IMPACT OF SLUM ENVIRONMENT ON DISCIPLINE OF STUDENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN BWAISE, KAWEMPE 

DIVISION – KAMPALA DISTRICT

Acronyms and abbreviation

 APHRC                        African Population and Health Research Center                  

GFSA                            Gun Free School Act (GFSA)

HIV/AIDS                       Human Immuno-deficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

SAPYOP                       Slum Aid Project’s Youth Program   

SAP                               Slum Aid Project

SPSS                             Statistical Package for Social Scientist 

UN-Habitat                   United Nations Human Settlements Program

UNESCO                      United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0. Introduction  

This chapter presents background to the study the historical, theoretical, conceptual and contextual backgrounds. It also gives the research problem, purpose and objectives of the study, research questions and hypotheses. Justification of the study and scope are also presented.

1.1 Background to the Study

The background information of this study is presented under four perspectives: historical, theoretical, conceptual and contextual perspectives. It is however important to note from the very start of this presentation that slum environment is a key determinant of discipline among students in secondary schools. Home background influences academic and educational success of students and the functioning of the teachers and students. Although the academic environment is key each child’s individual home situation greatly impacts educational goals and achievement progress. From family funds to parental support, home factors can make the difference between a child’s success or failure (Eccles et al,. 1998).

1.1.1. Historical perspective

The aim of education is to build character and train for the society. Before the introduction of formal education in Uganda, people were trained and educated. The colonialists described this type of education and training as informal. Much as it lacked defined institutions of learning, teachers, blackboards, pencils and books, it was however designed to create an ideal individual who would fully fit into and be accepted by the society. Therefore discipline and respect were emphasized (Cotton, 2000).

According to Ezewu (1986), instruction in the informal education type used to take place at around the fireplace after the evening meal, which was an indication of good time management consideration or whenever a child committed an offence. Through stories, tales and riddles, the mother or grandmother would alert the children to what society expected of them as they grew up. Some societies used capital punishments to alert the young generations to the gravity of particular cases of indiscipline and immorality (Okumbe, 1998). Punishments therefore varied according to the weight of the offence as it was viewed by a given society. This education was towards the creation of an ideal individual who would ably fit into the society in which he/she was born and lived. The young were therefore taught the dos and don‟ts (rules and regulations) of society. 

The whole system of traditional training and educating of the young generation was discouraged by the introduction of colonial formal type of education in Uganda by the missionaries. According to Nsereko (1994), the Christian missionaries arrived in the country in 1877 (the CMS), 1879 (the White Fathers), 1896 (the Mill Hill Fathers) and 1910 (the Verona Fathers). These missionaries established schools whereby the education system was changed which mainly emphasized reading, writing and religion (Nsereko, 1997). Later the liberal arts were also emphasized along with strong emphasis on discipline that embraced school rules and regulations as well as punishments to offenders as a measure of guiding students‟ behavior in schools (Mafabi, Higwira, Osire, Agwi, 1993).

According to the Ministry of Education and Sports Report (2005), the number of school going students was recorded increasing from 1986 as a result of the good governance, new education policies and political stability in the country. The education system had a double shift mode of studying where Senior One, Senior Two and Senior Five students used to study during the afternoon while the Senior Three, Senior Four and Senior Six students studied in the morning. This assisted to create a balance between students to teacher ratio of 1:45, as required by the Ministry of Education and Sports. The level of discipline in classes and schools at large could easily be managed then and the level of indiscipline though existed, was not so strange (Ministry of Education and Sports, 2005). The only existing schools by then were government funded schools where admissions were centralized and thus dismissed students could not easily access other schools without recommendations from previous schools. Students therefore had to maintain discipline for fear of not easily accessing new schools. Most of these schools were day schools where parents could also participate in keeping a watch over their children’s behaviors at home. Many Ugandans have been going through this education system for a number of decades. 

Uganda as a partner of the Education for all (EFA) coalition launched Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1997. This resulted into increased enrollment figures from 2.7 million pupils to 5.3 millions in 1997 and to 7.1million in 2005 (Ministry of Education and Sports, 2005). This also increased capacity for secondary schools enrollment. Even though this was followed by a drastic increase in the number of teachers and classrooms, the current official average pupil-to-teacher ratio is 51:1. According to Nakabugo et al., (2007), the reality is that in many classrooms in various schools across the country, there are over 70 pupils in one class. This creates more challenges to teachers for effective teaching and learning that involves enforcing discipline.

Some schools have changed to boarding section as a way of coping up with the increasing stiff competition among students and schools as well as for national level exams. This has also resulted into students spending more time in schools than with parents where they are suspected to get adapted to all various kinds of behaviors such as homosexuality, smoking, abuse of substances, and use of nasty words among other things. There is also concern that indiscipline has taken new forms with increased violence, sale and consumption of drugs, theft, disrespect of school rules and regulations which has resulted into wide spread corporal punishments, students‟ expulsion and suspension from schools, cases of arsons are on the increase in schools, problems which go beyond educational institutions. This has attracted serious attention from scholars and administrators as well as education stakeholders about the academic performance from such undisciplined students and therefore creates a need, which has called for this study.

