Students Morals and Discipline; Intra Socio-Philosophical Reflection on Ugandan Education System (original) (raw)
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This qualitative study employs grounded theory and the Wilsonian concept analysis, as interpretative paradigms, to examine participants’ voices on the justification and avenues of values integration into management of school discipline in Uganda. By using John Dewey’s educational philosophy [pragmatism] as the theoretical lens for the study, we found out that participants in support of values integration emphasise the need for life-education so as to form respectable leaders, maintain brotherhood and peace education, have tolerance to diversity, have a rich and relevant curriculum, lessen aggressiveness and misconduct, and character formation. But those opposed to values integration argue that educators could use the values-education programme to impart secular influences whose aims are to provide disastrous knowledge, which are the foundation of a disruptive community of learners in any school. Regarding the avenues of values integration, Ugandan schools highly use physical punishment in values integration although it is too punitive. We further found out that restorative justice is important in managing Ugandan school discipline, and it could be in the form of counselling and guidance, school and social clubs. Restorative justice could also take on a collective participatory endeavour, where the school administrators, parents, educators, learners, the community and government are all important facets in the integration of values. The study recommends that promoting life-education, requires strengthening values integration into school discipline. But ensuring such life-education requires that the government of Uganda drafts a national philosophy of education on which all educational policies and actions should be pegged.
Integration of Values into management of learners' discipline in Ugandan Schools
To make education a profitable enterprise and contributor to social development requires that schools infuse values into schooling as part of the ethical construction of learners and citizenship building. This research used Kampala district as the case study to conduct a qualitative inquiry with grounded theory to examine the integration of values into the management of learners’ discipline in Ugandan schools. Using a sample of 60 participants, the researcher gathered data using personal interviews, focus group interviews, and documentary analysis. Through the analysis of this data, the researcher established that the School Governing Body (SGB), government, educators, missionaries and the community are stakeholders highly involved in directing the process of values integration into learners’ discipline. He also discerned that different schools impart moral, spiritual, academic, aesthetic, social and universal values into the learners. However with the 1963 Castle Report on Education that led to the nationalization and secularization of schools, denominational schools strongly felt that government robbed them of their powers to control and manage schools through the “principle of subsidiarity”. This seems to have led to the gradual erosion of values and breakdown of discipline in the denominational schools as well as the others. The central argument of this thesis is that integrating values into school discipline in Uganda would result into an inclusive education system that supports both theist and atheist attitudes towards formal schooling. Some respondents argued that values should be directly integrated into learners’ discipline while others opposed values integration. Those who supported values integration into school discipline pointed out that it is an integral part of life-education. On the other hand, those who oppose integrating values argued that values integration might be misused to impose secular influences on the learners. The existing avenues of optimal integration of values into school discipline include use of physical punishment and restorative justice, although custodial methods are widely condemned by human rights activists for being too harsh, punitive and retaliatory. Restorative justice methods used include the use of religious and social clubs as well as counseling and guidance. Collective stakeholder participation in school management is also widely used where school management, government, parents and the community take on a collaborative role in empowering and creating an environment for positive discipline. Finally, missionary educators play a significant role in learners’ behavioural modification. The challenges of values integration into school discipline, on the other hand, are policy-related; including poor school administrative styles, failure to define which values to emphasize in disciplinary management, lack of staff motivation and educators’ unethical behaviour. The classroom-related challenges were an over emphasis on academic values that, consequently, turn education into a theoretical rather than a practical exercise. This is compounded by the poor teaching methodologies used like rote-learning due to the problem of dealing with large classes especially in UPE and USE schools and the strict emphasis on an examination-centered syllabus. The social-related challenge observed was the negative influence of the media on young people’s life styles, consequently, leading to permissiveness, aggressive, violent and militant behaviours now common in schools. The study underscored the need to emphasise stakeholder responsibility in school disciplinary management, and the necessity to offer visionary and collegial leadership, identify a common set of values critical to the promotion of life-long learning, promotion of life-education to ensure formation of morally upright learners, and encourage inclusive education (UBUNTUISM). Government should draft a national education philosophy to guide schools in integration of values education, emphasizing secular, moral and religious values, as well as the need for restorative justice, and employing more pragmatic teaching methodologies. There is also the need to create role-models and staff motivation. All these are cardinal remedies in ensuring constructive school discipline. Finally, the central theory that explains the integration is an Integrated Values Framework (IVF) for Positive Discipline (PD). It advocates that discipline is a process of nurturing learners through the provision of inclusive education, life-long learning and citizenship building.
