ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE13th ANNIVERSARY AND SPEECH
AND PRIZE-GIVING DAY OF THE ABURI PRESBYTERIAN
SECONDARY/TECHNICAL SCHOOL , BY PROF. JOPHUS
ANAMUAH-MENSAH, ON SATURDAY,JUNE 12th , 2004; ON THE
THEME :
“DISCIPLINE , THE KEY TO ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE”
Mr. Chairman,
Honourable Minister of Education,
(Very) Rev. Ministers
Nananom ,
Distinguished Board Members, and Invited Guests,
Members of Conference of Assisted Secondary Schools
Old Students,
Parents and Guardians,
Hardworking Staff and Students,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Greetings from Winneba !
It is my pleasure to be part of this occasion, an occasion to mark the 13 th
Anniversary and Speech & Prize Giving Day of this relatively young but
remarkable institution.
I think I should count myself quite fortunate to be part of this historymaking event. Perhaps what is equally heart-warming is the consideration of
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the theme at stake .-i.e “Discipline, the key to Academic Excellence”. I
guess so many factors have influenced the choice of this theme. Primarily I
should say the organizers have been quite patriotic to have settled on the
concept “Discipline” as one of the core concepts of the theme, knowing very
well the backdrop of indiscipline that appears to have engulfed our Ghanaian
society today.
Mr. Chairman, for the issue to have merited a whole national crusade
mounted against
it from the very high office of the Office of the Vice-President of the
Republic, means
a lot.- it means the issue is of prime national concern, and should be viewed
as a cancer that can have a devastating impact on the socio-economic and
political growth of the country. Mr. Chairman, the second concept of the
theme, “Academic Excellence” is of equal significance, as we are aware of
the efforts government, education authorities, and other stakeholders are
making towards ensuring quality education in the country.
In this discussion, therefore I intend to first attempt to explore the
parameters of the concept “Academic Excellence” and later the constituents
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of “Discipline” as emphasized in the theme, and probably look at how best
it can facilitate academic excellence. An attempt will also be made to discuss
some of the causes of indiscipline and strategies for addressing indiscipline
in the country.
Mr. Chairman, perhaps one of the most frequently used phrases of our time
in educational circles is that of
“Academic Excellence”; but the irony
however is that, today while most people understand intuitively what they
mean by academic excellence, there may not be a common understanding of
the term. This is especially true now, at the beginning of the 21 st Century,
when education is increasingly understood to be more than just “reading,
writing, and arithmetic”. But Mr. Chairman, to all intents and purposes,
gradually, there is a growing consensus that the term should include the
inclination to excel in one or more of the numerous academic enterprises. It
is also increasingly understood to mean the description of achievement of
great merit in the educational or the teaching/ learning process. A major area
of concern is the high proportion of students who exit basic education and
even senior secondary school to go into the world of work without the
relevant knowledge and skills required for survival in this modern world.
There is also the observation that the single stream general academic
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secondary education that we are operating now forces every student to go
through the same academic pipeline; this tends to limit high academic
performance to only the few students who are academically oriented leaving
out the majority who may be just as brilliant but may have high inclination
to technical subjects. Many of these students are dropped out or failed by the
school system; any innovativeness and creative spirit in them are therefore
destroyed for good. Academic excellence, to some educators therefore
requires the provision of alternative programmes that meet the interest,
needs and potentials of all students in the school. This means that institutions
should be structured to provide not only general academic programmes but
technical/vocational programmes as well. Looked at from this angle,
institutions such as this one (i.e. secondary/technical schools) that provide
technical and general academic programmes need to be encouraged and
supported to grow, through improvement in facilities including well
equipped workshops and laboratories. It is commendable that the
government through the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports is
upgrading at least one existing senior secondary school in every district to a
level comparable to the best secondary school in the country. It may
however be necessary for the schools being upgraded to be converted into
secondary technical schools if we are to meet the unmet needs of majority of
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the students in secondary schools and at the same time avoid allowing a
large proportion of them to go into the world of work when they are not
ready. Mr. Chairman, academic excellence demands that all forms of
intelligences including logico-mathematical, kinaesthetic
and aesthetic
intelligences should be developed.
