ABSTRACT

The study focused on the comparative analysis of the academic performance of the well-behaved and delinquent students, in Esan-West Local Government Area. Three research questions were used to guide the study. The sample of the study comprised of one hundred and fifty (150) students who are senior secondary two of five selected secondary schools in Esan-West Local Government Area. Data for this study was collected using questionnaire and the response was based on a 4-point Likert scale of Always true AT, Often true OT, Sometimes true ST and Never true NT. Data collected were analyzed using T-test. The findings revealed that; there is no difference in the academic performance of well-behaved boys and delinquent boys, there is no difference in the academic performance of well-behaved girls and delinquent girls and there is no difference in the academic performance of students from intact and broken homes. From this it was then recommended that:

1.      Individual and group counselling should be employed by the school guidance and councellors to correct these delinquent acts.

2.      Teachers should establish an order of standard behaviour so that students can know what is expected of them.

3.      The school principals must exert the types of leadership and inspiration that will result in educational growth of the students.

4.      Government should employ guidance councellors in secondary schools.

The suggestion for further studies was also made.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

         Learning theories recognize the freedom of teachers in the classroom situation .With this, they create room for acceptability for what ever happens within the class. This is to say that teachers at all levels of learning should be given credit for any relative change in students’ behavior that is beneficial to the students. On the same note, the teachers are to be held liable for anything lacking on the child which the teacher is expected to have impacted in the classroom. Unfortunately, the teacher becomes the scapegoat for every short comings of their students. This is so because the teacher has the professional competence to re-order the learning experience provided for the student and chooses the medium he or she considers best through which the knowledge should be disseminated.

         Well behaved students are those ones that abides by the school rules and regulations such as being punctual at school, providing textbooks and other writing materials for them by their parents, prompt payment of school levies to allow them stay in school, punctual and regular at school lessons, putting on the correct school uniforms, doing of take home assignment, not making noise or bulling other students in the classroom and so on. While the delinquent students are those ones that do not abide by the school rules and regulations. In essence, we say they are the opposite of the well behaved students.

        Both the well behaved and the delinquent students do exist in schools, they sit in the same classroom, they receive the same lessons, and they are thought by the same teachers and at the end of the term or session, they sit for the same examinations and their script are marked by the same teachers or examiners; why then should there be no difference in their academic performance since they are the opposite of each other. For example, students from broken homes who lack adequate parental care at home and are not well taken care of should not be expected to perform well academically since there is no proper discipline impacted on the child from home.

        Juvenile delinquency on the other hand is becoming rampant today and if care is not taken, these students may become a menace in our society. It is now on the increase since the delinquent ones has nearly outnumbered the well-behaved ones and this is causing a lot of problems in our schools and to the country as well. A lot has been written on juvenile delinquency as the major factor of poor academic performance of delinquent students and as such, a lot should be done to curb it as it regards the way it affects the academic performance of the students. This study is committed to finding out the comparism of the academic performance of the well-behaved students and that of the delinquent secondary school students.

Juvenile delinquency includes not only the students has violated any adult rule but also the students who habitually deports himself so as to endanger the morals of himself or others thus affecting his performance academically and this is not hampered or disturbed for the well-behaved students.

       Juvenile delinquency includes truancy, stealing, quarrelling, noise making, immoral or indecent conduct, ganstarism, using of vulgar languages in public, cultism and so on. All the above named factors contribute to the poor academic performance of delinquent secondary school students. Any students who exclude him or her self from these acts will excel academically compared to those involved in them.

       It must be realized that the academic performance of school students varies according to their locality i.e rural and urban areas. In the cities, though there are some areas where the delinquent act is negligible and others in which it is well above average. Some could be traced to the trait of the child that is children who come from homes where criminal acts are common can often be inclined to be delinquent; this means that they have inherited such traits from their parents.

      The family is known to be the source for both the well-behaved and the delinquent school students. This is because some children are fully provided with their needs while most of them lack proper parental care and control for one reason or the other. In a home where the child feels rejected, unsecured, unloved and unwanted, there is the tendency for the child to be come delinquent. For example, an under aged girl could enter into an unmatured relationship simply because she is interested in what any one can give or offer. The delinquent needs assistance in making adjustments that are socially acceptable so as not to find themselves in difficulty.

Statement of the Problem

         If learning as a process is taken to mean a behaviour that is initiated to modify change, then there will be a problem that will make the change not to take place. If there is a sudden disruption of the input process, the expected change in behaviour might not take place.

The teachers have an important role to play in the academic performance of the learners, both the well-behaved and the delinquent ones. However, if the teachers are not competent to play their respective roles very well, the expected change might not take place accordingly

Purpose of the Study

This study tends to find out the difference between the academic performance of well-behaved secondary school students and the delinquent secondary school students. Therefore, for the purpose of this study, we focus on the well-behaved and delinquent students in order to find out how their behaviour has affected their learning at school.

Research Questions

For this study, three questions were raised. They are:

1.      Is there any difference in the academic performance of the well-behaved boys and delinquent boys?

2.      Is there any difference in the academic performance of the well-behaved girls and delinquent girls?

3.      Is there any difference in the academic performance among the students from intact and broken homes?

Hypotheses

A statistical hypothesis is an assumption of statement which may or may not be true concerning one or more.

·              There is no difference in the academic performance of the well-behaved boys and delinquent boys.

·              There is no difference in the academic performance of the well-behaved girls and delinquent girls.

·              There is no difference in the academic performance among students from intact and broken homes.

Significance of the Study

This study seeks to find out the difference between the academic performance of the well-behaved and delinquent secondary school students. It is therefore important as it will to enable the teachers