered in the
study area.
The questionnaire contained items that were both close and open-ended questions. The close-ended format
offered the respondents fixed alternative responses from which they had to choose the most applicable one
option; the use of close-ended questions also made it easy for the questionnaire to be administered and analyzed.
Close-ended questionnaire also do not require extensive writing and therefore made its completion faster.
However, the open-ended items were used to allow respondents to express their views freely.
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the daily indiscipline situations faced by the schools. This ensured the respondents’ comprehension which might
have affected their responses, and the validity of the data collected was eliminated. The questionnaire was
collected the same day they were administered to ensure high per cent return rate.
3.7 Data Analysis Procedures
Data collected with the instruments were coded and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science
Students (SPSS version 22.0). The computed results were presented for discussions using frequencies,
percentages, mean and standard deviation.
4. Results
4.1 Common acts of indiscipline behaviour students exhibit in Junior High school
The study looked at the common indiscipline behaviours shown by the students in the school and uses it to
conduct the research. The data collected on the common indiscipline behaviours exhibited by the students are
shown in Table 1.
According to Table 1; three factors were identified by the students, headteachers and teachers as the main
indiscipline acts exhibited by students. These included lateness to school (mean = 4.46, SD = 1.3), truancy (mean
= 4.32, SD= 1.3) and throwing liters around school compound and classroom (mean=4.06, SD=1.4). Other
factors such as failure to do homework, examination malpractice, engaging in pre-marital sex and alcoholism
were identified as some of the common acts of indiscipline among the students.
4.2 Causes of indiscipline acts shown by the students in the study area
The causes of indiscipline acts were investigated from the home and school point of views. Respondents were
asked to indicate home and school factors that contributed to indiscipline behaviours. The list of factors
presented by the respondents is summarized in Table 2;
As shown in Table 2, the respondents agreed to all the statements listed as the causes of indiscipline with the
greatest being broken homes (mean = 3.92, SD= 1.6), followed by peer influence (mean= 3.83, SD= 1.6), then,
large class size (mean = 3.71, 1.6). Similarly, respondents also reported watching of violent movies, inability of
parents to allocate quality time for their children and meet the child’s psychological and social needs, teacher’s
absenteeism, schools’ inability to enforce rules and regulations respectively. It could be observed from the
results presented in Table 2 that, the inability of the home to support the child’s physical, psychological, social
needs in addition to exposure to mass media and broken homes are the main causes of indiscipline behaviours
among students seen in schools. The data presented further shows that the students, headteachers and teachers
shared the view that the movie exposes students to pornographic and violent films. Others reported that it takes
students’ considerable time instead of studying and also makes students to become imitators and actors of these
violent films they watched when they come to school.
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As reported in Table 3, majority of respondents said inability to concentrate in class (mean=4.34, SD=1.2),
whilst a good number of the respondents (mean= 4.18, SD=1.2) said persistent absenteeism led to loss of
materials taught in class. Also, some respondents said indiscipline behaviours can lead to school drop-out
(mean=4.02, SD=1.3) whilst others stated that it led to disruption of lessons and part of contact hours are used to
settle disputes respectively. Again, it could be seen from the results that indiscipline behaviours can led teachers
feeling unsecured in class.
5. Discussion
The different acts of indiscipline behaviours as shown from the results of the study such as lateness to school,
truancy, littering of school compound and classrooms are likely to affect students’ learning. Clearing of the
litters coupled with the late arrival of students to school implies that lessons may not start early as scheduled on
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the school’s time table. Social vices such as sexual misconduct, stealing of friends articles and drinking of
alcohol are likely to affect human relation and create hostile environment in the school. Students who take
alcohol are likely to be flouting school rules and regulations and show disregard for school authorities. Students’
acts such as assault on colleagues, destruction of school properties and flouting of school rules are also known to
disrupt school programmes and lessons. These acts make school and class management difficult and do not
foster conducive environment for learning. These outcomes of the study agree with those of Ayertey (2002) and
Keoreng (2004). They asserted that indiscipline problems such as cheating at examination, truancy, vandalism
among school children have become a global canker.
The major causes of indiscipline acts in the study area were attributed to the home, teachers and the school
factors such as broken homes, mass media, poor financial support from parents, bad examples set by parents and
parents’ inability to meet their children’s psychological, emotional and social needs were blamed for the upsurge
of indiscipline behaviours among school children. In addition, teachers were found to contribute to indiscipline
acts as a result of their poor attitude to work, persistent absenteeism, and immoral relation among school girls.
The above behaviours of teachers such as discrimination promote agitation and leads to indiscipline acts.