1.1.2. Theoretical perspective

This study on slum environment and student’s discipline will be guided by theory X and Y advanced by McGregor. Theory X postulates that workers or employees are lazy and will always avoid responsibility. To achieve high performance, there is a need to coerce, control and even threaten them (Okumbe, 1998). Theory Y postulates that employees are human beings and therefore the role of a manager is to provide an enabling environment that enable employees to realize the potential they are endowed with. McGregor’s theory is adopted for this study because there are cases where teachers and students just do not want to follow a set code of behavior in an educational organization despite the application of various leadership skills like using set rules and regulations as well as punishments to both deter and retribute the offenders (Okumbe, 1998).

1.1.3. Conceptual perspective

Slum is an unhealthy area where basic amenities like water supply, drainage for standard living are lacking, unsanitary conditions prevail and diseases flourish. Slums have legal owner of its land. The ownership may be public, organizational or private. Squatter settlements contain the same unhygienic condition like slums having no legal owner of its land. Rapid urbanization and inadequate capability of the respective authority to manage with the housing needs of people in urban areas have contributed to the development of informal settlements. Living in these settlements often poses significant health risks. The sanitation and drinking water quality of the informal settlements are often poor (World Bank, 2016).

UN-Habitat (2006) estimates that 72 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s urban population lives in slums; 59 percent of Southern Asia’s urban population lives in slums; and 32 percent of Latin America’s urban population lives in slums. Overall, nearly 1 billion people worldwide (32percent of the world’s urban population) live in what are variously known as slums, squatter settlements or informal settlements without access to essential services or state-sanctioned property or tenancy rights.

The home environment plays a key role in an individual’s initial stages of life. It is the primary agent of socialization and the first “educator” (Perrino, 2011). This is because a child will see the world and life from the perspectives of those that are around him or her. This means that the way the child is socially, politically and economically socialized will carry a huge impact throughout his or her life. This can be explained by the fact that children are gullible, an open book which can be easily written on. Because they are most open to learning at early stages, the lessons learnt are heavily imprinted in their psyche. If a child is taught the value of hard-work, they carry on with this to their adult life. This is especially so when these values are modeled in everyday life.

On the other hand, a child will inculcate bad tendencies and habits when exposed to a negative environment. Whatever is modeled as bad, at the worst being that they experience it first hand, will most likely manifest in their later years. According to the U.S. Department of health and Human services (2011), children who experience child abuse and neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile (usually at the adolescence stage), 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violent crimes. This means that the development of a child from childhood to adulthood has an impact on the kind of socialization a person will tend to exhibit, more so in their adolescent stage.

The issue of discipline to date remains the single, most rampant and pernicious problem that educators face in their day-to-day teaching (Gachigua, 2005). In schools, strikes and riots are some of the common features of indiscipline. The consequences of such behavior include incidents of rape, violence, disobedience to school authority, drug addiction and damage of school property (Joshian, 2015). One example of deviant behavior is the St. Kizito tragedy in Meru District in 1991, whereby boys invaded their female colleagues dormitories and raped them, leading to the death of nineteen female students (GoK, 2001). The incident was accompanied by excessive property damage.

According to Theuri (2004), schools in densely populated areas are characterized by high rates of indiscipline. This is so because students whose schools are located in areas high in crime, drug use among other manifestations of indiscipline tend to display the same behaviors in school. Hellen (2014), writing about Bwaise Slum in Kampala, observes that highly populated areas are characterized by high incidences of social instability (crimes and burglary, high school drop-out rates, unstable families and teenage pregnancies). It is undeniable that discipline is essential for effective management of any organization and especially in the school setup. It is an important component of human behavior which not only helps to regulate people’s reactions to various situations, but also their relations with others. In school, discipline is central to developing an environment that is conducive for serious learning.

The sources of school discipline problems are many and varied. Educators have to contend with these problems stemming from children’s experiences at home or in society at large. However, schools must take responsibility for some of these problems because at the end of the day, learning is what schools are about. The main goal, which is to learn, cannot be sidetracked. He continues to state that teachers can work with administrators and counselors in an attempt to alter school practices and procedures that impede effective discipline. They can do little however to change influences outside the school that causes students misbehavior, but by understanding these outside influences, especially those that come from the homes the students come from, they can be better prepared to manage the discipline problems that result (Gachigua, 2005).

1.1.4. Contextual perspective

Ideally, a school must lead the rest of the society in knowledge and understanding of the process of human growth and development and socialization of children (Mafabi, Higwira, Osire, 1993). This means that a school has a unique position in the society as a socializing agent, inculcating conformity, self-control and obedience in the child. However in Uganda of the 21st century, there is a general out cry in the whole country raising concern from the public about the increasing cases of indiscipline among students in secondary schools. Several reports have been published in the electronic and print media indicating the extent of the problem. 

