This
chapter among other things
1.
Discusses the
findings.
2.
Outlines the
educational implications of the findings.
3.
Makes
recommendations.
4.
Gives suggestions
for further studies.
5.
States the
limitations of the study.
6.
Summarizes and
concludes.
5.1 DISCUSSION
OF THE FINDINGS
5.1.1 Research Question One: What are the causes of truancy among students in
secondary schools? Through the research, it was revealed that among other
numerous causes of truancy in secondary schools in Ohaukwu Local Government Area,
the chief is the economic situation of parents and guidance, their inability to
provide their children ad wards with basic school needs. There is also the
problem of inadequate disciplinary measures against truants both at home and in
school. Family disputes, teachers’ attitude towards their students and
vocation, as well as child forced labour at homes in order to augment their
families economic base all contribute to make students keep away from school
without permission from the appropriate authorities.
All these discoveries on the causes
of truancy are in line with those made by Akinade (1991) who states that
students from families where there are family disputes often lack good manners
and are often disobedient to authorities and as such, do not fit in properly
into school system. Also Ogumnwe-Miro (2002), who states that “some teachers are
found not to have interest in teaching as a vocation some are very hostile to
the children put under their care; while some are found to relax disciplinary
rules… and some parents do not just do enough on their sponsorship roles of
their children’s education. And for these problems to be solved, parents,
students and school authorities must change their attitudes towards their
educational responsibilities.
5.1.2 Research
Questions Two: In what ways does truancy affect the academic
performance of secondary school students?
From table two, it could be seen
that truancy has some drastic negative effects on students academic
performances. The table states that it leads them to fail in their examinations
constantly, reduces general performances in classroom activities. Truants
repeat classes, while it exposes most of them to the temptation of engaging in
examination malpractices, and then makes most of them lag behind their mates in
line with their curricular activities. Writing on the effects of truancy on
students academic performance, Dittimiya (2002) warned that if nothing is done
to check truancy, the development of our much needed human resource, required
for social and economic transformation of our society may elude the nation. To
him, truancy is an intrusive and undeserving element in the development of the
nation.
5.3.1 Research
Questions Three: What are the effects
of truancy on the society?
From respondents in the research the
different ways through which truants can be identified was revealed. According
to them, truants exhibit unruly behaviours at home and in school. Most of them
show lack of self-confidence when in the company of their fellows students. They
most times look untidy, dirty and unkempt. From their academic records, it
could be seen that they have retarded academic growth. And generally speaking,
truants are lazy people, not just in their academic work but throughout their
lives’ endeavours. Akin (2004) supported these views when he confirmed that “truancy
like pregnancy cannot be hidden in a truant student for long. An observant
parent or guardian can always detect in time that his child or ward has started
keeping away from school without authorization, through some observable
traits…” which are among those listed above.
5.1.3 Research
Questions Four: What are the effects
of truancy on the society?
It was unanimously agree upon by
respondents in the research that truancy affects society in many adverse ways.
They are of the opinion that it is mainly because of truancy that we now have
half-baked graduates as products of our academic institutions. It increases the
crime wave, while it leads to the production of lazy sets of people. Since a truant
student under-utilizes resources, structures and time invested in him, his stay
in school amounts to economic and social waste. And at the long run, truants
have been seen to be people who lack self-confidence, a trait which when
carried into the society, produces multiple, rippling effects in all social
facades (Okafor 1972).
Concerning these effects, Durkin and
Marriger (2005) stated that if the above effects are not properly controlled or
totally eradicated, they can lead to more serious social problems such as;
civil unrest, hooliganism and terrorism, and for these reasons, speedy
development of the entire Nigerian nation can be retarded.
52. EDUCATIONAL
IMPLICATIONS OF FINDINGS
1. The
findings revealed that the child is not always to be blamed for his act of
truancy. This is because the parents, teachers, school authorities or even
environmental factors can force students out of school.
2. Also,
when parents or teachers are responsible for their students act of truancy,
they too could be exonerated, owing to the fact that sometimes, they are
compelled into it by some social, economic and cultural factors which are
totally beyond their immediate control.
3. When
truancy affects students academic performance, it is not just their own (i.e
the truants) career that is at risk,
those of their fellow classmates and school mates are also jeopardized.
4. On the
surface, truancy may appear to affect just students’ academic work, but their
social outlook is not left unaffected. New negative attitudes towards work,
responsibility and commitment germinate in them and before long, blossom
through their entire generation.
