STUDENTS’ CONCEPTION OF POSSIBLE METHOD TO CONTROL INDISCIPLINE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Acts of indiscipline among students particularly at the secondary level of education is a universal challenge that face every school in all parts of the world. Grounded on this awareness, the study attempted to ascertain students’ views on the possible means that could be adopted to control indiscipline in schools. The study adopted a descriptive survey approach encompassing quantitative and qualitative approaches. The population of the study was made up of all the sixteen government owned secondary schools in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra state. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 15 schools from the population and 20 students from each of the selected schools. Data were collected mainly through a structured questionnaire administered on selected students as well as interviews. The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 17 was used to analyse the quantitative data, while the qualitative data was analysed through content analysis as emerging key issues led to themes that guided the analysis. It was gathered from the study that participants felt strongly the need for the formation of a viable School Base Management Committee (SBMC), random searches for dangerous weapons and drugs, compulsory orientation and guidance counselling programmes in schools, positive teacher-student relationship, concentrating on prevention of indiscipline, random and occasional searches for dangerous drugs, compulsory stress and anger management lectures for all students from senior secondary classes, monitoring school playgrounds during break periods, employing child psychologists in every school and the use of reward and coercive power. The study recommends among others that each school should have a functioning disciplinary committee that sees to every case of acts of indiscipline of the students and which should be headed by a trained guidance counsellor.