Most children who leave in slum environments such as Bwaise are involved in the use of drugs. Bwaise is a neighborhood within Kampala, Uganda’s capital, and largest city. Due to lack of proper urban planning, it has grown into a commercial, industrial and residential township with poor infrastructure. The lack of developed infrastructure and poor service provision has exposed the town dwellings and residents to several challenges including flooding and water borne diseases. Bwaise is a slum, one of the poorest areas in the city of Kampala. Drug abuse among students has also been stated as one of the causes of indiscipline in schools within the country. The pressure to excel was cited as one of the foremost reasons why students have turned to drugs (Kabandize, 2004). It was also noted that some methods of punishments are degrading and crush self-esteem and the creativity of children (Mpiso, 2004). With such wide spread fires, the academic performance of students is likely to be affected and this called for the need of this study. Therefore a critical analysis of these reported cases, demonstrates that discipline problems are becoming a constant concern for educators. A lot of time is lost trying to attend to misbehavior rather than attend to the learning aspect of the lessons. The consequence is the suspected serious disruption of lessons, time is wasted in observing detentions and a lot more, all of which tends to have an effect on students‟ academic performance and thus relevance of the study.

1.2 Statement of the Problem     

The slum environment to a certain extent is a contributing factor to discipline in secondary schools. This is manifested by peer influence, parent-child relationship, open rebellion, truancy, and “don’t care” attitude among others. However, there are other contributing factors to indiscipline in these schools, namely; inadequate continuous dialogue between students and administrators, poor management skills by the administrators and teachers, peer and mass media influence (Were, 2003).

Schools play an important role in the socialization process of the young people from where they learn to regulate their own conduct, respect towards others, manage their time responsibly and thus becoming responsible citizens (Tait, 2003). However the current situation in Uganda’s education system has been hit by a wave of indiscipline among students which is escalating rapidly with notable strikes, bullying, arson cases in schools, vandalism of school property, general refusal to follow school rules and regulations as well as increasing alcoholism (Mpaata, 2008). 

An increasing number of secondary school head teachers and teachers are reporting a wide range of potentially disruptive behaviors in the classrooms and around the schools. Many students are seen loitering in town streets, villages, cinema halls and other places in their uniforms but during class time, an indication of disrespect to school rules and regulations as well as poor time management. This has therefore created a big concern from teachers, head teachers and stakeholders about the lack of opportunity for learners to concentrate on their academic work for attainment in the tests, internal exams and national level examinations as well as the nature of future citizens. The effect of this increasing trend of indiscipline on academic performance of students in slum environment countrywide therefore remains unknown, and thus a need for this study.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to establish the influence of slum environment on the discipline of students in secondary schools. 

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The study will be guided by the following objectives.

1. To find out the discipline of students in slum environment.
2. To find out the influence of home environment on the students discipline living in the slum communities.
3. To find out the teachers’ and students’ response to indiscipline in relation with slum environment.

1.5 Research Questions

The study will be guided by the following research questions;

1. What is the discipline of students in slum environment?
2. What is the influence of home environment on the students discipline living in the slum communities?
3. What is the teacher’s and students response to indiscipline in relation with slum environment?

1.6 Scope of the study

1.6.1. Geographical Scope  

The study will be carried out in Bwaise, Kawempe Division, Kampala district. The study will be carried out in three schools that are found in Bwaise and they include; Pimbas S.S, Crane High School and Bwaise Parents School. The selection of Bwaise is because there several schools in Bwaise that has registered indiscipline cases over the years which has made them to perform poorly in the national examinations.

1.6.2. Content scope

The study will focus on establishing the influence of slum environment on the discipline of students in secondary schools. Specific emphasis will be put on finding out the discipline of students in slum environment, the influence of home environment on the students discipline living in the slum communities and the teacher’s and student’s response to indiscipline in relation with slum environment.

1.6.3. Time scope

The study will consider a period (2000-2017) as a body of literature to be reviewed and it will also consider a period (2012-2018) to get information from the schools.

1.7 Significance

This study will be useful to various educational stakeholders and other program and project designers who may be targeting slum and disadvantaged communities in the following ways.

• The government, in particular educational policy makers will get an insight into the relationship between slum environment and students’ discipline so as to plan appropriately. 
• School administrators and teachers will get adequate information to make proper decisions when handling slum children. 
• The findings of the study will also benefit Parents in slum areas in that, they will clearly understand the influence of slum environment over their children and thus offer informed parenting. 
• The city management bodies will also gain an insight into the effect of slum environment on the students’ discipline, which will enable them plan for urban areas appropriately.
• The concerned NGOs will be enriched with information about the effects of slum environment on school going children and hence offer better services. 
• The slum children will gain an insight into the implications of a slum environment on their discipline so as to cooperate with the various educational stakeholders.

1.8. Conceptual Framework

This section proposes a conceptual framework within which the concept, student’s discipline is treated in this work. It is arrived at basing on the System’s theory Input-Output model advanced by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy in 1956. The selection of the model is based on the belief that, the quality of input invariably affects quality of output in this case student’s discipline (Acato 2006).