The issue of student discipline is a pervasive and constant challenge. Secondary schools in Gulu District have also suffered alarming deterioration in student discipline in the past decade. This study aimed at establishing relationship between school ownership and strategies of managing student discipline in Gulu District with specific objectives of identifying strategies used in managing student discipline. Cross-sectional parallel sample survey design was used in the study with both qualitative and quantitative orientation. Target population consisted of headteachers, teachers and students with 377 respondents sampled. Questionnaire survey and key informants interview were used as techniques; interview guide and questionnaires as research instruments for data collection respectively. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Frequencies and percentages were used. The results showed that strategies of managing student discipline in secondary schools in Gulu district included rewards, punishment, communication, and counselling. The researchers concluded that strategies of managing student discipline in secondary schools in Gulu District include rewards, punishment, communication and counselling and both faith-based and non faith-based schools in Gulu district use similar strategies of managing student discipline. Recommendations were made that policies on discipline management be streamlined, implementers should balance all the strategies and researchers should delve further into each strategy of managing student discipline.
2020
Education in Kenya aims at developing a whole round person in terms of cognitive, normative, creative and dialogical dimensions. It is believed that education can be used to change the behaviour of the learners positively. At the core of education is the triangle of discipline from without, self discipline and the sustaining force of courage from without. Teachers have served as a key element in the teaching of moral education in schools, yet research concerning teachers' perception o the influence of moral education on pupil’s discipline is limited. As a result of this scenario, the present study investigated the perception of teachers on the influence of moral education on pupils’ discipline. Reported cases of strikes, protest teenage pregnancy, burning of schools, truancy, corruption and misuse of sex are clear indicators of moral crisis in Kenya. Combinations of stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the participants for the study. The target popula...
Global Journal of Human-Social Science Research, 2014
To make education a profitable enterprise and contributor to social development in the age of globalisation a strong role of the school in values integration, and as part of the ethical construction of learners and citizenship building. A mixed design study was attempted on participants from Kampala district schools. The findings were that different values are imparted though he school process. Educators, SGBs, the community, counsellors, and worship centres participant in integrating these values. But the challenges are enormous, ranging from poor remuneration of educators, a theoretical education system and the unemployment problem which drains the original essence of education. In order to optimally integrate values for social development, a systems approach is proposed. The model has inputs, the process, outputs and the environment. The conclusion made is that reintegrating the school into social development requires an understanding of the policy context of the link between edu...
Teacher Education in Values Education in Kenya: Insights from Socrates and Dewey
2019
Various policy documents indicate that the Governme t of Kenya’s official position is that pedagogy of values education does not differ f undamentally from that of other subjects. This paper interrogates the assumption through the lens of Socrates’ deliberations on virtue and its aspects, values, as well as Dewey’s concept of appr eciation. The paper submits that teacher education in values education differs significantly from that of other subjects. Close reference is made to the secondary school Life Skills Education (LSE) course because it is currently a valuebased programme in the country. The inquiry outline s k y competencies prospective teachers of values education ought to acquire in order to effec tiv ly implement the course. They should acquire both first-order and secondorder subject matter proficiency, as well as competence in values education pedagogy. Besides acquisition of t hese competencies, they should display appropriate personal and professional dispositions. I d...
2018
This is an in-depth concurrent parallel mixed-method study through an education law lens of the perceptions held by educators and learners on values and positive discipline. The study provides a legal framework and proletarian understanding on values and positive discipline. Literature was examined in detail which concluded in the development of appropriate definitions for values and positive discipline. The awareness about values and education were briefly explored also internationally. The international perspective extended to UNESCO, England, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. The interrelationship between values, positive discipline, school governance and educators was analysed critically. Positive discipline, values, the Code of Conduct for learners and favourable school environments were explored comprehensively and the excercise culminated in suggesting a theoretical framework. South African legislation, polices, regulations and guidelines relevant to values and positive discipline in schools were subsequently examined. The study, on exploring the literature and legal framework, proceeded to investigate through a quantitative research design, perceptions held by educators and learners on human value and positive discipline. In parallel, a document analysis of participating schools' Codes of Conduct was completed, informed by an education law lens. To conclude the study, the findings from the questionnaires and document analysis were scrutinized and recommendations were put forward to advance positive discipline that is underpinned by incorporating values within classrooms and school environments, thereby leading to a conducive learning environment. viii
Kantianism as a determinant of discipline in secondary schools in kenya
2016
Discipline problem has been an issue of concern in the Kenyan secondary school due to an increase in the cases of school unrests in the recent past. Guidance and counseling as discipline strategies in the schools have failed to conclusively deal with the issues of discipline in schools. The purpose of this study was to conduct an assessment of the utility of Kantianism as a discipline strategy in Kenyan secondary schools. The study was guided by three objectives namely; to analyze the relevance of current strategies of discipline in secondary schools in Kenya, to examine the role of education stakeholders such as teachers, parents, and ministry of education in enhancing discipline in secondary schools in Kenya, and to attempt a proposal of Kantianism as a discipline strategy for secondary schools in Kenya. The study employed a critical method. Despite the fact that Kantianism as a discipline strategy is not currently being implemented in Kenyan secondary school, Kantianism has come out strongly as an alternative method to other conventional discipline strategies like guidance and counseling that have failed to tame the discipline problem. Kantianism advocates for autonomy, respecting of students as rational beings and the involvement of students in determining the discipline agenda in schools. Furthermore, the research can be done on the usage of other ethical theories like Utilitarianism and Platonism in determining the school discipline.