ABSTRACT
The study was on the effect of cognitive restructuring and shaping
techniques in reducing lateness among secondary school students. The study was
carried out in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State using
quasi-experimental design. Two hundred and sixty-five (265) latecomers made up
the population of the study, while ninety (90) latecomers made up the sample.
An observation guide designed by the researcher was used for data collection.
Three research questions were answered using frequency, and six null hypotheses
were tested using ANCOVA. Result showed among others that both cognitive
restructuring and shaping techniques were effective in reducing both the number
of days of lateness to school and the magnitude of lateness of the latecomers.
Based on the findings, recommendations were made. These include: (1) School
guidance counsellors in the State should organize Parents’ day for PTA members
and apply cognitive restructuring on them to enable those of them who are
responsible for their wards being late to school to rethink and come to the aid
of these children. (2) Physical punishment should be abolished in secondary
schools set aside by the school authorities on lateness to give room for more
meaningful and purposeful psychological therapies.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Lateness and punctuality are common phenomena in life
activities. They are opposite sides of each other, like opposite sides of a
coin. Punctuality entails doing things in time (early). Lateness entails doing
things behind time schedule. Lateness is generally what one experiences in
everyday activities at home and public life. Evidence abound that people go
late to activities, including work. Teachers come late to school; workers in
other fields of work attend to their duties late. This has negative effect on
both the work and the workers (employees) respectively. The work may be done
hurriedly and at the end the output may be less and of poor quality. In the
work situation, lateness by the employees without permission from the
supervisor in advance will attract him sanction and he may look for an
opportunity to work the balance of his scheduled shift as a make-up (Internet
Resource, 2008). According to Green (2007) many people possess this sad habit,
and there are some who are constantly and consistently late. He finally
concluded that millions of people suffer from it.
Daily observations show that many students in different parts
of Nigeria come late to school habitually, be it private, public or mission secondary schools. Between the hours of
9.00am and 10.00am, secondary schools students are seen coming to school which
had started by 7.30am or 7.45am. This problem is considered serious enough in
the sense that teachers who ought to be in the class teaching between these
hours of 9.00am and 10.00am are busy monitoring the latecomers. It is also
observed that lateness to school by these secondary schools students is
increasing at a tremendous rate all through the country. Ifelunni (1991)
equally noted that the rate at which students go late to school is on the
increase.
Consequent upon the observed increase in lateness in
secondary schools by students, there is a feeling that there are various
factors contributing to this problem among students. Thus, one can argue that
the extent of lateness a student exhibits depends on these factors, which may
be acting singly, or in combination for some students and not others. Adeyemo
(1975) outlined these factors to include bad company, keeping late nights and
uninteresting method of teaching by the teacher. Oyebanre (2000) suggested that
maladaptive behaviour, which includes lateness to school, is caused by poor
conditions in homes and environment; and that it is more prevalent among
lower-socio-economic population.
Lateness to school has some negative implications for the
students. It may lead to the students telling lies`, cheating, keeping malice,
quarreling, missing class lessons and failing examinations (Anagbogu, 2002). It
may also lead to truancy and dropping out of school (Ogbuvbu, 2008). Moreover,
experience shows that students who come late to school are severely punished.
For example, they are beaten, flogged and kept under the sun kneeling down for long
hours; all in a bid to see if they will either stop coming late to school, or
at least reduce the rate at which they come late to school.
Despite such punishment measures as noted earlier, which the
school authority uses to check lateness among secondary school students, these
students still come late to school. This is worrisome, and one stands to reason
that punishment does not help in solving problem behaviour among students.
Instead it has lead to increase in undesirable behaviour like aggression. Such
punishment strategies as tongue-lashing, prolonged torture, ridiculing and
flogging among others, no doubt inflict pains on the late comers. Moreover,
they tend to cause more psychological, emotional, social, moral and personal
problems than bring about the desired results. Verbal punishment for instance
could make a late-coming student lose confidence in himself or herself since it is ego-deflating. This inhibits the
student’s attainment of his or her goals.
Since the various forms of punishments commonly used in
secondary schools to address lateness behaviour among students have failed but
even have in some cases increased their problems leading to increased lateness,
the researcher is motivated to tackle the problem using two counselling
techniques of cognitive restructuring and shaping.
Cognitive restructuring is a technique in cognitive therapy
developed by Aaron Beck in the 1960s. Cognitive restructuring aims at removing
one’s “faulty thinking” and irrational counter-factual beliefs with more
accurate and beneficial ones. (Internet Resources, 2007). It is a process by
which the individual is made to avoid crooked and irrational thinking and think
straight (Essuman, Nwaogu and Nwachuku, 1990). The therapy restructures the
already structured irrational thoughts, beliefs and philosophies, which an
individual has already acquired by redressing and changing them at the mental
level of the person concerned to ensure his happiness and efficiency at school
or workplace (Uba, 1989).
Shaping strategy is training the individual to acquire a
desired behaviour by reinforcing every response the individual makes which
brings him or her closer to the desired behaviour while eliminating the undesired response by
ignoring them through non-reinforcement. It implies using reinforcement to
bring about change in behaviour. According to Okoli (2002), the technique is
used to teach new behaviour. Invariably, it is necessary to investigate the
effect of cognitive restructuring technique and shaping technique in handling
lateness among secondary school students.
It is important to note that these techniques have proved
effective in handling some problem behaviours. For instance, Chukwunonyem
(2001) used cognitive restructuring technique to change pupils’ behaviour in
mathematics, and Isaac (as cited in Akinade & Adedipe, 1994) used shaping
successfully to reinstate verbal behaviour in hospitalized psychotics.
Therefore, it is hoped that the techniques will also be effective in handling
lateness among students.
Statement of the Problem
Many secondary school students attend school late everyday of
the week. This has led to many of the students attending classes late and in
some cases missing classes entirely, especially if the classes come up in the
morning hours. This would mean that students do not participate actively in
class work; and will thus lead to poor performance of students in tests,
assignments and examinations.
Lateness has indeed stood in the way of learning vis-à-vis
school success of these students.
The routine method of using punishment to control lteness
does not appear to be effective. In fact punishment has failed because it is
externally imposed and does not mobilize the willpower and participation of the
individual concerned. Against this, it is thus important to find out
non-punitive measures to control lateness among secondary school students.
Hence the choice of cognitive restructuring and shaping techniques to allow for
full participation of the late comers. While the cognitive restructuring
technique will change their attitude about lateness, shaping technique will
change their behaviour towards lateness. The fundamental problem is how to
reduce lateness to school among secondary school students.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of the study is to determine the effect of
cognitive restructuring and shaping techniques in reducing late-coming
behaviour to school among secondary school students.
Specifically, the study is to determine:
1. How effective cognitive restructuring technique is in
reducing lateness among students.
2. How effective shaping technique is in reducing lateness among
students.
3. Which of the two techniques (cognitive restructuring and
shaping techniques) is more effective in reducing lateness among students?
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