Figure 1.1 showing the conceptual framework for this study

Independent variable Dependent variable         

        Extraneous Variable 

Source: Adopted from System’s theory Input-Output model by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (1956)

Figure 2.1 shows concepts of the independent variables as social facilities (schools, hospitals, worshop centres, police stations, market centres), peer groups, drugs and recreational centres (bars, video centres, betting centres, drug market). The dependent variable is discipline of students (time management, discipline cases and regularity in class). 

This study therefore investigated the relationship between the independent variable on the dependent one. The extraneous variables included teaching methods, teachers’ motivation and family background. Their effect on the study variables will be controlled through elimination or holding them constant since they are more than one. This is supported by Amin (2005), who argued that, the effects of extraneous variables on the study when they are many can best be controlled through elimination.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

Discipline is a key ingredient of management science. School discipline shapes the form of learner progress and his eventual fitness into the society and job market. The level of abuse of school discipline has risen to alarming levels. This chapter of the study is focusing on slum environment and the effect it has on the discipline of students.

2.1 Theoretical framework

The theory adapted for this study is derived from the System’s theory input-output model developed by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy in 1956. The theory, according to Koontz and Weihrich, (1988) postulates that an organized enterprise does not exist in a vacuum; it is dependent on its environment in which it is established. They add that the inputs from the environment are received by the organization, which then transforms them into outputs. As adapted in this study, the students (Inputs) are admitted into the schools, with different level of discipline, when they get into the school system, the management of the school transforms them through the process of teaching and learning, and the students output is seen through their academic performance.

Robbins (1980) argued that organizations were increasingly described as absorbers, processors and generators and that the organizational system could be envisioned as made up of several interdependent factors. System advocates, according to Robbins (1980) have recognized that a change in any factor within the organization has an impact on all other organizational or subsystem components. Thus the inputs, the processors and the generators should function well in order to achieve the desired outcome. Saleemi (1997) in agreement with Robbins (1980) argued that all systems must work in harmony in order to achieve the overall goals. According to the input-output model, it is assumed that well-disciplined students will perform well if teaching methods, school management, teacher’s motivation and teacher’s qualification are all good which may not always be the case and this is the shortcoming of this theory. According to Oso and Onen (2005), the interrelationships among parts of a system have to be understood by all parties involved. This theory requires a shared vision so that all people in the school have an idea of what they are trying to achieve from all parties involved, a task that is not easy to achieve.

2.2. Discipline of students in slum environment 

Students, teachers and school managers are involved in maintenance discipline in schools in slum environment (Michael & Lian, 1995). The various factors that break down discipline include Poverty, overcrowding, lack of recreational facilities, easy access to school compound, intolerance, unemployment, violence, lack of school democracy, generation gap, influence of media, lack of role models, home failure and communication gap (Lewis, 1991). Theses causes are influenced by learner environment. They are attributed to home background, political and socio economic position, school environment, peer pressure and school curriculum. These contribute negatively to excellence of students and staff participation in day to day running of the secondary schools in slum environment.

With abolishment of corporal punishment in schools in slum environment by many global governments and civil society organizations, many disciplinary problems have cropped in the secondary schools in slum environment (Robbins, 1980). These are multi facial and in most cases appear in defiance to authority, irregular school attendance, unwanted classroom behavior, truancy, aggression, use of vulgar language, vandalism, poor dressing, stealing, absenteeism, fighting, insubordination, arrogance, disrespect, drug abuse and alcoholism, eating in class, cultism, mass protests, mind wandering and day dreaming (Lewis, 1991). The foregoing cases of abuse of school discipline result into a student refusing to participate in class activities, failing to complete homework and assignments, failing to bring to school required materials, being under the influence of debilitating drugs, being absent or tardy and cheating on tests (Robbins, 1980). This trend of events is a common phenomenon in many schools in slum environment in Uganda and the consequence is poor academic output. 

Lack of clear mission and vision in life, low expectations in life puts one in conflict with self, more especially for learners with learning difficulties. Tension can accumulate in such learners and they easily express this by violent means (Michael & Lian, 1995). Keeping such learners for long in the class room doing some assignments can cause disruption especially when they feel overloaded. Contrarily, students who are given little work get bored as they become idle after completing their task (Lewis, 1991; Donnelly, 2000). This is also a threat to a peaceful school environment as they use the excess time for ventures like drug and substance abuse, alcoholism, sexual immorality, leading to failure of students to meet the expectations of their parents.

Some parents give their children too much pocket money without properly guiding them (Michael & Lian, 1995). This gives the young learner too much pride and deviates from school norms. In other cases, spousal violence or harsh treatment of children at home destroys self-esteem, they will thus have no dream to work hard to achieve (Gitome et al, 2013). Children can also get spoilt at puberty when no proper guidance is given to explain the meaning of the physical and the emotional changes taking place (Lewis, 1991; Michael & Lian, 1995) Consequently, they deviate from the routine learning requirements and thus end up failing to prosper in their academic endeavors.