Teachers’ immoral relations with students especially with girls do not promote enforcement of school rules and
regulations. School factors were also found to be part of the current spate of indiscipline in schools. The results
of the study show that influence from peers, large class size, relaxed school rules and regulations, teachers’
immoral relationship with school girls and poor attitude of teachers to work are sources of breeding indiscipline
acts. The different sources and causes of indiscipline found in this study are consistent with those mentioned by
Sekyere (2009), Mahadeo (2008), Ayertey (2002) and Koomson et al (2005). Different studies conducted by the
above researchers showed that parents, teachers, school and adult role models in society have contributed to the
current spate and upsurge of indiscipline among school pupils.
It was found in the study that indiscipline behaviours have contributed to the poor performance of students in
schools. The different unacceptable behaviours among the students prevented them from concentrating in class,
loss of content and knowledge taught, created tension and insecurity in class, disrupted lessons and caused most
of the contact hours to be used to settle disputes. This does not allow the syllabus to be completed before
students write their final examinations. For fear of their lives, teachers were unable to give out their best and use
strategies that could enhance their teaching. The outcome of the above indiscipline behaviours are poor school
results and in certain cases school drop-out. These findings of the study are not different from those discussed by
Etsey (2005), Koomson et al (2005), Ayertey (2002), Carr & Chalmers (2005). They blamed poor teaching and
learning in schools on indiscipline behaviours of different forms. Teachers and headteachers used for the study
suggested that both the home and school should cooperate to reduce the incidence of indiscipline among the
students. Both parents and teachers were to serve as role models as well as instilling discipline among the
students. This they can do by punishing and rebuking various forms of behaviours that are not accepted in
society.
They also suggested that parents should be responsible and work hard to meet the socio-economic and emotional
needs of their children. Teachers were also expected to change their attitudes towards work, eschew laziness and
be in position to counsel the students when the need arises. The different suggestions proposed by the teachers
and headteachers fall in line with those of Koomson et al (2005), Mbiti (1988) and Johnson and Johnson (1991).
They proposed that teacher assertiveness is very important in obtaining good discipline in the classroom and in
the school in general. They also contended that Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) meetings can be a good
forum to share ideas on how to deal with indiscipline problems in the school. Head-teacher relationship is also
important to foster good discipline in school. Good communication and shared values are important elements in
the head – teacher relationship. Earls, Cains & Mercy (1993) reiterated that a head that was able to create
consensus among staff on rules helped in their enforcement.
6. Conclusion
The study examined the effects of indiscipline on the academic performance of JHS students in the Fanteakwa
District of Ghana. Specifically, the study looked at the causes of the indiscipline behaviours and effects of
indiscipline on students’ learning and the roles of parents and teachers in minimizing the incidence of
indiscipline. The common indiscipline acts committed by the students in the study area were lateness to school,
truancy, littering of school compound and classrooms, and failure to do homework. Acts of sexual misconduct,
stealing, drinking of alcohol and examination malpractices were also prevalent in the study area. In addition,
violent acts such as assault on colleagues, flouting of school rules and regulations, disrespect for authority and
destruction of school property have also occurred in the schools used for the study.
It was evident that indiscipline behaviours were prevalent in the schools in the study area. No stone should
therefore be left unturned in nipping in the bud, the emerging and growing monster called indiscipline in our
schools and the society in general. Indiscipline does not lead to proper and successful educational development
and learning of students. Indiscipline affects the emotional development of the children; expose them to social
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vices and deviant behaviour which are negative core values that militate against students’ performance and lead
to subsequent school drop-out. Parents, teachers and the society as a whole are expected to corporate and help to
reduce incidence of indiscipline behaviours among students so as to give them stable mind to learn in order to
perform well academically.
7. Recommendations
From the findings and conclusions of the study, it is recommended that;
a. Rules of classroom and forms of punishment must be discussed with the whole class and consensual
agreement must be reached before enforcement.
b. Each school should develop a mentorship scheme, which provides for every disruptive child to be
accompanied by his form teacher or a surrogate.
c. Counseling activities in schools should be intensified and done by qualified persons.
d. There should be regular Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meetings for the discussions of students’
indiscipline behaviours.
e. Parents should be educated to be responsible and work hard to meet the educational needs of their
wards.
f. School rules should be restated, reviewed periodically and reinforced without fear or favour.
Recommendations for further research
It is recommended that this study should be replicated in other districts in the country. Again, other factors that
affect learning in schools such as availability of teaching and learning materials and proper supervision of
teaching and learning in schools should also be investigated.
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