The Concepts of discipline in
schools
Introduction
• Students are priceless assets and most essential elements in
education. It is absolutely necessary to direct students to
exhibit acceptable attitude and behaviour within and
outside the school. In an attempt to achieve an organized
and peaceful school environment and maintain law and
order, school management specifies rules and regulations
to guide the activities of members of the educational
organisation.
Introduction (cont’d)
• School discipline is an essential element in
school administration. This is because
discipline is a mode of life in accordance
with laid down rules of the society to which
all members must conform, and the
violation of which are questionable and also
disciplined.
Preventing and resolving students’ discipline
problems in schools
• In an effort to prevent and resolve student
discipline problems and ensure efficient
functioning of the school, there has to be
reasonable disciplinary policies and
procedures.
Preventing and resolving students’ discipline
problems in schools (Cont’d)
• To judge the reasonableness of any rule and regulation, the
following criteria should be applied to every proposed rule
before being enforced by the school administrator. He
should put into consideration things such as:
(i) Is the proposed rule necessary for the orderly and
effective operation of the school?
(ii) Do the rules involve some suppression of freedom?
Preventing and resolving students’ discipline
problems in schools (Cont’d)
• A teacher involved in handling any of the above
disciplinary matters must do it within the limit of the law.
To do this, three guidelines are given. These are that:
(i) The teacher must adopt the appropriate code of
conduct when dealing with the student.
(ii) The method adopted to ensure discipline, must be
authorized by the Ministry of Education.
(iii) The action of the teacher must be protected by the
vicarious liability, that is, he is working within the
scope of his employment.
Punishment to students’ discipline problems in
schools
• The administration of punishment cannot be ruled out in
the control and discipline of students. The right and
authority of a teacher to inflict punishment on students for
offences, who breach school rules and regulations, is
enhanced by section 34, sub section (1) of the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) which specifies
peoples’ right to personal liberty; and instances in which a
person who has not attained the age of eighteen may be
deprived of his right to personal liberty specifically, for
educative and welfare purposes.
Punishment to students’ discipline problems in
schools (Cont’d)
• Peretomode (1992) made the following points in support of corporal
punishment:
1. Some students only respond to corporal punishment.
2. Corporal punishment is effective because it makes
students think twice before committing the same offence and;
3. The use of physical punishment can be a deterrent to
other students who might violate a rule in the absence of such
punishment.
• On the other hand Peretomode (1992) also opposed corporal punishment
based on the following reasons:
1. It is cruel and inhuman.
2. Unreasonable corporal punishment is too difficult to prove in court.
3. Corporal punishment holds considerable potential for child abuse.
Punishment to students’ discipline problems in
schools (Cont’d)
• The reasonableness of a punishment is judged by:
1. Whether the punishment is in accordance with
school regulations and state or school board laws
on corporal punishment.
2. Whether the punishment is in proportion to the
offence.
3. The ability of the child to bear the punishment by
considering the age, sex, physical mental and
emotional status of the child.
Application of corporal punishment by teachers to
students’ indiscipline
• A teacher has authority to corporally punish a pupil even
when his parent objects to that type of punishment, unless
the parent proffers convincing reason. A teacher’s authority
sterns from any of the following: Parental delegation,
necessity, preservation of discipline, government’s duty,
and public duty. In a State where corporal punishment is
statutorily prohibited, a teacher’s authority to inflict
corporal punishment is at an end (Zindi, 1995). Where a
parent is assured by a private school that corporal
punishment would not be administered on his child, no
teacher has authority to inflict corporal punishment.
Application of corporal punishment by teachers to
students’ indiscipline (Cont’d)
• In recent times, the use of corporal punishment in schools
is becoming highly controversial. Many parents no longer
accept this form of punishment for their children. Since
some teachers have been found to abuse this model the
courts have taken more interest in looking into the degree
and manner of punishing students physically.
Application of corporal punishment by teachers to
students’ indiscipline (Cont’d)
• The teacher should also avoid as much as possible such
undesirable punishments as sarcasm, ridicule, nagging,
scolding and satire. They are the teacher’s destructive
weapons of the tongue. Punishments which touch on
personal dignities, such as pulling and twisting the student’s
hair, pulling the ears, slapping the jaws, shaking, kicking
and rapping the head, should be discouraged. Derogatory
and humiliating words such as dunce, fool, blockhead,
coconut head and the like which generally touch on human
dignity, should equally not be used. Avoid punishments that
border on prolonged torture, threats and retribution.
Psychologist bases of teachers’ influence on
discipline problem of students
• For a teacher to ensure proper discipline of his
class, it is pertinent for him to know some of the
powers he has and how best such powers could be
effectively utilized. These include:
– the power of reward,
– coercive power,
– referent power,
– expert power and
– legitimate power.
Reward power
• The reward power involves the ability or potential
ability to bestow some rewards upon the person
whose behaviour the teacher is attempting to
influence. While it is necessary for the teacher to
bestow some rewards upon his students he should
not make such rewards too frequent, otherwise the
rewards would lose their value.
Coercive power
• Although coercive power is similar to
reward power, it is at the other end of the
scale. By applying the coercive power, the
teacher may withhold rewards or punish the
student in some way for failing to perform
in the desired manner.
Referent or charismatic power
• Referent or charismatic power refers to the ability of the
teacher to influence the behaviour of the student in an
attempt to enable him identify with the teacher. This
identification does not necessarily relate to influencing the
behaviour of the individual for material rewards. It relates,
rather, to the feeling of admiration that the student may
have for the teacher.
Legitimate power
• Legitimate power gives the teacher the ability to influence
the behaviour of his students simply because of his
position. The legitimate power, which places the teacher
on a high pedestal in society years ago, may be
diminishing in some cases today. This fact is caused by the
low regard for teachers by the society and the educational
advantage which some students enjoy because of the high
socio-economic backgrounds of their parents.
Teachers’ experiences on the implementation of
school discipline regulations
• Teachers find the school discipline regulations
practiced in Nigerian schools problematic
(Nwideeduh, 2003).
• First, classroom control has become somehow cumbersome
for teachers. This is because students are prone to
misconduct for they know that teachers are not allowed to
administer corporal punishment, and the one who is
designated to do so can never be omnipresent. So they make
hay whilst s/he is in the administration office knowing that
the teacher is not authorized to administer corporal
Teachers’ experiences on the implementation of
school discipline regulations (Cont’d)
• Secondly, suspension and expulsion regulations cause some
ambivalence in the school administration. When it comes to making
decisions about a problem learner, the school head has to think twice
in fear of embarrassment.
Some parents are well connected; even if the school has a strong case
against the student, that decision to expel the student can easily be
overridden by the Permanent Secretary Chief Inspector of Education.
Such students become a nuisance to teachers and boast to their
colleagues about it, thus causing students to undermine the authority
ofteachers”.
CONCLUSION
• A disciplined mind is an asset to any
society, and the school is part of the process
for training the youth in other to produce a
balanced and disciplined citizen. The adage
that “the school is a silent teacher of
morals” should be taken seriously.
YOU TEACH WHAT YOU
ARE:
• WHAT ARE YOU?