Involvement of the student in other activities that take a lot of their time causes them to be strained. They suffer an obsessive dread of school and end up fearing everything in the school. They go for their examinations with unwanted materials or they drop out of school all together. They are the first to participate in the mobilization of their colleagues in violent activities with peer cruelty and abuse of others rights. Such students go to school, but they suffer constant turmoil and physical distress. They are always the last in ranking examination performance. This is because they are caught up between two worlds. Truant students often have poor concentration in studies as they feel that they cannot perform well in examinations (Gitome, 2013).

Disruption of the school programme by riots can lead to shortage of teachers as some affected teachers will have to be transferred without replacement. Lack of assistance in doing both class work and homework by the learner as the few teachers will be toiling here and there within a small time frame. In the absence of the trained teacher, people who can volunteer, not necessarily skilled, can take over, leading to deteriorating quality of work. The victimized child may be expelled from school. In case the child comes back, there will be a lot of work for him/her in order to cope with the rest of the students. In some cases, such victims give up and drop out of school, turning into beasts threatening societies (Gitome, 2013). This reduces the number of learners enrolled and further affects the population of learners who do well in their school examinations.

Community leaders and parents need to portray to the young ones what they expect out of them (Cameron, M 2006; Vockell, 1991; Michael & Lian, 1995).  The teacher must live up to their professional provisions and be role models to the student (Michael & Lian, 1995). Learners generally worship their heroes and imitate those whom they appreciate and admire. Good teacher-learner relation brings warmth and an ideal learning atmosphere (Cameron,  2006). However, the relationship should not be extrapolated to exploit the learner. Contrary on ground, personalities expected to present themselves as role models do contrary things that give the student the contrary picture of real life. As result, the child is mislead and failed in school and life.

Social meetings organized weekly where students, teachers and the administrators are all present can help release tension (Gitome, 2013). Students should be given a considerable freedom of speech so that there is nothing they fear telling the school management (Gitome, 2013). Keeping students stress free, orderly and happy creates a lovely school environment. Learners should be programmed such that incidences of boredom due to idleness are avoided (Cameron, 2006). Schools in slum environment tend to keep the students aloof and away from detailed school information. Information gap then provides room for rumor mongering that squeezes the school authorities to the corner and brings strained relationship. These then lead to massive learner failure.

Schools in slum environment are all expected to maintain discipline among other things by organizing effective master teaching time tables and activity schedules that cater for hidden curricular optimally. However, in many schools in slum environment there exist unoccupied time frames where co-curricular activities are minimal due to lack of space for installation of amenities for leisure can lead to build up of tension which may be released through violent activities at school (Ayieko, 1988).  Teaching methods must be used with a variety of activities which can help the learner work well to eliminate unwanted behaviour. Learners should be arranged tactfully in the learning room, encouraging friendliness and class discussions aided by problem based learning. 

The above mentioned practices are more responsive than reacting to bad behaviour that has already manifested its self (Cameron, 2006). Use of empathy is also recommended to effectively handle discipline potholes and school based aggression. Subsequently, progress in academic and other measurable aspects of school routines is grossly dwindled. Low levels of learner discipline does not only significantly affect their academic performance, it also has a direct bearing on the performance of the staff as discussed in the following subsection.

Good school environment maintains students away from the urge of smoking. Smoking of cigarettes is not authorized for students. It is not rare to find a good fraction of students who defy this rule and abuse other substances on top mostly. Most of them are popularly characterized by missing classes and eventually scoring lower grades in examinations (Gregory, 2010). Similarly students who are truant have contributed to lower school grades because they often absent themselves from classes. Such students lose trend and concentration

Students in the learning environment associate freely by age, class, socioeconomic strata, geographical location of origin and common interest. Peer pressure directs what the child values, knows, wears, eats and learns. Though a positive force, peer pressure among learners is also a strong factor in the disruptive behavior. In the classroom the learner who can manage to make the whole class laugh at the teacher gains a great deal of status within the group (Cowley, 2001).Severity of peer pressure impact is a function of other situational constraints that include age, personality, and values cherished by the children which entirely characterizes their group nature (Osher, 2007; MLEBE, 2012, David, et al, 2010).  Peer pressure is the seed of behavioral inconsistencies in young people and blind obedience to group norm is its one feature. Group members have lack of insight and retarded cognitive growth and development (Donnelly 2000; Cameron 2006). When school administrators are reluctant to manage learner association, it leads to poor disciplinary situations that later on impact into poor academic performance and high dropout rate.

Identity crisis associated with self-rejection easily erodes levels of discipline in students and affects their academic performance. Low self-esteem, poor study habits, restlessness and inattention are common features of this vice (Asiyayi, 2012).  Such students will consequently develop behavioral complications due to stigma. Good morals will decay and discipline as function of the perception of the self image goes down. War zone children grow with the spirit of arrogance and hot temper and at school, they will continue with the same arrogance. They are mostly not law abiding but all in all many school unrests spring out of political influences (Moloi, 2003). 

