Rewards and punishment as a means of promoting discipline in selected Junior High Schools in Jaman North District

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate rewards and punishment as a means of promoting discipline in some selected schools in the Jaman North District. The study was, therefore, a descriptive sample survey. The study population was made of 688 teachers and students. Random sampling technique was used to select 5 out 45 schools in the district. Proportional stratified random sampling technique was used to select 180 male and female students. On the other hand, Disproportional stratified random sampling technique was use to ensure fair representation of male and female teachers. The sample size totaled 224 respondents. A self –designed Likert-type scale questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. Frequency and percentage analysis were performed on the data. The results indicated that teachers and students share similar perceptions on all the 5 research questions. The findings were that: (i) There is similarity in perceptions of teachers and students on the frequency of occurrence of acts of indiscipline in the schools. (ii) Teachers and students agreed on the degree of seriousness of various acts of indiscipline. (iii) Teachers and students had similar perceptions on the forms of punishment used to control indiscipline. (iv) Teachers and students shared similar perceptions on the forms of rewards used to promote discipline. (v) Teachers and students shared the view that teachers had the tendency to use more punishments than rewards as a means of discipline. (vi) Teachers and students appeared to share the belief that punishment is more effective than rewards as a means of discipline. It is recommended that the District Director of Education should take responsibility to ensure that corporal punishment is actually abolished as it has been banned by the G. E.S. Teachers should be trained to use more positive approaches to school discipline. Workshops should be organized to sensitize students on the effects of indiscipline on instructional time and the importance of self –discipline. Teachers should be good models for their students always and have a genuine interest and positive outlook to help students to become responsible citizens. Further research should be conducted on the effectiveness of specific types of rewards and punishment on student discipline. Also, studies could be conducted on the relationship between school indiscipline and students achievement.