The Influence of School Environment on Student Violent Behaviour in Tiko Municipality
Department: Educational
Psychology
No of Pages: 66
Project Code: EPY9
References: Yes
Cost: 5,000XAF Cameroonian
: $15 for International students
ABSTRACT
Violence
has become a major concern in secondary schools in Cameroon, in Tiko
municipality as well and this does affect relationship among teachers and
students within the school environment. Violence is attributed to many factors which
include; biological, socialization, cognitive, and situational factors.
The
purpose of this study is to determine “the influence of school environment on
student violent behavior in Tiko Municipality”, that is the influence of
physical, psychological and socio-emotional environment. The research took a
survey design; instrument for the study was a close ended questionnaire
consisting of 18 research questions to find out how the school environment
influences student violent behavior.
Specifically
the study aimed at measuring how the physical environment of the school, the
psychological environment of the school, the socio-emotional environment of the
school influenced student’s violent behavior in some secondary schools in the
Tiko Municipality.
The
simple descriptive statistic was use to analyzed this data collected from
respondents. The findings of this study showed that socialization and cognitive
factors are responsible for students behavior that is psychological environment
of the school has significant influence to student’s violent behaviour; it also
indicates the physical environment has minimum influence on student violent behaviour,
whereas the socio-emotional environment of the school has no influence on
student violent behaviour in secondary schools.
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Introduction
The
school is an institution aimed at developing learners socio-emotionally,
psychologically, and physically which of course includes aspects such as;
interpersonal relationship, rules and norms, teaching and learning practice,
organizational structures.
This
is to say that, the school has a vital role in the development of the learners
it houses and how well or poorly behaved learners may be in school and later
years of life will give very much credit to the school, to other socialization
agents as well. Thus, educational process of development occurs in physical,
socio-emotional and psychological environment.
This
chapter handles; background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, research
questions, hypothesis of the study, justification of the study, scope of the
study and definition of terms.
Background of the study
This
part of the study will look at how the variables in the study has evolved or
changed as years have gone by in the world and issues on ground in the
particular area of the study. It is divided into historical and contextual
background.
Historical background
Education
has from centuries past has been based on philosophies of individuals and which
was found to be best at the time. John Locke believed that human nature was
malleable and formed by influences in the environment.
Education
in the 18 century was based on teaching or molding minds of people considered
to be blank slate. Schools were considered to give sensitivity to people like
how to talk and act morally or virtuously. Here, parenting a child was
instrumental and the home was a school. Later on, schools were reasoned out as
set aside buildings divided into classes and made up of learners of variable
ages, learning science, writing, reading, arithmetic.
In
the African setting, the school was mainly focused on acquisition of skills
before the colonial period and individuals would learn skill like farming,
hunting, animal rearing, trading, weaving, carving, (Ashu,2016). Thereafter the
colonial period, the system of education changed to the adaptation of the
colonial masters and schools were built by mostly missionaries, some increased
as each country gained independence.
In
addition, school environment worldwide today is focused on physical conditions:
density, privacy, activity areas, opens spaces, and, even green or vegetation
areas. Noise, lighting and colours, temperature and humidity, decoration, and
furniture, since they contain properties that have effects on people’s
behavior;
In
other words, school space is considered a didactic agent that helps to offer
optimal physical conditions for the development of the teaching-learning
process, as it allows for the creation of an adequate environment for the
development of students’ abilities, foster their autonomy as well as teacher
motivation to effectively teach learners.
On
the other hand, Violence dates far back as AD 33 when the leaders of the Jews
put Jesus Christ to dead through crucifixion because he claimed he is the son
of the almighty God . A.D 61 when some Hebrews whose leader at the time was
Saul, the chief persecutor of the church, stoned Stephen a disciple of Jesus
Christ, God(Acts 7:58).
In
early 1800s, when the Napoleonic wars were fought, more than one million deaths
were recorded. Looking at other periods,
slave trade began around the 15th century until 1948 when the United Nations
Organization (UNO) outlawed slavery and slave trade.