Briefly, social inadequacies of students such as poor value system, injustice, favoritism, nepotism, corruption and bias of mass media are responsible for influencing inappropriate behaviour in schools in slum environment and their staff (Asiyayi, 2012). Unqualified or head teachers with poor service record or little knowledge of school management are sometimes imposed onto schools in slum environment based on political or religious affiliations. This gradually plunges such an institution into chaos. Serious damages can be caused as well when a competent school leader with reputable record is transferred but replaced with one rejected elsewhere due to administrative inadequacies. Some members of the governing board with vested interests engage in sponsoring disorderliness in their schools in slum environment to achieve their targets. A society dominated by violence grooms youth hailing from such residences into violent young men and ladies whose contribution in a school community is very detrimental. Mass media exposes learners to violence and immoral activities. Such immoral tendencies do not plant seeds of good performance in the school setting.

School managers invest all their abilities and skills in initiating and maintaining orderliness and safety in the teaching and learning perimeter (Bazemore, 1997). However, without networking with students, teachers, parents and all the calibers of stakeholders, school discipline will collapse (Ajibola, 2014). It is the expectation of all stakeholders that schools in slum environment are safe and enjoyable. Nobody sends a child to school to pile agony (Terry, 2001). A school must implement rules that are clear and not cumbersome (Ayieko, 1988) and they should be passed by the management body such as the Board of Governors. In failure of the above, which is a common scenario in many schools in slum environment, students’ performance is hard to manage and upkeep.

Discipline in a school can be achieved by a collective responsibility in the management of the school (Rowne, 2005). In the essence of failure of effective management of school discipline, there will be an increasing number of drop outs, hence an increase of unproductive people in the society partly because of poor academic performance. As such a school environment promotes disciplinary challenges to the school manager and teachers. Students’ relationship is bitter and no respect for anybody by both staff and students. Staff protests are the order of the day; violence, discrimination, harassment, bullying and intimidation, using of weapons, drugs, alcohol and tobacco become common scenarios (Mitchell, 1996). There is no doubt that these yield into poor academic performance.

School based causes of unrest in students may be initiated by harsh school rules and regulations, unconducive school environment, poor administrative discharges without forum, lack of extra curricula activities, inadequate teachers’ professional standards, lack of dialogue, incompetence, lateness and absenteeism (Obedient, 1997; Rwamba, 2000; Jones and Jones, 2006; Awuor, 2008 and Asiyayi, 2012). These can turn a student and some friends to form cliques that have nothing good for the school and her administration. No good performance of students is expected from such an institution.

Anti-social behaviour of school children can appear outside the classroom. Children need to overcome any problems of adjusting to good, acceptable and tolerable behaviour in order to be accepted by teachers and their peers (Walker, Colvin & Byarubaga, 1991). The failure to be accepted by other learners can go a long way to cause and worsen bad behaviour in children (Mukani, 2014) 

School unrest disrupts learning thus leading to poor curriculum implementation. Destruction of school property that includes library and laboratory facility causes desperation in resource material. This consequently causes discouragement in serious learning, poor academic performance, under enrollment, negative financial implication, dropout and general psychological suffering of the students. Greater understanding of subject matter, its reinforcement and retention during personal study schedules is thus impaired (Gregory, 2010). Students’ indiscipline wastes a lot of time and this affects their studies hence their performance. Following the students’ indiscipline, the resource materials and facilities are wasted, teacher-student relations are strained and the climate of mutual respect necessary for learning compromised.

A positive correlation exists between discipline and academic performance. Well-disciplined students perform well academically (Ayieko, 1988; Gitome, 2013; Mukami, 2014). Students with their teachers in schools in slum environment affected by unrest find it difficult to restore the perfect working relationship in the aftermath of unrest (Akala, 2002). Indiscipline in schools in slum environment has affected the learner’s academic performance and their progress in school. Good discipline develops desirable student behavior. If a school has effective discipline, the academic performance will be good (Wayson and Pinnell, 1994). 

2.3. The influence of home environment on the students discipline living in the slum communities.

The home environment plays a vital role in the development of a child’s personality. A child constantly interacts with the family and is invariably influenced by the entire environment that surrounds him/her. Children need a pleasing and interesting environment, characterized by human care, particularly by the mother, and at the same time, providing various experiences and stimulations (Waxman, 2015). Therefore, parents are the most potent force in shaping the overall personality of children. Home environment vary in many aspect, such as: parents‟ level of education, economic status, occupation status, religious background, attitudes, values, interests, parents‟ expectations of their children, and family size, among others. Children coming from different environment have their academic performance affected differently (Marjoribanks, 2010).

According to Pallincsar (2003), a large part of a person’s intelligence can be ascribed to accumulation of experience and knowledge. Development in childhood thus forms the basis of a child’s later intelligence. Bell (2011) states that it is imperative that a child receives good and adequate food, be protected against illness, be intellectually stimulated and be well-adjusted at childhood. Good parenting, supported by strong economic home background could enhance strong academic performance of a child. This further enhances sound academic performance, where a child is properly counseled in choice of courses and vocation that matches his/her mental ability, interest and capability (Downie, 2007).

