School Rules: How It Affects the Behavior of Students in

La Consolacion University Philippines

A Research Paper Presented to

Ms. Jovihlee Aubrey Manahan

Practical Research 1 Teacher

La Consolacion University Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For Practical Research 1 Subject

Dela Cruz, Mary Anthonette

Pascua, Lawrence Calderon
Estrella, Myla Joy
Marcial, Janelle
Roque, Kobe

JANUARY 2020
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...….3

Review of Literature……………………………………………………...……....5

Theoretical framework……………………………………………………….…....9

Social Control Theory ………………………………………….....9

Skinnerian model …..........................……………………….......10

William Glasser's Choice Therapy or Control Theory…………………….....10

Conceptual Framework…………..……………………………………………....13

Statement of the Problem……………………………………………………..….14

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 INTRODUCTION

Students are the stakeholders and the most essential resources in education. It is necessary

to direct and teach students to show an acceptable attitude and behavior within and outside the

school (Ndeto, 2015). In order to achieve a nonaggressive and organized school environment,

rules and regulations are implied to guide each student, as well as the teachers and staff, of the

educational institution. (Fekadu, 2019)

As to what (Dobson, 2006) have said, given the following roles of school discipline

mentioned beforehand, it is very clear that guiding the students into the right paths is the most

important role of the school. It serves as an agent of socialization, where students can be taught

with good moral among other things that will produce mentally and psychologically well-

mannered students for a better society.

Student’s discipline is the most essential value a school has to offer to the students

(McGregory, 2006). Without learning and following rules in school can affect the students

career in the future (Chauhan, 2019). That is why strict disciplinary measures are used by school

authorities to control the students and make them adhere to the various rules and regulations of

the school. (Urieh, 2008)

In Addition, school rules highly influences the students’ academic performance. In the

study administered by Urieh (2008), she cited that school authorities said that school discipline

has a formidable impact on the students’ academic performance. It guides the students to have

their self-discipline resulting in a more responsible and prepared students.

Being students of La Consolacion University Philippines we all know how strict they are

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when it comes on implementing school rules especially when it comes to school uniform,

appearance, proper manner and behavior. Violating one rule has a serious punishment that is why

Student Development Service (SDS) ensures that every student acts with discipline and the

school is under control.

Every Augustinian's discipline is observed, rules are not only for the school but to

improve one self. They inspect cleanliness, monitor absences of every student. They are really

working for their mission and vision. This is how La Consolacion University Philippines set

standard rules. Some students came from public schools that is why they had a hard time to

change in the environment of La Consolacion University Philippines especially in terms of how

strict the school is on the school rules but as time goes by they adopted it and they are already

aware on how they should act according to the rules set inside the school.

Achieving a quality education is one of the most important thing in a person’s life. It can

serve as the key to a wide range of opportunities in the future. It can help the society to build a

stronger foundation for the next generations. Therefore, it is of absolutely important that the

students must be able to have the values needed to succeed in life and in order to improve it, they

must learn if they were to follow a set of rules made to shape them as a good person for a better

future.

Also in studying, being an academic achiever is not enough, an intelligent person knows

how to act educated if needed. Rules are declared to set peace and order. School rules are being

implemented to practice students in a small group to maintain discipline so that they are ready to

follow country's law and become a responsible citizen. The objective of this study is to know

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how school rules influences the students manner and behavior. And lastly, the study aims to

know if school rules change the bad habits, attitude of students coming from public schools to La

Consolacion University Philippines

Related Literature

Rules are defined as a set of understandable regulations or principles controlling conduct

within a particular activity or sphere. These include what the group regards as a socially

acceptable pattern of behavior expected in every individual of the group (Harris, 2005).

Regulations, on the other hand, are orders made by the authorities with a course of law intended

to promote order and efficiency in an organization (Ndeto, 2011).

Sonn (2009) stated that a school without an effective discipline is unmanageable and

often results in unmotivated and demoralized educators which in return lead to the students’ poor

academic performance and attitude. On the other hand, when there is an effective discipline in a

school, effective teaching and learning will take place thus results to a more peaceful

environment that will lead towards a more positive academic achievement and a better attitude

among the students. (Sonn, B, 2009)

In the 2016 study, published in the International Journal of Educational Management,

‘School discipline, school uniforms and academic performance’, researchers analyzed OECD

data on classroom discipline, results that strict, high-discipline countries were the highest

performing countries academically. (The Educator, 2018)

Incidences of indiscipline have negative effects on academic performance. You will you

rarely hear that a school known for indiscipline is mentioned among the top performing schools