Mr. Chairman, the conceptualisation of Excellence in educational
achievement may vary widely depending on the orientation of the person
concerned. For example, it may be conceived as achievement in learner
performance, in teacher performance, extra-curricular work, excellence in
general behaviour and conduct of both staff and student, and even
appearance and outlook of the school, including the culture of maintenance
of school infrastructural facilities, support by community , etc. It is clear that
academic excellence is not a unitary concept but a multi-dimensional one.
We also note that Commitment to achieving academic excellence is not the
singular duty of any one identifiable group or person but a collective
responsibility of all stakeholders in the school system; stemming from the
individual and collective will to excel. Indeed academic excellence is the
ultimate desire and goal of all academic enterprises, and for which the
whole school business should be focussed.
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But excellence in any academic endeavour may come about as a result of the
interplay of the following factors: a good learning environment, the content
of the system, the processes, health of learners, teacher and learner attitude,
outcomes that encompass all aspects of human behaviour (i.e. knowledge,
skills and attitudes), good discipline, effective supervision, etc. This may be
over simplified in a mathematical equation as follows:
AE = (E × C × H × O ) D, where AE is academic excellence; E is learning
environment; C is content of the system; H is health of learners; O is
outcomes of the system; and D is discipline.
Ladies and gentlemen, there is no gainsaying the fact that the commitment to
excel therefore hinges on the question of “Discipline”. There is the need for
all and sundry in the school system to cultivate that character of discipline
which would imbue in them a true sense of commitment towards achieving
the set goals of the school. Discipline connotes the idea of an ordered or selfregulated life or behaviour. It is the training especially, of the mind and
character with the view to acquiring a self-controlled life. In another context
however, the concept is understood as an imposition of external standards
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and controls on individual behaviour and conduct; however, Mr.
Chairman, the motivation should be the desire to lead a self-controlled
or ordered life.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the concept discipline is very necessary for learning
the standards of conduct that are approved and tolerated in any social setting,
including schools and societies. In the school situation, these acceptable and
tolerated conducts must not be seen in the classroom as arbitrary rules set up
by teachers to show who is in charge; rather classroom discipline should be
seen by students as giving them the opportunity to make choices in
behaviours, with their understanding of the consequences of the choices they
make.
It is therefore very important for teachers to let their students realise that
rules and regulations are in the best interest of students themselves. Teachers
must let their students feel that they are being treated democratically and
classroom rules and regulations will lead them (students) to become good
citizens in the society.
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Relationship between discipline and academic excellence
Many studies have shown that a positive disciplinary climate is directly
linked to high academic achievement. Students tend to perform well in
schools with good disciplinary climate; in contrast, students who exhibit
violent behaviours tend to have poor academic records. A culture of
discipline enables students to:
o Be task-focussed,
o manage their activities well
o have high expectations
o bring out the creative potential in individuals.
o lead orderly lives
o know their rights and responsibilities
I will like to share with you a few characteristics of schools that provide
excellent education. These characteristics have been distilled from a
comprehensive review of recent Research, which has come out with an
overwhelming consensus about the characteristics of schools that exhibit
academic excellence (Sammons, Thomas and Mortimore, 1995). Eleven of
such characteristics were identified. These are as follows:
(a) professional leadership – the leader or Head has a clear vision of the
future, is firm and purposeful; s/he adopts a participatory approach in
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leading the group.
(b) shared vision and goals – in schools that provide good education,
there is a shared vision, goals and core values; they define what pupils
are expected to master, to know, to be able to do, and to earn a
certificate. The goals are shared with the pupils; staff in the school
exhibits unity of purpose, consistency of practice, collegiality and
collaboration. These schools tend to have a development plan
produced through widespread consultation.
