The effects of secondary school teacher-student sexual relationship on the student academic performance in Tanzania, Dodoma municipal
The study used cross section research design and questionnaire to collect data in order to get the required information concerning the study. It was found that sexual advances began in school offices, classes, premises and tuition centers.
The teacher power, student need for favour, female student beauty and teacher’s lust (an emotion or feelings of intense desire in the body) were found to be the main reasons for male teacher approaching a female student. It was further found that most female student did not report the vice and also it was found that both mainstream school and private teachers approached their female students.
This study also found that there are very few problems of female teachers and male student to have sexual relationship in secondary school but this problem occurred mostly between male teachers and female students.
The study concluded that secondary schools are not places of engaging both students and teachers into sexual relationship rather than studying, learning for students and teachers should provide education to student. The study provides a good student-teacher relationship among them and others so as to improve the provision of education to students and to improve students’ performance in secondary schools found in Dodoma municipal.
Keywords: Sexual relationship, mainstream school teachers, students (both female and male), teachers (male and female) and private teachers.
BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM
The world over there has reports on student-teacher sexual relationship. Kinyaduka and kiwara (2013) conducted a study on status of sexual relationship between student-teacher in Tanzania. It was found that about sixty percent of female students were approached by their male teachers and that the major perceived effect of this relationship was poor academic performance of female student. The study suggested that there is a need of Ministry of Education and training to develop a student teacher relationship policy among them.
The Indian University (2007) has a policy requires faculty members not to have sexual relationship with their students, particularly those whom they teach or supervise. The policy assumes that asymmetrical sexual relationship is subject to resulting in conflict of interest. In a study by shakes haft (2013) who studied warning signs of an educator who is a sexual abuser; it was found that usually culprits are teachers who are liked by their colleagues, parents, students and administrators because they are trusted thus using such trustworthiness to sexually abuse learners, normally through befriending themselves to children and parents.
The policies should clearly state the consequences and show zero tolerance to offenders this can stop educator sexual abuse. In a study by Frketic and Easteal (2010) on public perception of teachers’ sexual misconduct, it has found that the public had the view that female student and male teacher sexual misconduct has serious impact to female student than that of female teacher-male student. The study establishes that this view is due to sex myths.
The (2008) reports that 30 percent of university teachers who had sexual relationship with their students avoided conflict of interest whereas 70 percent did not. Let Mat (2013) conducted a study which had the purpose of identifying the effects and ways to prevent sexual violence in schools. It was found that the effects were: unwanted pregnancies; dropping out from school; developing low self-esteem; contracting diseases and poor national wide economic growth. Through the use of sexual offenders such as Tanzanian Women judges Association (TAWJA) will help to provide education concerning sexual relationship to students (female students).
OBJECTIVES
- To identify the causes and effects of teacher-students sexual relationship at schools
- To find out the solution of teacher-student sexual relationship at schools
LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature review refers to the reading and passing through the ideas of different authors on a certain issues. It is an intensive description of different ideas from different writers of books, journals, bulletins and any written documents stressing on a particular issues such as environmental issues, diseases, education matters and many as important matters. It is a summarization and analysis of one’s ideas on a particular topic or topics (Pianta, R. C, et al, 2003). It is a critical description of the literature relevant to a particular research. Literature review concerns the reading and analysis of information locally and internationally.
In this study under the topic of the effects of the female student-teacher sexual relationship in academic performance, literature review aims to provide the reasons of female student-teacher sexual relationships in schools, provide or list out the effects of this relationships to student academic performances and show the possible solution to the problems of such relationships so as to improve and ensure the students’ academic performances.
The student-teacher sexual relationships have been explained differently by different scholars and authors explained as follows: Ladd, G. W., & Burgess, K. B. (2001), Crosnoe, R., Johnson, M. K., & Elder, G. H. (2004), Murray, C., & Greenberg, M. T. (2000), Zeller, J. J., & Pianta, R. C. (2004), Skinner, E. A., & Belmont, M. J. (1993), explains the student teacher sexual relationship as so challenging issues (serious issue) in academic performances of students world widely. Some of explained reasons are the poor family life that force students to engage in sexual relationships with teachers so as to get different helps, other reasons are lack of enough adolescence education, immoral values of teachers, sexual harassment of teachers to students, students misbehaviour who want titled or being proud of sexing with teachers, bad cultural practices (Ladd, G et al, 2001).
The problem was researched in different areas of the world like in America, Africa, Europe, Asia and China and discovered the above reasons. Many authors and researchers suggested different measures towards solving the problem of student-teacher sexual relationship as follows; provision of effective adolescence education, punishing misbehaving teachers and students according to the law and code of conducts, providing security education environment to students, involving the community in controlling and managing the student and teachers behaviours and respecting and adhering to principles of academic facilitation (effective teaching and learning).
KNOWLEDGE GAP
The previous researchers mainly investigated on the reasons that were present at time and ignored the effects of globalizations on academic performances. Currently different researches further shows that the problem is associated with the development of science and technology in communication systems especially through social networks like face book, twitter, what’s App and Instagram all those as a result of globalization.
