Stealing Among Students: Causes and Remedies
Chapter One
Research Objectives
The study sought to;
- Identify the causes of stealing among students in Secondary Schools.
- Examine the effects of stealing among students on academic performance in Secondary schools.
- To identify possible ways stealing can be reduced or eradicated in Secondary Schools.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Theoretical Framework
The study was based on the social control theory. The social control theory originated from Travis Hirsch born in 1935. Social theory is stemmed from social disorganization perspective. The theory bases its arguments on the central principle that deviance behaviour results from an absence of social control or restrains (Clinard & Meier, 2004). The social bonds that people form to, pro-social values, pro-social people, and pro-social institutions, end up controlling our behavior when we are tempted to engage in criminal or deviant acts such as stealing. Social control theory has four interrelated forms of social bonds namely: – attachment (level of psychological affection one has for pro-social others and institutions), commitment (the social relationships that people value, which they would not want to jeopardize by committing criminal or deviant acts), involvement (the opportunity costs associated with how people spend their time) and belief (degree to which one adheres to the values associated with behaviors that conform to the law). Hirschi’s social control theory purports that deviant acts such as stealing results when one’s bond to the society is broken or weakened. However this Social control theory purports that attachment to the pro-social people weakens delinquency behaviors such as stealing. Furthermore research indicates that the social bonds of attachment, commitment, involvement and belief are effective antecedents to deviant acts such as stealing among adolescents. It is with this support that the researchers grounded the study on this theory.
Conceptual Review
Concept of Stealing
Stealing is taking someone’s property without permission. Very young children do not understand the concept of personal property. When they see something they want, they simply take it. Young children generally take things for immediate use only, whereas older children will take them “for keeps.” Since they have no sense of personal property, young children should not be accused of stealing when they take another person’s things without permission. However, the concept of stealing should be explained right from the start, even before the child can understand. If a parent, teacher, or other adult simply tells the child, “Don’t take Sally’s crayon,” the child will believe only that taking Sally’s crayon is wrong, while taking a crayon from Juan, or a cookie from Sally, is okay. A child must be told repeatedly that taking other people’s things is wrong in order to develop an understanding of the broader concept of stealing.
Most children have a basic sense of “mine” and “not mine” by the age of two and can therefore begin to learn respect for other people’s possessions. However, a true understanding of the harmful nature of stealing does not begin to develop until about age five to seven. At this age, children are deterred from stealing mostly by their fear of parental disapproval. Internal motivations of conscience and guilt do not develop until the middle childhood years. Once the recognition of property boundaries develops, stealing becomes an intentional act that must be addressed more deliberately.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Descriptive survey research design was used to establish whether stealing is a problem behavior among students in public secondary schools in Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design has been described by Best and Kahn (2006) as a form of research design that presents the existing conditions, beliefs, opinions, practices and perceptions the way they are, in order to develop an interpretative meaning. The choice of descriptive study was also made based on the fact that the researchers intended to gather ideas, views and perception on stealing behavior among students.
Study Area
Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade centre and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas, with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna was at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census. Rapid urbanisation since 2005 has created an increasingly large population, now estimated to be around 1.3 million. Kaduna’s name derives from the Hausa word kada, for crocodile
Population
The target population for this study consisted of 5,796 students, 267 teachers, and 12 Deputy Principals in the 12 (seven boys’ and five girls’ public boarding secondary schools) single sex public boarding secondary schools in Kaduna. The target population also included the Kaduna Quality Assurance and Standards Officer (DQASO). The target population was as shown in Table 1.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Results
The data collected from all the respondents was analyzed and reported under the following sub-headings.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Conclusion
The study established that stealing was a prevalent behavior problem among students in Kaduna state as several cases of stealing had been handled by teachers in schools depriving students’ quality time for teaching-learning activities. Students steal a variety of personal items from their schoolmates. Based on this finding one can conclude that students steal to improve their academic life at the expense of behavior formation because they steal stationeries and school uniforms. However some steal for fun to bully the newcomers and to antagonize the higher achievers. This shows that issue of problem behaviors among students has not yet been fully addressed by the government of Nigeria in single sex public boarding secondary schools despite its efforts to promote quality and relevant basic education.
Recommendations
Based on these findings, the researcher makes the following recommendations; teachers involved in discipline of students in secondary to be provided with this information of factors causing students to steal and their guiding and counseling intervention measures. This will help them deal with stealing problems in schools. The parents should be involved in guidance and counseling of their students who steal. Parents can provide insights to the root cause of stealing behavior in their children and assist in their treatment. More so the Ministry of Education should train Teacher counselors on how to help students with deviant behaviors like stealing in secondary schools.
The study also recommended that the Nigerian Government through the Nigeria institute of Curriculum Development should ensure that the value of integrity is mainstreamed in the basic education curriculum in all the subjects. In addition, the school administration and teachers with the support of parents should sensitize the students on the value of honesty and respect of other peoples’ property which will reduce stealing among students and eventually curb the behavior. This can be strengthened by training of school prefects and peer counselors who will work hand in hand with teachers to curb the behavior as young people easily respond to their peers.
References
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- Best, J.W., & Kahn, J. V. (2006). Research in Education (10th Ed). Boston: Pearson Education Inc.
- Clinard, M. B., & Meier, R. F. (2004). Sociology of deviant behavior. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
- Cortiella, C. (2006). NCLB and IDEA: What parents of students with disabilities need to know and do. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, National Center of Educational Outcomes.
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- Frances, A., & Ross, R. (2001). DSM-IV-TR case studies: A clinical guide to differential diagnosis. Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
- Grant, E., Potenza, N., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Cavallo, D., & Desai, R. (2011). Stealing among high school students: Prevalence and clinical correlate. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 39(1), 4452.
- Hamasi, L. H. (2010). An investigation of students’ perception towards the effectiveness of the alternative methods of maintaining discipline in public secondary schools in Maseno division, Kisumu District,