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when results are released. On the other hand, schools which are known to perform excellently are

also known for being some of the most disciplined schools. (Ndeto, 2013)

The maintenance of discipline in a school depends on how effective the set rules and

regulations governing are. Students should be aware of the consequences of violating these rules

and teachers should ensure that these are enforced to the letter. Determining rules and

consequences, teaching them to students and outlining the benefits of working within them, is a

critical up-front investment. If the students behavior and attitude are not guided, students may

develop their own patterns of behavior. As a wise teacher once said, if you don’t have a plan for

your students, they will have a plan for you (Sithole, 2008)

However in Urieh’s study, the respondents do not approve the strict implementation of

school rules and regulations which Grossnickle’s supports, in his conclusion he stated that

having a strict implementation of school rules and regulations, has not been enough and truly

effective in maintaining discipline and good academic performance of the students. (Ndeto,

2013)

In addition, Dr. Anna Sullivan, a senior lecturer in Education at the University of South

Australia, says that when it comes to disciplinary practices in the classroom, many of the

commonly used methods for guiding and addressing students’ misbehavior are not working.

(Ndeto, 2013)

She told that rather than having a heavy-handed approach, schools should instead focus on

relational aspects and take a more educational – rather than controlling approach – to discipline

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in the classroom. “The harsh reactions to student behavior tend to come from the taken-for-

granted notions of what is understood to be common sense,” she said. “Schools are intended to

be ‘safe’ and some people think that safety comes from close monitoring and swift responses to

restore ‘order’. Such responses are intended to demonstrate that schools are in control and can

ensure safety.”(The Educator, 2018)

On the same point of view, Iain Kilpatrick a headteacher in Sidcot School, Somerset,

Quaker school that some schools seem to take a command-and-control approach. That doesn’t sit

easily with the Schools ethos. Schools need to be structured places –School should not be a place

where chaos rules– but there has to be a space for dialogue, and dialogue can only take place

where there a sense of equality between the teacher and children.( Tickle, 2017)

On the other hand, Mafabi contradicts Urieh’s study about the students’ perception of the

strict implementation of school rules and regulations. Urieh’s respondents think of school

discipline as a hindrance to what they can do while Mafabi’s interviewees thinks that the school

rules and regulations are motivators and helpful in improving their sense of responsibility and

intellectual ability. (Ndeto, 2013)

At last, Cotton recommended using an open-minded approach by involving both the

students and the teachers in deciding about the school rules and regulations to minimize the

chance of the students doing the unwanted behavior and actions in school. (Ndeto, 2013)

In terms of religious schooling, it has a positive long-term impact on the students’

religiosity, especially in high school, if the students receive a considerable amount of classroom

instruction in religion. The beneficial effects of religious practice on education are transmitted to

the individual student through various pathways within the family of origin and through peers,

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the church community, and the extended community. For at-risk youth, religious practice reduces

socially deviant behavior( Freeman, 2010) Regular religious attendance increases the

internalization of traditional values and norms, strengthens a sense of internal locus of control

and discipline, and increases adolescents’ expectations of higher educational achievement for

themselves.

Graham, Cohilic, Groen (2012) showed how faith-based schools are a usual subject of

controversy, with numerous debates about public funding (in some provinces) and about their

ability to inform Canadian citizenship in the context of a multicultural society. They concluded

that faith-based schools are adequate to educate students as tolerant and respectful citizens.

(Arino, Teinturier, 2019)

Theoretical Framework

Social Control Theory

Social Control theory was developed by Travis Hirschi (1969). According to Travis Hirschi

(1969), people follow rules and regulations because of ‘social bond’. Social bond, according to

him, is a sense of belonging or social ties that makes one comply to the rules and regulations,

Moreover, a deficit in social bonds results in the liberation from rules and regulations, while

tightly bound individuals hold their aberrant behavior at bay (Hirsch, 1969). Rules and

regulations may connote different meanings for different people. Some people may perceive

rules and regulation as infringement on their freedom while others may see them as liberating.

However, they may perceive school rules and regulations aim to maintain order. School rules and

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regulations represent important control mechanisms to which students conform to. According to

the theory, human beings normally respond to four social bonds to conventional society:

attachment to others, commitment to conformity, involvement in conventional activities, and

belief in the value or legitimacy of convention. These four elements of social bond may

determine how students behave in school.