This period was characterized by high range of brutality as several wars were waged and defeated parties considered as criminals were sold to slave dealers who under brutal and harsh conditions transported the slaves to different markets centres in Europe and America. The harsh conditions left millions dead and horrible scars on the body of survivors.
Contextual background
Looking
at the changes or modernization of the newly or recently constructed school
infrastructures compared with those of the past. One can again theorize that
these changes may not only be the result of increase in technological
advancement as far as architectural designs are concerned, but as a result of
reflections made.
A
sounding introspection at the concept and percept of schooling and
considerations on the school environment but most schools which were built in
years passed. However, it hardly modified looking at different factors such as
noise, space, physical conditions and external influences which could be
affecting the learning environment
In
Cameroon in particular, violence has prevailed in periods characterized with
inter-tribal wars and tribal resistance of the colonial masters around the late
1800s. In recent years, the prevalence of violence has been mostly by terrorist
attacks by the Boko Haram insurgent which has killed, kidnapped, members of the
Far North region.
In
addition, in the South West and North West Regions, similar violent acts have
been carried out in schools, villages and towns, (The Guardian Post N0. 2045). The
issues surround the study emanates from violent incidents like that which
happened on January 14 2020 when a 15 year old male student stabbed Mathematics
teacher in a fight between the two in class in Government High School Nkolbison
in Yaoundé (crtv.com).
Also, of recent a student of Ndoghem High
School in Douala III subdivision of Littoral Region reported cut the jaw of
classmate with a razor blade. This happened exactly a year after the incident
at GHS Nkolbison. A similar incident, when a student of Government Bilingual
High School Deido in Douala had allegedly stabbed a friend, (The Guardian post
N0 2051 page, 3).
Furthermore,
a student by name Etsem Honore was
recently arrested for coming to school with a machete threatening to kill the
principle in his hostage on school campus if he was not given a hundred
thousand francs, this was after he had been dismissed for drug and alcohol
consumption(the Guardian post N0 2050).
Nado
Nikel a student at the university of Yaoundé on January 27 2021 was stabbed on her way back from school after
revision with two friends and in possession of fifty thousand, she was stabbed
after resisting to giving the money (the Guardian post N0 2060).
According
to a report by Voice Of America (VOA), Cameroon Teachers Protest, Seeking for
Reinstatement of Corporal Punishment Amid Rising Violence (2020). Teacher in
Yaoundé held strike seeking for the return of corporal punishment due to the
reason that violence against teachers have intensified since the prohibition in
2015 as it is against Human Rights.
This
protest came few days after a student stabbed a mathematics teacher in class,
And after a similar incident happened, where a parent beat a teacher into coma
for using corporal punishment on his son. These reports are the driving force
behind the intensions of this study
Statement of problem
The
school environment is a place dedicated for the development of learners
physically, psychologically, socially and emotionally so that they become well-adapted
humans in the society.
This
can and will most likely occur in a safe environment free from every kind of
disruptions. Persistent violent behavior of student over the years such as the
unfortunate incident at GHS Nkolbison where a 15 year old male stabbed a
mathematics teacher, GBHS Deido where a student allegedly stabbed a friend has
raised questions of whether the school environment is safe for teachers and
some learners who are usually the victims of aggressive behavior perpetuated by
their peers and violence has become a problem that hinders the perception and
reality of a school as a safe place for both pupils and teachers
The question of whether or not teaching and learning can occur effectively in such environment is another question begging for answers. It also raises the worry of the influence the School Environment plays on the students’ violent behaviors in secondary schools, particularly in the Tiko Municipality.
Objectives of the study
General objective of the
study
- Generally, this study seeks to examine the influence of school environment on student violent behavior.
Specific objectives of
the study
- To find out the influence of the school physical environments on students’ violent behavior.
- To discover the influence of the school's psychological environment on students’ violent behavior.
- To find out what influence the school social environment has on students’ violent behavior.
- To determine how the school's emotional environment affects students’ violent behavior.
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