Managing self-morality of public secondary school pupils to mitigate learner bullying

Abstract

This paper evaluates the persistence of the wide spread learner immorality and bullying against their teachers, as experienced in South African  public schooling. The paper is both conceptual and empirical in nature within the qualitative research paradigm. The question guiding this paper is: to what extent can self-morality by pupils assist in mitigating their learner-bullying inclination? Interviewing technique and document analysis, were used to generate data. Out of the population of 9 secondary schools in one of the circuits in Sekhukhune district, in Limpopo Province, 3 were conveniently sampled. Those were the secondary schools that have very recently faced learner immorality and bullying. In each of the 3 sampled secondary school, the School Governing Body Chairperson, a School Principal and a Representative Council of Learners’ Secretary became research
participants. The total number of research participants amounted to 9. Findings revealed that firstly, schools need to quit glorifying immoral learner behaviour. Secondly, selfmorality could be an intervention to improve a learner’s grades. Thirdly, self-morality could enable learners to quit drifting along aimlessly to school. Fourthly, self-morality could curb deteriorating educational standards by learners. Fifthly, self-morality could turn a classroom from a war zone to a blessing field. Lastly, self-morality could curb classrooms that breed violent pupils due to inferiority complex. The researcher concludes that the society’s national morality bar ought not be lowered any further through condoning and approving of any form of learner immorality and bullying. Furthermore, current secondary school learners deserve to regain their moral compass, to guide their schooling future.

Keywords: Deteriorating, Intervention, Mitigate, Morality, Unethical