Cross tabulation of disciplinary problems by school type/location

Having established what discipline problems were common in the schools that were studied, it was important to determine how they were distributed across the different locations and contexts covered in the study. The different contexts covered in the study were: Suburban; Township; Informal Settlements and Rural. The distribution of offences by contexts is shown in Table 5.7.

Table: 5.7 Distribution of discipline problem by school location in %

School Location Discipline Problem Suburban (No. =

12)

Township (No.= 24)

Inf. Settlement (No.=8) Rural (No.=14)

Late coming 66.6 70.8 100 85.7 Absenteeism 50 87.5 87.5 85.7 Noise making 66.6 91.6 87.5 50 Bunking classes 41.6 41.6 87.5 21.4 Vulgar language 50 79.1 75 42.8 Theft 75 70.8 87.5 57.1 Fights 41.6 70.8 87.5 42.8 Vandalism 25 12.5 37.5 28.5 Rape 0 0 0 0 Teacher Intimidation 0 0 12.5 0 Drinking 8.3 4.1 0 7.1 Disobedience to rules 5.8 45.8 37.5 7.1 Bullying 83.3 70.8 87.5 42.8 Sexual Deviancy 41.6 12.5 37.3 21.4

Not doing asg. Work 83.3 83.3 87.5 42.8

Drug abuse 8.3 0 37.5 7.1

Possession: weapons

8.3 0 25 0

Possession: phones 16.6 4.1 0 0

It is evident from Table 5.7 that township schools appear to show a clear trend with regard to late coming; absenteeism; bunking of classes; not doing assigned work; noisemaking; vulgar language; theft; fights and bullying, where it can also be said that if township, suburban and informal settlement are put together, most problems

182 are reported in non-rural contexts and the most common of all the offences is late coming.

5.2.2.1 Correlation between location and discipline problem

Generally speaking Table 5.7 does not appear to have striking differences across location contexts. In order to glean more insights into whether different contexts in the East London area can be used to explain patterns of discipline problems further statistics were run, that is Spearman Correlation Statistic. Pallant (2001) and Field (2009) suggest that the Spearman Correlation Statisticbe used as the sample was a non-probability and small sample size non-representative and therefore does not allow for generalisation. From the results shown in Table 5.8 it can be seen that there is a weak negative correlation (N = 47; r = - 0.11) between location and behaviour which is non significant (p >. 05) or (p = .46). In other words, according to this data, being in a particular context does not pre-dispose a learner to behave in a particular way, or to commit certain acts of indiscipline. This statistic does not necessarily contradict the fact that children learn behaviours from the context in which they live; it simply does not allow us to predict that if, for example, a child living in an informal settlement is more likely to commit certain offenses.

Table: 5.8 Correlation between location and behaviour Symmetric Measures

Value

Asymp. Std.

Errora Approx. Tb Approx. Sig.

Interval by Interval Pearson's R -.095 .148 -.639 .526c

Ordinal by Ordinal Spearman Correlation -.112 .149 -.753 .455c

N of Valid Cases 47

a. Not assuming the null hypothesis.

b. Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis. c. Based on normal approximation.

5.2.2.2 Qualitative assessment of discipline problem and location

Although the statistics in Table 5.8 do not show a strong correlation between location and behaviour, qualitative assessment seem to point to a need to probe this issue further.

183 LO teacher from an informal settlement noted that disregard for rules is very common in their context if this is to be compared to suburban contexts. She narrated this personal experience,

Last week I went to a prize giving in Clarendon Primary then if I need to compare them to Clarendon I would say with that school discipline is 100%. Those learners sat down for the entire event there was no moving up and down as it is a case with our learners, there was no teacher standing in-between tell them to keep quiet. Our kids are like this, when one want to go to the toilet the others would want to follow, I even told my friend that with us I could have drank five glasses of water as I would be so exhausted from reprimanding them [E1 (IS) Dataset 1]

The quotation above seem to imply that that learners from informal settlements are more inclined to punitive measures and seek constant supervision as compared to their counterparts from the suburban school who seem to be acting normatively by exercising self regulation.

LO teacher from an informal settlement reported that fights are very rife in their school and articulated her response in this manner,

Every 10 minutes people are fighting in their communities and shacks are very close to one another so it is very impossible for them not to hear these things. They are so fascinated by fights in so much that whenever there is a fight they will run to it but they do not stop the fighters but will just stand and watch [E1 (IS) Dataset 1]

The above response by the teacher confirms what Nolan (2001) shares in Chapter 2 that fights are caused by exposure to violence at home and from abusive backgrounds. As recommended by the DoE (2001:25-27) teachers need to counsel learners and understand the reasons behind the learners’ fights before they can administer a disciplinary measure.

A farm school principal and LO teacher reported that absenteeism is very rife in their school due to the weather and transportation problems.The principal said,

...absenteeism is related to the weather, see today its rainy 50% of the learners are not here. These learners come from 17 different farms and the furthest is 23 kilometres away and they are transported to school and the rule is you wait for the transport it doesn’t wait for you so if a child is late for the bus there she will be absent, some learners must at the bus stop by 6:30am... [P2 (F) Dataset 1]

184 It can be deduced from the quotation above that the weather and the distance that learners travel is the cause of learner absenteeism so this shows that at times the offences that learners commit are not always intentional.

The teacher supported the principals account and said,

Absenteeism stems from the weather conditions; if the weather is bad they do not come [E2 (F) Dataset 1]

The data confirms what literature reports in Chapter 2 that lack of state-funded transport is the cause of absenteeism in schools (Human Rights Watch, 2004, Bot, 2005, Maarman, 2009 & Mwamwenda, 1995:311). The reasons given by both the principal and the teacher for absenteeism, e.g. problems with transportation and the weather also indicate that sometimes reasons for absenteeism are not always due to learners’ ill-discipline but the conditions around them make them prone to such an offence. Teachers need to consider the reasons that have led to absenteeism before they can administer a disciplinary measure.

It is clear from the teachers’ accounts that the environmental problems that learners are exposed to have an impact on the learners’ behaviour while Nolan (2001) in Chapter 2 also believes that whereas swearing is not unusual rude/vulgar language is copied from parents/guardians and peers as well as from television.

Although the statistical data in the study does not allow for prediction, as they show a weak negative correlation between location and behaviour, qualitative evidence from teachers’ and learners’ accounts confirms a strong relationship between context and disciplinary offenses. A further study of this phenomenon based on a probability sample needs to be undertaken.

5.3. ROLES PLAYED BY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN MAINTAINING DISCIPLINE