Views Of Teachers And Parents Regarding Factors That Contribute To Learners Indiscipline In Secondary Schools: A Case Of Selected Schools In The Khomas Education Region

Abstract

The debate about the discipline problems among learners in secondary school has been

discussed world wide. In Namibia, the issue of learner indiscipline in schools is a major

concern to teachers, parents and the public at large. Several studies that have been

conducted in this area in Namibia have not looked at the views of teachers and parents

regarding factors that contribute to indiscipline in secondary schools. In the light of

these observations, a research study was initiated to explore the views of teachers and

parents regarding factors that cause indiscipline in secondary schools specifically in the

Khomas Education Region.

In an attempt to understand the views of teachers and parents regarding factors that

contribute to indiscipline among learners in schools, this study adopted choice (control)

theory developed by Glasser (1986). This theory empowers learners to maintain selfdiscipline

and take responsibilities for their own life.

The research design that was adopted in this study is based on qualitative approach due

to the nature of this study. The target population of the study included all teachers and

parents of the learners in secondary schools in the Khomas Education Region. A

purposive sampling technique was used to select information rich respondents who have

more experience and knowledge to provide reliable data. Fifteen teachers who were

directly dealing with disciplinary issues and fifteen parents (school board members) per

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school took part in this study. An interview schedule was used as the main research

instrument and content analysis was used to analyse collected data. To ensure

trustworthiness of the research instrument, a pilot study was undertaken before the

actual data collection.

The contributing factors to indiscipline of learners identified in the study include lack of

parental involvement in the education of their children, peer pressure among learners,

home environment of learners, advancement in technology, lack of support from the

Ministry of Education, unprepared teachers, human rights and inconsistency in

applying rules.

Although the impact of indiscipline among learners is huge, the findings revealed that

there is no discipline policy which specifically addresses misbehaviour of learners in

secondary schools. Each school tend to deal with disciplinary problems the way the

teachers find it best and it has been emerged from the findings of the study that teachers

and parents lack skills on how to handle disciplinary problems.

The study also shows that discipline problems in secondary schools are worse than

people outside can imagine. Teachers in schools are living in fear of their lives. The

study has come up with recommendations based on the research findings that inform the

policy makers, researchers and other stakeholders. Furthermore, the study suggested that

there is an urgent need for the intervention from the Ministry of Education to develop