According to Walberg (2002), it would appear that quite apart from the fact that the impoverished child tends to be an under-achiever, it would seem that his poverty causes him to be even further behind in his schoolwork than his low intelligence would lead one to suppose. Walberg concludes that poverty is more closely linked to backwardness in schoolwork than to dullness. Unemployment coupled with meagre wages is the sole causes of poverty. Such factors as poor food, little sleep and unhygienic domestic conditions may have a deleterious effect on the child’s health which may result in a lowering of his capacity to learn. This may rob him of a background and general knowledge which is accepted as selfevident by most schools (Downie, 2007).

A study carried out by Ezewu (2003) points out that people of stable economic background normally value education more than those of low economic background. Such people often use their income on learning resources, resulting in good learner support, hence good performance. Economic background is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation (Ezewu, 2003). Due to their poverty levels, families with low economic background may have inadequate or limited capital to buy learning resources and access to adequate information that can help promote and support learners‟ performance, (Shipman, 2003).

Shipman (2003) .maintains that most of academic under achievers come from the lower economic backgrounds and that the psycho-social encouragement here contributes very little towards improving the intellect. The children of skilled parents perform better at school and are more likely to go on to higher education than the children of the unskilled and semiskilled parents because the skill parents have higher ability of securing well paying jobs as opposed to semi-skilled which implies that they are able to meet their children’s needs satisfactory. Skilled workers have higher aspiration for their children than unskilled workers (Banks Olive, 2008). 

When a child comes from a home where parents provide adequately for 13 needs of the child, the foundations are firmly laid by the time the child goes to school. However a child whose parents are financially handicapped may have stunted growth, both physically and morally, due to inadequate provision of food, stimulus materials and comfortable sleep, (Shipman, 2003).

Children from low economic status households and communities develop academic skills more slowly compared to children from higher economic status groups, as noted by (Morgan,2009). Basic academic skills are correlated with the home environment, where low literacy environment and chronic stress negatively affect a child‟s pre-academic skills. Also the schools in low economic status communities are often underresourced in terms of mentors, competitors and auxiliary services, thus, negatively affecting learners‟ academic progress (Alkens and Barbarin, 2008).

 In modern societies, schooling is an important influence on social mobility (movement from one status to another) whereby educational grades or overall examination marks are considered in gaining access to good secondary schools and later superior jobs and higher income that go with them. With this regard, people try to ensure the best possible education for their children, hoping that they would secure social and economic advantages in future. For example, in Britain, the sons of the upper class are likely to attend the handful of private schools which matter within the country (Hill, 2006).

Also in most developing countries, children of different social classes often attend different schools; that is, children of upper class attend elite private schools; those of working class and lower classes attend inner-city public schools, Waxman, (2015). At every level, there is competition among groups and individuals for grades and other tokens of educational success. Children of working and low class parents tend to be eased out of the system and into work related courses such as businesses, whereas children of the 14 middle and upper classes are far more likely to continue with their education up to colleges and universities (Irima, 2009). 

Education starts at home and the parent is the first mentor of the child. Parents have to use their time with their children to influence positive learner attitude towards school attainments. On ground, it is unfortunate to find that some parents are too hostile or defensive. This demoralizes a child’s interest in school and makes the teachers who are in charge of discipline from fulfilling their professional obligations. Poor parent involvement in management of student discipline culminates into deviant behavior (Alidzulwi, 2000; Louw et al., 2003; Bowman; 2004). Inadequate child care by parents due to economic constraints throughout their childhood appears in disruptive class room behavior as the child seeks recognition (Fontana, 1985; Robertson, 1999; Van, 2008). Learner attention seeking behaviour is accompanied by inappropriate vulgar language (Rogers, 2000). This has a retarding impact on the child’s education. 

Discipline exists in school atmospheres that are characterized by trust and transparency in the school management. Unfortunately, distrust of the administration is a common finding in many school setups and brings hatred of ideas coming from the administrative sector of the institution (Lewis, 1991; Donnelly 2000). Some learning institutions are characterized by battle field morals as learners move with fire arms, making news of fellow colleagues, instructors or teachers being stabbed to death (Alidzulwi, 2000). Fire attacks and sexual harassment are rampant and mostly the perpetrator is a student. As an atmosphere of restlessness creates up as a result, students become reluctant and ineffective. These phenomena grossly deteriorate students’ discipline implying that student discipline has a direct correlation with the morale of the school management.

The scholarly demands of a school going child need to be prioritized by whoever is responsible. This motivates the learner and gives clear minds for school attendance. Unfortunately, poverty, stressful lives and substance abuse are common characteristics of a student with home based difficulties. These negatively affect the overall social wellbeing of the student consequently affecting the discipline outcomes at home and in the management system of the school. The resultant indiscipline cases in schools disrupt the learning process and the school management at large. A child whose parent is unable to satisfy with primary and basic needs will find another adults do fill the gap but the response to the extraordinary potential of the other adult will have greater influence (Seita  et al.,1996). Students with such backgrounds often fail to relate well with their teachers/school administrators who continue to be friendly to their stressful biological parents hence causing school disciplinary management problem. 

