CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
    Cases of violence and behavioural problems in primary schools in Nigeria have attracted much concern from the government, institutional functionaries and academic fellows in recent years. Despite the implementations of the many suggested solutions given by researchers, these problems are still on the increase in our primary schools.
    This study is an attempt to find out some of these behavioural problems and their causes. It has been suggested by parents and educational administrators that the school today is a less disciplined community than the olden days. The impression which has been created is that the teachers today commit more offences than their counterparts did in past years.
    The number, variety and magnitude of school offenses frequently reported in the country news media are such that are very serious enough to cause some concern for people who are involved in the school administration. The question is that the present deterioration in the standard of behaviour of teachers if not checked will lead the society and the future generation to disaster.
    In the words of Professor Aminu Jubril (1988), behaviour can be described as any action resulting from the expression of a particular trait. Behaviour can describe any action and it most often used in the context of altering the propensity for an action e.g. an aggressive trait can lead to aggressive behaviour.
    Also behaviour could simply refer to the actions or reactions of object or organism, usually in relations of the environment. Behaviour can be conscious or unconscious, overt or covert and voluntary or involuntary. During the launching of the War Against Indiscipline behaviour at Cocoa Board Ibadan, (1984) Chief J.A. Akinsipe the Company’s General Manager listed the following as acts of indiscipline behaviour: lateness, use of official hours for private business, malingering delay in taking actions, taking actions out of malice, wasting the smallest material in the office, dereliction of duty, pleading sectional prejudice in order to avoid disciplinary action, covering staff who indulge in acts of indiscipline because of family, social  other connections (Daily Sketch Tuesday October 16th 1984).
    Obadanjo (1987) while presenting an introductory paper on principals’ conference workshop on school behaviour referred to examination leakage, frauds and unscrupulousness on the part of teachers as acts of indiscipline. In addition to the General’s list, the headmaster listed the following offences among the common ones committed by teachers which include leaving the school compound without permission, unpunctuality, and insubordination strikes e.t.c.
    Since then there had been series of workshops and conferences and government actions to fight against this cankerworm eating deep into the nation. In 1988, the out stated Second Republic Government recognized the gravity of behavioural problems in schools among teachers throughout the whole country that a whole ministry was made to take change of the responsibility of solving these great problems of the nation.
    Also, the Daily Sketch of November 19th, 1985 published the comment of the Minister of Education Professor Aminu Jubril about behaviour in our school’s system. He said among other things that there was an urgent need to ensure that teachers are groom to be disciplined citizen. In most Nigeria Educational institutions particularly primary schools where teachers are adult, behavioural problems are so rampant; the educations have been promoted to seek ways of controlling them or eliminating them entirely. Educators should not, therefore wait for such a time when these problems will multiply but act before behavioural problems get out of hands.
    In order to correct the situation in our schools, our educational system must be well designed so as to instill in our teachers the need to be behavioural conscious, to restrain from evil things to have respect for schools authorities. Any society, which is not disciplined, cannot progress, so also a school that lacks discipline is bound to fail. This is because discipline helps to create orderliness which in turn gives room for effective teaching and learning.