(c) a learning environment – schools that provide quality education
have an orderly atmosphere, and attractive working environment for
both staff and students;
(d) concentration on teaching and learning – effective schools ensure
that the academic goals are achieved by maximizing learning time,
strengthening academic work and focusing on achievement; staff and
students are task-oriented.
(e) purposeful teaching – efficient organisations, clarity of purpose,
structured lessons and adaptive practice.
(f) high expectations – effective schools exhibit high expectations all
round; they set high expectations that provide intellectual challenge
for both students and teachers.
(g) positive reinforcement – effective schools implement clear and fair
discipline code, and provide prompt feedback on students’ work.
(h) monitoring progress – there is constant monitoring of pupils’
performance; school performance is evaluated every year.
(i) pupil rights and responsibilities – there should be mutual respect
between staff and students; every pupil needs closer, caring
relationships with his or her teachers; core values such as honesty,
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respect, responsibility and citizenship are promoted in these schools;
such schools create an atmosphere that raises pupils’ self-esteem,
provides them with positions of responsibility, and control of work.
(j) home-school relationship – as mentioned earlier, there is a strong
positive relationship between parent involvement in their children’s
learning and quality education; effective schools have strong PTAs
that support learning at home and in the school.
(k) a learning organization – successful schools are learning
organizations; they provide opportunities for school-based staff
development, as well as encourage staff to attend workshops and
courses outside the school. Teachers engage in professional
discussions about teaching and learning in a cooperative way. In
addition, both teachers and students see themselves as partners in the
learning process.
Nature of indiscipline in the school
Mr. Chairman, indiscipline in the school and in society in general takes
different forms. Some of the acts of indiscipline or misbehaviour in schools
include: destruction of school property during ‘aluta’, disrespect of
authority, lateness to class and other functions in the school, failure to
submit assignments on time; failure to attend classes; leaving a school
without permission; bullying or ‘homoing’ other students, especially the
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junior ones; using verbal insults on other students; eating other students’
food; urinating in inappropriate places on the school compound; cheating
during examination; stealing; smoking, drinking alcohol and use of drugs;
failure to attend night studies organised by the school; sexual harassment
and rape.
These acts may be a reflection of what prevails in the larger society
Sources of students’ misbehaviour
A number of studies have pointed to the home and school as two major
places for character formation and the development of the rules of discipline.
However the current state of indiscipline in the society can be said to be
partly and most importantly due to the practices in the home and the school.
The use of physical punishment, neglect and abuse in the home and school
create disciplinary problems such as violence in the society. The home plays
a critical role in this since the child’s early character formation starts at
home. Studies have shown that misbehaviour in the family precedes
misbehaviour in society. In a home where the father beats the mother for
whatever cause, the child quickly learns that physical abuse is the way to get
someone especially a girl to do one’s bidding. Thus, poor parenting can lead
to the inculcation of poor disciplinary behaviour. The following findings
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from research conducted in a number of countries point to the effect of both
physical and non-physical punishment on the behaviour of children.
o Research has found a relationship between the physical punishment
children experience when they are young and the violent acts
(misbehaviour) they themselves commit during their teenage and adult
years.
Children who are rejected, neglected and emotionally abused (denying
privileges, confinement to a room, yelling) not only physically abused
become violent. Neglect and sexual abuse have been found to lead to
increased anti social behaviour.
o Physical punishment of children contributes to a cycle of violence.
Although severe punishment may force compliance in some
situations, the behaviour being punished may resurface at a time and
place when opportunities for detection are reduced.
o Through physical punishment parents model the norm of violence and
legitimize it as a way to solve problems (Straus, 1995).
o Physically punished children tend to be more aggressive, have higher
rates of juvenile delinquencies, have higher rates of spouse abuse and
showed higher drug and alcohol abuse rates (Straus, 1995).
