Abstract
This study was carried out to examine the effectiveness of rewards and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary school students in Obio-Akpo local government in Rivers State. The study was specifically set to establish the influence of rewards on students’ respect for school rules on the effectiveness of reward and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area, to establish the influence of punishment on correcting deviant behaviour among secondary school students on the effectiveness of reward and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area, to determine the influence of rewards on class attendance and academic performance of secondary school students on the effectiveness of reward and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area and to determine the influence of punishment on class attendance and academic performance of secondary school students on the effectiveness of reward and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprise of students some students of selected secondary schools in Obio-Akpo local government in Rivers State. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 229 respondents and 210 were validated. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using frequency tables. While the hypotheses were tested using Chi-square statistical tool. The result of the findings reveals that reward influences student’s respect for and conformity to school rules and regulations. Furthermore the result of the findings reveals that the use of reward and punishment effective in promoting discipline among secondary school student. Therefore, it is recommended that the process of managing students’ acts of indiscipline in schools should start with the identification of the type of student enrolled in schools. Because it is only when the personal psychological makeup of the students is known that one can device the appropriate methods of managing them to the desirable standard
Chapter one
Introduction
1.1Background of the study
Education is a learning process for students to understand something and be critical in thinking. Education is essential in the life process wherewith education we will get additional knowledge that is useful for living a better life. The goal is to educate and develop the potential of students. That way, every student is expected to have good knowledge, creativity, and personality. Education is also crucial to improve a nation’s quality, a country is said to be advanced, and its quality is good.
Students are priceless assets and most essential elements in education. It is absolutely necessary to direct students to exhibit acceptable attitude and behavior 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 organization. Student’s discipline is a prerequisite to almost everything a school has to offer students (Selfert and Vornberg, 2002). Seifert and Vornberg further linked discipline with both the culture and climate of the school thus. In schools where discipline is a serious problem, for example, where students bully others, parents tend to transfer their children to ‘better’ schools, and because the well behaved usually perform well (Rigby, 2000), their transfer can affect the overall performance of that school. Troublesome students can sometimes make teachers react emotionally to the extent of using punishment. But punishment, instead of curbing behavior, can aggravate it (Dreikurs, 1998). Currently, schools have different types of reward and penalty policy in place, but almost all of them have one common goal which is to motivate students to learn. Educators nowadays are aware that giving penalties are counterproductive.
Disciplined students usually attend on time, comply with all applicable regulations, and behave according to applicable norms. Discipline is a condition formed from a process and a series of behaviors that show the value of obedience, obedience, and order. It is expected to create a comfortable and peaceful learning environment in the classroom (Rachman & Agustian, 2016).
Punishment is the use of physical or psychological force or action that causes pain in an attempt to prevent undesirable behavior from recurring. Scolding, threats, deprivations, and spankings are all forms of punishment. Back in the nineteenth century, Froebel wrote that the use of punishment was a good way for adults to make a child “bad”. If the goal for child is the development of morality, of making good choices on his /her own, then punishment should not be involved conditions should be created that not only allow but strongly induce children to be or become moral and disciplined individuals who can make good choices on their own (Bettelheim,1985; Ramsburg,1997). Punishment tends to generate anger, defiance, and a desire for revenge. Moreover, it also gives encouragement to the use of authority rather than reason thus this would tend to break the relationship between adult and child (Kohn, 1994). Punishment teaches a child that those who have the power can force others to do what they want them to do (Bettelheim,1985;Samalin and Whitney,1995)
Children can be categorized as intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. Every teacher in the classroom uses strategies to acknowledge and encourage appropriate social and academic behavior by their students. These strategies take many forms, some overt and some dramatic (presentation of tokens or recognition at an assembly). Since Thorndike (1874-1949) described the Law of effect, educators and psychologists have noted that when a behavior is successful it is more likely to occur again in similar circumstances. Many teachers believe that motivation can be “jump started “by providing tangible rewards such as stickers, candy or prizes. They assert that reinforcing appropriate behaviors can have positive results since children tend to continue or repeat an action that is rewarded. Others argue that rewards devalue learning and counteract the development of self –discipline and intrinsic motivation. These opponents assert that tangible rewards produce short-term changes and only serve as motivators if students wants them. They contend the use of rewards fosters competition and the “what’s in it for me?” attitude the more they are used, the more incentives students expect. The simple message is that the consequences of a behavior affect future performance of that behavior. If, following the contingent delivery of a consequence, a behavior becomes more likely in the future, then that consequence was reinforcing or rewarding. An effective rewards and penalty system promotes positive behavior and regular attendance. It is the essential foundation for a creative learning and teaching environment. The ultimate goal of rewarding children is to help them internalize positive behaviours so that they will not need a reward. Eventually, self-motivation will be sufficient to induce them to perform the desired behaviour, and outside reinforcement will no longer be necessary.
