A Survey of Discipline Strategies Employed by Pre-primary School Teachers in Guiding Pupils Behaviours in Jos Metropolis

Abstract

Children in early childhood are active and talkative. Teachers in pre-primary schools tend to misunderstand this nature of the child and describe the behavior of the child as disruptive. The paper is a research report that investigated the discipline strategies teachers use in guiding the behavior of pupils in pre-primary schools. Using descriptive survey, data was collected from 70 pre-primary school teachers in Jos metropolis using anecdotal observation technique. Two research questions were postulated and answered using pear of frequencies. Results of the study showed that teachers guide behavior through positive feedback/approval, engaging pupils in activities, setting expectations and limits. It was also found that disruptive behavior is punished through spanking and other farms of physical punishment. It was recommended that pre-primary school teachers need a thorough understanding of children and their behavior characteristics. That they also need to learn developmentally appropriate discipline strategies in handling children in early childhood.