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o Studies have shown that the study of criminals and the type of child
rearing received indicate that non-punitive homes produce fewer
number of criminals, this is followed by punitive but affectionate
homes, while punitive and unaffectionate homes produce the highest
number of criminals.
o Punishment teaches children to focus on their own pains and pleasures
in deciding how to act.
Another major source of violent behaviour or indiscipline is the electronic
media especially television. Television provides a diet of violence which is
generally seenby children to be powerful, exciting, charismatic and worthy
of emulation. Children have an instinctive desire to imitate behaviour
although they do not have the instinct for determining whether or not a
behaviour ought to be imitated. Since they cannot differentiate destructive
antisocial behaviour from socially accepted ones they imitate everything
their eyes scan on the television screen. To them what they see on the screen
constitute factual source of information about the outside world. Children
also tend to act out the violence they see on television and carry this into
adulthood.
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How can we bring about effective discipline in schools
If spanking or canning leads to violence in children and adults, then how
can children be guided to know what is right from what is wrong. It is
suggested that
o Schools should define what acceptable behaviour is, what is deemed
unacceptable and the appropriate sanctions that go with any violations
of the acceptable behaviour; these should be known and understood
by all members of the school community;
o reasoning, talking and listening to children should be used in our
interaction with children. Behaviour and commitment improve when
students are treated with respect and fairness by their teachers, when
teachers build cooperative and supportive relationships with students,
when teachers demonstrate concern for students’ needs and welfare
and give students meaningful responsibilities.
o there should be a greater collaboration between parents and schools in
the training of the child to acquire socially appropriate values.
o the use of non-physical behaviour by parents and teachers will help
avoid teaching children to kick, hit and punch one another.
o Inclusion of education for democratic citizenship in the curriculum
from kindergarten to the university. Most often the educational system
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ignores this aspect of human behaviour and focuses more on the
development of knowledge and skills in the subject area. This makes
education narrow in orientation. It produces people with excellent
knowledge and skills in their field but with very little appreciation and
understanding of his/her own rights and responsibilities and the rights
and responsibilities of others. This constitutes one of the reasons that
made the President’s Committee on the Review of Education Reforms
in Ghana to reformulate the philosophy underlying the educational
system. According to the Committee, the education system should
“create
well-balanced
(intellectually,
spiritually,
emotionally,
physically) individuals with the requisite knowledge, skills, values,
and aptitudes for self-actualisation and for socio-economic and
political transformation of the nation”. The requirement for the
education of the total human being is supported by UNESCO’s report
which suggests that an effective education should consist of four
elements: learning to know, learning to do, learning to be, and
learning to live together. A holistic education should equip each
student to acquire these four skills.
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Conclusion
Mr. Chairman, I take note of the fact that the theme for this celebration,
Discipline – The Key to Academic Excellence, is both appropriate and
timely. Discipline as we have seen provides an environment relevant for
learning, ensures the formation of a learning community, promotes healthy
competition among the learners and teachers, and ensures proper use of time.
Teachers in a school with a culture of discipline, tend to be task-oriented, are
supportive of their students, monitor them and set challenging standards for
them. It is no wonder that performance of students in such schools tends to
be high.
As students of this institution, one thing that you should desire for your
school is academic excellence. But this cannot be achieved unless we
develop a culture of discipline in the school; that is, agree on rules,
regulations and sanctions to be obeyed by all. This institution can be as great
as any of the best schools in the country. Your responsibility is discipline
and total dedication to your studies. After all this is why you were brought
here.
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There is the need for greater collaboration between parents and the school in
the training of students. Although we have seen that the use of punishment
to correct misbehaviour may be problematic, this does not give the right for
parents to attack teachers who use physical punishment on their children.
We need to be careful on how we use physical punishment to get children to
do the right thing. Children can internalize it as a model for getting what one
wants.
Finally, I will like to thank the Board of Governors, PTA, Headmaster, Staff
, Students and the Planning Committee for inviting me share this august
celebration with you. I must say it has been worthwhile.
Thank you and May God continue to bless you.
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