The reward is a means to educate children to feel happy because their deeds or work are rewarded. Whereas the reward is a means of repressive education that is fun given to children who excel in teaching, have progress and good behavior, and become role models for companies. Besides, it can ignore that appreciation is an award that becomes a motivator or motivation for students who form a confident person in carrying out their obligations and duties to achieve fulfilling goals (Purwanto, 2006).
The results of Surbakti’s research (2019) state that reward is one way or educational tool to educate students to feel happy because their actions and work are rewarded. In more detail, there are several rewards such as praise, awards, and material prizes. In line with Sujiantri (2016), giving students sufficient attention with all their potential is a simple form of motivation. Many do not have the motivation to learn because they do not feel alert
Furthermore, Schunk (2008) states that using rewards in the classroom will increase student motivation. Rewards convey information about skills or competencies if they are linked to actual performance or progress, such as when teachers praise students for learning new skills or gaining new knowledge. Therefore, when the teacher gives the reward, students can associate behavior with happiness feelings (Santrock, 2004). Isnadini & Rasmawan’s (2014) study showed that students’ high self-efficacy was measured using a self-efficacy. Based on this background the researcher wants to investigate the effectiveness of reward and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary school students in Obio-Akpo LGA
Statement of the problem
The value of discipline in a person’s life and growth cannot be overstated. Children, by their very nature, make errors, and it is not uncommon to discover students in secondary school who engage in aberrant conduct that may result in punishment. Both school instructors and parents have a responsibility to play in ensuring that any incidences of indiscipline are dealt with appropriately through the use of various discipline methods. The primary goal for this study was to see how Nigerian teachers and parents deal with these issues through the use of incentives and punishment. In their study, Houghton, Merrett, and Wheldall (2018) discovered that children believed praise and reward were suitable for excellent behavior and good performance, and that the quantity of praise and blame they got in school was approximately correct. In terms of both their work and their behavior, the vast majority of students stated they valued their professors’ opinions above those of their classmates. A letter sent from school to parents was thought to be particularly powerful for both praising and punishing their children’s outstanding performance and behavior. This emphasizes the significance of tight cooperation between the family and the school. These findings closely resemble those of a comparable poll of secondary school students. This study therefore sought to examine the effectiveness of the use of rewards and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary school students
3 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of rewards and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary school students. Specifically, the study intends to:
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions was formulated to guide this research arrive at a valid conclusion:
- To what does the influence of rewards on students’ respect for school rules affect the effectiveness of reward and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area?
- To what does the influence of punishment in correcting deviant behaviour among secondary school students affect the effectiveness of reward and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area?
- To what does the influence of rewards on class attendance and academic performance of secondary school students affect the effectiveness of reward and discipline in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area?
- To what does the influence of punishment on class attendance and academic performance of secondary school students affect the effectiveness of reward and discipline in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following research hypotheses are formulated to guide the study:
H1: There is no significant influence of rewards on students’ respect for the school rules and the effectiveness of reward and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area.
H2: There is no significant influence of punishment on correcting deviant behaviour among secondary school students and the effectiveness of reward and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area.
H3: There is no significant influence of rewards on class attendance and academic performance of secondary school students and the effectiveness of reward and discipline in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area.
H4: There is no significant influence of punishment on class attendance and academic performance of secondary school students and the effectiveness of reward and discipline in promoting discipline among secondary students in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area.
Significance of the study
The study will be of much importance to teachers and parents in Obio-Akpo local Government of River state on how to effectively make use of punishment and rewards in their relationship with the students.
The study will also help students to understand the appropriate behaviors to exhibit in and outside the school. For the parents, the study will help them to know which behavior exhibited by the child requires reward and which requires punishment.
Through this study, the stakeholders in education sector may come to appreciate the implications of punishment and reward in the Senior Secondary Schools. It is hoped that this study will help the Senior Secondary Schools administrators in Obio-Akpo local government of River state to improve on the academic performance of students in various schools.
This study will also help to discover the effects of punishment and reward on learning in some selected Secondary Schools in Shomolu Local Government area of Lagos State.
Scope of the study
The scope of the study covers the effectiveness of reward and punishment in promoting discipline among secondary schools. The study will be limited to selected secondary schools in Obio-akpo in River state
Limitation of The Study
Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only education selected secondary schools in Obio-Akpo local government in River State. Thus findings of this study cannot be used for generalization for other secondary school in other States within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work will impede maximum devotion to the research. Howbeit, despite the constraint encountered during the research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.
Definition of Terms
Reward: Is a satisfaction of needs for a whole series of responses/an act of appreciation a job well done.
Punishment: The withdrawal of a pleasant stimulus as a consequence of behaviour. An act of correcting a wrong “act” or character exhibited.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF REWARD AND PUNISHMENT IN PROMOTING DISCIPLINE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
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