Generally student- teacher sexual relationship was and is a major challenge and problem that lead to poor and failure of students in academic performances in all levels of education but especially in secondary education( O-level and Advanced level). In this way there should be careful, effective and facilitating measures and solutions towards the problems. In order to facilitate this, the further researches will help in the formulation of appropriate measures towards the misconduct teachers and misbehaving students.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research approaches;
The study on the impacts of female students-teachers sexual relationship towards academic achievement aims at finding out the causes, effects and the responses of the students, teachers as well as heads of schools policy implementation on removing this problem in secondary schools in order to the desired effectiveness on education achievement. Hence the study involved interaction of respondents of different levels however in this discourse qualitative approach had been used to collect data in the field.
Qualitative research approach employs the use of systematic procedures to discover non quantifiable relationship between the existing variables (Best and Kahn 1993). More over qualitative research was used because it seeks to describe and analyse the culture and behaviour of human being and their groups of those studied in their natural setting such as classroom.
Research context and justification:
The study was conducted in secondary schools in Dodoma municipal in Dodoma region-Tanzania mainland. The underlying reasons of conducting this study at this area is that the municipal of Dodoma has all kinds of schools both the Government and private secondary schools as well as community and religious based schools to carter for comparison of the variables found. More over basing on schools selection, the public secondary schools were more concerned in comparison to private schools.
Research methods;
The study used closed and open ended questionnaire. Questionnaire was the only method of data collection used in this study. Basing on Best and Kahn (1993), a questionnaire is used when factual information is desired. Also the availability of a large number of respondents in one place make possible an economy of time and expense and provides high proportion of usable response. In this sense, this method was employed because the nature of this issue under the study. It is generally believed to be a taboo to talk about sexual matter. Therefore other methods of data collection such as interview would reduce sincerity of respondents in providing required information’s
Sampling unit;
Wellington (2000) defines sample as a small part of anything which is intended to stand for or represent the whole. The study adopted the survey research design. The design was chosen because it enable the researchers to collect enough data within short time. The study involved three secondary schools in Dodoma municipal which were selected randomly. According to Kothari (2004), simple random sampling is preferred because each one has an equal chance of being selected in the sample. The sample size of the study were 14 respondents from form IV female student respondents were selected using convenience sampling while 8 Female teachers were involved. The groups were selected because it was assumed that they had enough information on the issue under study.
PRESENTATION OF THE FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
We conducted our research on the topic the effects of secondary school teacher-student sexual relationship on the student academic performance in Tanzania, Dodoma municipal. On this topic we researched various Secondary schools for both students and teachers are at Makuru, Viwandani and Ntyuka secondary school. We found various reasons why there are female students-teacher relationship. The main reasons are as follows;
1. Poverty
In this case most of students and teachers explain their view on the topic and come out with this reason that most of students becomes easily convinced to engage in love affairs with their teachers due to their life hardship student needs for favour and find out that to be with a teacher can be a solution of solving a particular problem, teacher power student beauty age and teachers lust. These were found the main reason for male teacher and female student to engage in sexual relationship
2. Proud
Other students and teachers fail to provide their view in this topic that some students decide to engage in love affairs with their teachers for prestige reasons. For those students to be with teachers in sexual relationship is a pride for them
3. Ignorance
On the other side both students and teachers provide their views. On this topic that some students engage in love affairs because of their ignorance on failing to analyse their future goals.
All these result to following impacts
1. Poor performance
Most of female students who engage themselves in love always perform poorly in academic because they tend to concentrate in love affairs rather than academic issues.
2. Moral deterioration
In school especially to teacher who involves themselves with students’ relations. Generally, these teachers become disrespected by their students that causes moral decay in school and society at large.
3. Drop out from the school
Most of students fails to complete schools because of some reasons such as pregnancy and suspension that led to most of the students to fail to archive their goals.
SUMMARY AND IMPLICATION OF THE FINDINGS
These findings from the topic is implacable in current situations to both students and teachers where by students can easily identify how worse is the results of relation with students on their future goals. Not only that but also teachers can also identify how bad results can face them after engaging in relationship with students. For instance being respected by the students also to be dismissed from the job and being jailed all these can be the results of a teachers who develops sexual relationship with the students.
REFERENCES
Best, J.W and Kahn J.V, (1993).Research in Education: Seventh Edition: Boston. Allyn and Bacon
Crosnoe, R., Johnson, M. K., & Elder, G. H. (2004). Inter generational bonding in school: the behavioral and contextual correlates of student–teacher relationships. Sociology of Education, 77, 60–81.
Frketic K, Easteal, P.L (2010). Public perception of Teachers’ sexual
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/401935.article
Pianta, R., Kinzie, M., Justice, L., Pullen, P., Fan, X., & Lloyd, J. (2003). Effectiveness of Early Childhood Program, Curricula, and Interventions. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Wellington, (2002). Educational Research: Contemporary Issues and Practical Approaches. London Continuum
Ladd, G. W.& Burgess, K. B. (2001). Do relational risks and protective factors moderate the linkages between child- hood aggression and early psychological and school adjustment? Child Development, 72, 1579–1601.
Roeser, R. W., & Galloway, M. K. (2002). Studying motivation to learn during early adolescence: A holistic perspective. In F. Pajares & T. Urban (Eds.), Academic motivation of adolescents (pp. 331–372). Greenwich, CT: LAP Information Age Publishing.
Shakeshaft C. (2013). Know the warning signs of Education: TAWJA (n.d). Case Law Manual
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