Children would want to be owned and loved by responsible parents and/or caretakers. Orphaned or single parented children are found in every school and have records of unpalatable school contact. This is a product of attitude building at home that initiates value difference between home and school (McGuiness, 1994; Jones and Jones, 1995; Ajibola, 2014). Learners with disciplinary and learning deviations have disappointing domestic disciplinary records (Varma, 1993). Poor school discipline is community engineered (Rossouw, 2003). Cumulatively, learner and those concerned with the school discipline becomes a victim. Constant deviation in learner behavior is a serious distracter to discipline management in schools.

2.4. Teacher’s and student’s response to indiscipline in relation with slum environment.

In attempt to iron indiscipline challenges in the institutions of learning, all the stakeholders need to be involved. Different approaches can be used. Some suggested approaches are discussed in the following subsections.

Trained teachers with whole teaching skills need to have ample preparation. Use should be made of instructional materials to capture and sustain learner attention. Lesson content be related to real life situation and based on learner experience. This eliminates tendencies of disruptive behavior and creates an ideal learning atmosphere and improves students’ performance and even active staff- participation in their professions

Classroom norm is constantly challenged by disruptive learners (Fontana, 1994, Bear 2009). Acceptable classroom behaviour need to be recognized and rewarded as the contrary is oppressed and eliminated (Maite, 2013). Appropriate multi motivational approach to sustain good classroom learner behaviour also boosts cognitive growth and learner attention (Fontana, 1994). Democratic approaches such as getting student leaders, fixing class room rules and regulations gives learners the impression that they are in charge of their learning and automatically restores good morals. These in turn will all add to students’ excellent performance in the institution.

Keeping a manageable enrollment per class eases class control and discipline administration. Crowded learning rooms are avoided as it retards learning standards (Alexander et al., 1995). Curricular should be flexible to match learner demands to respond to after school environment without struggle. Social, cognitive, psychomotor skills that students are ready to apply will win them into the learning process naturally (Chaplain, 2003). Implemented rules are guided closely by school and the prevailing Government policy. Discipline is not necessarily punishment but punishment is one of the measures to reinforce discipline in school (Ajibola, 2014). Harsh rules and appeal to authority for maneuvering stressful scenarios are avoided (Maite, 2003). Such will also boost students’ performance at work.

Behaviour change is influenced by factors within learners’ environment and can be positive or negative (Charlton & David, 1993). Negative change in ones’ behaviour can be reversed by identifying and changing the responsible environmental factor. Mature disciplinary resolution with minimum emotions and less reactive responses by the responsible officer can reduce disruptive behaviour (Weinstein et al., 1993). Carefully rewarding negative learner behaviour by teachers minimizes case of indiscipline in the school (Wilson, 1974; Docking, 1996; Wragg, 2001).

The teacher with school administrator needs to have a logical response to a case with the perspective of another person.  However, in certain situations, empathy may not be absolutely effective in eliminating aggression and unwanted learner class room behaviour (Feshback, 1983; Maite, 2014; Charles et al., 2004). In minor cases, calling the disrupting learner softly by name and engaging such a learner to take a role in the running lesson objective can yield good results. Eye contact, signals, facial expressions and proximity are good discipline administering tools which do not affect the attentive learners in the same class room (Weinstein et al., 1993).

Demotion of a learner and stripping off privileges as a consequence of participating in a disruptive activity is another disciplinary tool that has ever succeeded. The privileges are restored in the aftermath of the undesired behaviour, having observed a significant recovery (Dadsman et al., 1990; Everston et al., 2003). Isolating troublesome learners to do their assignments in separate learning perimeters is a good reinforcement of discipline. The isolated learners should be supervised to ensure constructive punitive maneuvers other than creation of more play space (Mercure, 1995).

A range of tested classroom discipline management strategies married with effective instruction and alternative school programmes that aim to discipline for reform (Eggleton, 2001) is another method for discipline control which has ever worked.

Guidance and counseling sessions should be incorporated into the school programme. A collective approach to management of school discipline in which all the responsible individuals attend in person adds weight and meaning to the process. It stresses purpose and significance maintaining high disciplinary standards in the institution, hence good student and good performance.

Corporal punishment could be substituted by strategies that let the individual perpetrator among the learners to realize that s/he is at the wrong and can change. Bad behaviour may be imposed onto the learner circumstantially, not necessarily by choice (Evertson, 2003).  The time frame between offence and punitive measure defines extent of intolerance of the unwanted behaviour. The learner is reminded instantly of the wrong s/he is involved in. However, it may also raise the public awareness of the event. Punishment is a friend of outbursts of anger from the teacher. It can therefore make relations to worsen and the situation to deteriorate to shouting and criticizing (Docking, 1996). A tension free learning environment is admired for its effectiveness and can be created by being full of humor. It should be used to redirect a faulted learner (Weinstein et al., 1993; Smith et al., 1995).