Strategies Employed by Schools to Mitigate Pupil Indiscipline in Selected Secondary Schools of Choma District, Zambia

Abstract

This paper is based on a study that focused on indiscipline cases among secondary school pupils of Choma District of Southern Province. The study was both qualitative and quantitative research and used a descriptive survey design with a total population of 108 sampled from six (6) secondary schools. Using descriptive statistics of frequencies, the data was themed and coded then analyzed further. The findings of this study indicate the nature of pupil indiscipline in form of absenteeism, fighting, rudeness to teachers, reporting late, and truancy, noise making in and outside the classroom, promiscuity, and stealing among others. The prevalence of pupil indiscipline was due to many factors, these include both internal and external forces. Internal forces meant indiscipline generated within the school, and external forces involved indiscipline generated outside the school environment. According to teachers, 67% of the respondents indicated home environment as the most prominent source of indiscipline. About 42% of the teachers held that effective management of discipline does not depend on the numbers of teachers available, but on quality and consistency of application of discipline strategies such as every teacher coming on board, disciplinary committees, school rules, school councils and parental commitment The study recommends for the involvement of various stakeholders in the management of discipline in the schools such as school administrators, teachers, pupils among themselves through prefects and parents.