5. Truancy
persists simply because parents, teachers and school authorities close their
eyes to the overt symptoms of truancy which the incipient truant manifests long
before he turns into a full truant.
6. A
fight against truancy should rather be preventive than curative. When the appropriate persons pay close
attention to the students with a view to knowing when they start playing
truancy, and applying remedies, the fight would be more effective.
7. When
it was found out through the study that truancy affects society in many adverse
ways, it shows that this educational problem is not as simple as it presents
itself. For this reason, a remedy to it cannot just be educational in nature,
but all inclusive.
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
From the findings made during the study, the following
recommendations are presented as
remedies to the problem of truancy in our secondary schools.
1. Government has a major role of taking
the lead in the fight against truancy. In this regard, comprehensive
legislations should be passed which should take care of the following:-
(a) Mandate parents and guidance to take
fuller responsibilities of their role in funding the child’s education.
Appropriate punishments should be meted out against those whose children stay
away from school owing to their parents’ inability to provide adequately for
them.
(b) Compel form masters and teachers to take
regular roll call of their students in order to identify those absent from
school. Once discovered, truants should
be charged to juvenile courts where appropriate punishments are enforced to
deters others from engaging in truancy.
(c) The police and other agencies involved in
the fight against truancy should be established and empowered periodically to comb
homes, streets, market places, et c. in order to identify, apprehend and
prosecute Truants.
(2) Secondary school authorities should
review the content and mode of enforcing the existing disciplinary codes
against truancy, in order to discover and apply in the appropriate way, the
best disciplinary measures.
(3) Teachers should see themselves as role
models. As such, they should be made to take their jobs seriously and avoid
being away from school.
(4) Students who perform poorly in
examinations and tests owing to their
continued absence from school should be punished appropriately to make them
change and deter others from engaging in truancy.
(5) Public awareness campaigns should be
carried out regularly by all stakeholders to sanitize the populace on the importance of students being
punctual to school and dangers of truancy.
5.4 LIMITATIONS
OF THE STUDY
In the course of this research, many problems were encountered.
Some of them include:
(1) The unwillingness
of some of the respondent teachers to co-operate in the research process at the
initial stage.
(2) Adequate
time was not at the researchers disposal.
(3) Another
problem was that of proximity. The schools used for the study were not located
at a place, but were too far apart that not many of them could be reached
within a day.
(4) Insufficiency
of funds was another serious problem. At every stage of the research process,
money was always needed.
Because of these constraints. It is believed that the
effects of these obstacles have manifested in the end result of this work
though minimized.
It is therefore expected that other researchers will
carry on further studies and investigations in this area, in order to improve
on findings already made.
5.5 SUGGESTIONS
FOR FURTHER STUDIES
Having found in the course of this study that the
problem of truancy is hydra-headed; and that effective solutions appear not to
be readily available; it is therefore suggested that, schools and researchers
in social sciences and humanities should carry further researches on:
v The role of social institutions in the fight against
truancy.
v Content and scope of existing laws against truancy in
Nigeria and examination.
v Truancy and its affect on the performance of tertiary
institution students in Ebonyi State.
5.6 SUMMARY
This research which is on the effects of truancy among
secondary school students in Ohaukwu local government area in Ebonyi State was
carried out with the intention of finding out the causes of truancy and its
effects on the academic growth of secondary school students in Ohaukwu Local
Government Area. From the responses gathered through the questionnaire
administered on respondents, it has been confirmed that improper management
practices by school authorities, negative attitudes of teachers towards the
student, in addition to inability of parents to provide their children and
wards with basic school materials etc, are some of the major causes of truancy
among secondary school students. All these have had negative effects on
students by retarding the academic progress of students and more so, has far
reaching implications on social development by increasing unemployment, social
vices and immoralities.
Based on these avoidable consequences some practical
suggestions were put forward. Basic among these is a call for attituditional
charge by all stakeholders in the secondary education sub-sector, in order to
arrest truancy and its negative effects.
5.7 CONCLUSION
Though a delinquent problem, it has been firmly
established that truancy is a serious threat to academic growth in Nigerian
secondary schools. This can be observed through secondary schools in Ohaukwu
Local Government Area. Its negative effects could be found in all aspect of
social, economic and political life. Because of this, Governments, Parents, Students
and Teachers should team up to implement the above recommended solutions.
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