Skinnerian model

The Skinnerian model is behavioral in nature. It takes its starting point from the fact that

behaviour that is rewarded tends to be repeated, while behavior that receives no rewards tends to

be eliminated. In maintaining discipline one generally rewards good behavior and punishes bad

behavior (Phillips 1998, 13). The Skinnerian model as a behavior modification paradigm derived

from the work of behavioral psychologist, BF Skinner. Skinner has been a major influence

behind the adaptation of clinical behavior techniques to classroom settings (Duke and Meckel

1980, 15). Skinner believes that consequences (in other words, what happens to the individual

after performing an act) shape an individual’s behavior. He focused his approach on

reinforcement and reward. Reinforcers are like rewards; if used in a systematic way, they

influence an individual’s behavior in a desired direction (Charles 1989, 35). Skinner made use of

terms such as operant behavior, reinforcing stimuli, schedule of reinforcement, successive

approximations, positive and negative reinforcements (Charles 1989, 36-37).

The Skinnerian model assumes that behaviour is learnt and that reinforcements contribute

towards achieving good behaviour when reinforcement procedures are used to shape a learners

behaviour in a desired direction. Educators reward desired behaviour with praise and enjoyable

prizes; they punish undesirable behaviour by withholding all rewards. It is vital that educators

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who utilise behaviour modification consider their own behaviour and how it may be used to

reinforce good behaviour in the classroom environment.

William Glasser's Choice Therapy or Control Theory

Beginning in the 1960s, William Glasser created a series of programs for schools

incorporating features from his Reality Therapy (Glasser, 1992a). Glasser designed Reality

Therapy, and all of his school practices, around a traditional cause-effect theory that he once

called Control Theory, but now calls Choice Therapy, that attempts to explain both psychological

and physiological behavior. He said a person chooses all of his or her behaviors to satisfy a fixed

number of inherited “needs” that all people have in common. The number of the alleged needs

identified by Glasser varied from two in 1965, to a current number of five. They are: love, power,

freedom, fun, and survival (Glasser, 1993). The author explained these needs are built into one's

genetic structure, and from birth, one must devote all behavior to attempt to satisfy them. Glasser

further stated, "Quality is anything we experience that is consistently satisfying to one or more of

these basic needs".

Glasser’s (1992b) belief of behavior leads to a natural conclusion: If a student disrupts in

school, the environment of the school is the cause. The adults in the school need to create an

environment that meets all of the student’s needs; then the student will not disrupt. In his book

The Quality School, Glasser stated, Schools should take the time needed for all committed staff

to learn, in depth, what a Quality School actually is and to begin to put into practice the three

main elements of such a school. These are:

(1) Persuading all students to think about what is quality schoolwork and what is quality in their

lives. With this awareness, they will develop a sense of how important it is to make quality a part

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of all they do.

(2) Persuading all students to evaluate the quality of all they do in school.

(3) Managing both students and teachers without the use of any coercion; in QualitySchool

terms, converting completely from boss-managing to lead-managing.

Glasser (1992b) conveyed that unless the school is led by its principal and can make

substantial start toward accomplishing the three key elements, there is little chance it will become

a Quality School. Teachers must arrange the environment of the school in general, and the

classrooms in particular, so that the environment meets the needs of all students simultaneously.

If they do that, then discipline problems will disappear. Throughout his book, The Quality

School, Glasser repeated, “Like boss-managers, lead-managers have the goal of getting their

workers to work hard; but to do this, they continually keep the needs of the workers in mind.” A

recent program developed by Harry K. Wong, a former high school science teacher in Menlo

Park, California, not only addresses school discipline; it also focuses on classroom strategies,

consistent routines, and day-to-day management.

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 Conceptual Framework

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 2

The conceptual framework for this research focuses on how school rules influences every

students behavior inside the school premises. On figure 1 it indicates that if the school is stricter

in implementing rules they more likely to have the most disciplined students and shows that

stricter school have less conflicts and problems due to student’s attitude and actions. On the other

hand not all the students follow strict rules some are rebelling because they feel suffocated and

they want freedom or they are having a hard time to adjust in new environment, this mostly

happens to those who are public completer transferred to a private school. In Figure 2 it shows

that when schools are not strict in implementing school rules and it is being ignored, it results in

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unmotivated and demoralized educators which in return lead to the students’ poor academic

performance and attitude, with this the school might end up in chaos because the student are not

disciplined and not guided. This might affect the student’s career in the future if their behavior,

manner and attitude are not directed into the right path.

Statement of the Problem

The overall aim of the study is to know how school rules affect the behavior of the students.

Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions:

1. How does the strict implementation of school rules and regulations affect the students

with bad attitudes?

2. What is the attitude of students towards the rules and regulations?

3. Do Catholic Schools like La Consolacion University Philippines change the way

students act on religious places with their rules?

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