Aberrant behaviour is a major focus of public concern and debate. It is a type of behaviour that breaks social norms and produce negative reactions and hence it is not considered normal or morally acceptable by most of the people.
The term “aberrant” means ‘deviating from the usual or natural type’. So, we can say that a single unexpected or careless unsanctioned conduct is referred to as aberrant behaviour or simply deviant behaviour. It describes irregular behaviour that differs from what is seen as typical. Aberrant behaviour includes examination malpractice, rape, bullying, stealing, truancy, lateness and sexual immorality.
Diche (2016) defined deviant behaviour as that behaviour that violates the laid down rules and regulations of a given organization or group. He went further to emphasize that deviant behaviour is a common phenomenon among students in schools which has led them to join secret cults, and other heinous crimes in school.
Characteristics of students with aberrant behaviors
- A general pervasive mood or unhappiness.
- Always temperamental and cannot reason normal.
- Are always at loggerhead with their people.
- They usually join opposition.
- They do not interact freely with other people.
- Cannot be loyal to the lawful authority.
- Their existence is a threat to people who are reasonable.
- Inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relations.
Types of Aberrant Behaviour are:
Examination Malpractice
This is unacceptable act perpetrated by the students, examiners and other agents during and after examination with intention to have undue advantage and earn unmerited grade. It could be said that Exam malpractice make students get undeserved high grade which might make the various examination bodies to cancel or mark down certain centres where such anomalies are committed. Most of the times, this action might affect all candidates who may be in that particular examination centre.
Bullying
This is an aggressive behavior i.e., behavior intended to hurt. Some students bully other students; a way of showing superiority over the younger or tender ones and some bully students in order to subdue them physically.
Lateness to school
Since there is a prescribed time for resumption of school but some students often come to school late when morning assembly is almost over and in some cases, when the teacher is already teaching in the class. This often leads to distractions in the class.
Truancy
This is simply being away from home and school during school hours. Sometimes the student in question might pretend going to school from home but this habit makes students to spend their time in inappropriate places which could lead to drug abuse and other unwanted activity in females.
Stealing
This entails taking fellow students’ or school properties. This behavior if not checked could give rise to other unwanted behaviors in a student and may affect their academic performances in schools.
Drug Abuse
This is simply indiscriminate use of drugs without doctor’s prescription or use of drugs other than their main purpose.
Sex Offences
This involves various degrees of sexual misconduct exhibited by students. This usually affects their academic performance and may lead to dropping out of school.
Absenteeism
It simply means staying away from school without any genuine reason and permission. Most students do absent themselves from school without adequate permission from the school authority even without minding whether it is the period for test or examination as the case may be.
Causes of Aberrant Behavior among School Students:
Family Background
Since a child is born and brought up in a family so family is the first place of education in the life of any child. The child is exposed to various aspects of learning before being to the formal kind of education. The home a child is brought up can influence that child in two ways i-e, the individual might be positively or negatively influenced from home and there may be the tendency for that individual to exhibit aberrant behaviors in school.
Peer Group
Peer group refers to the group an individual identifies his or herself with. Peer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values or behaviour in order to conform to that of the group norms and is thus one of the factors which have contributed in destroying our children. Many students indulge in aberrant behaviour in school because of influence of their wrong peers.
Mass Media
Children’s exposure to bad television programmes, immoral magazines as well as pornographic films and materials, make students to be involved in immoral behaviour. This has contributed to high risk level aberrant behaviours in our schools these days. So, mass media seem to have a negative impact on the character development of children than their positive impression and thus the students find it difficult to adjust to good personal, vocational, social and educational demands.
Societal factors
Societal factors are also one of the main problems predisposing students to aberrant behaviours. For example, as the society is experiencing the growth and becomes complex in nature so also do societal factors causing students’ aberrant behaviour.
Effects of Aberrant Behaviour
- Aberrant behaviour affects teaching and learning as teachers spend more time trying to control students rather than teaching them.
- It leads to poor parent-child relationship.
- Most involved students do not benefit from schooling. It affects their academic performance because, they are often into one aberrant behavior or the other losing most vital class lessons.
- Aberrant students often threaten their teachers, school authorities and even parents at home.
- It leads to destruction of school properties.
Conclusion
Aberrant behavior is a behavior or action of individual or group that are not in conformity with the acceptable standards of the society. In schools, aberrant behaviour of students is understood in relation to the existing school rules and regulations. Peer pressure and school related factors have great consequences on the academic well-being of students. It is therefore imperative for government, parents and school owners and administrators to put adequate measures in place to curb the trend of aberrant acts in our schools because of its increasing rate in our societies.
Parents and guardians should always monitor the activities of their children at all time with the aim of curbing the negative behaviour. Professional counselors should be employed both in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions of learning. Since most of the causes of aberrant act are traced to schools, home, peer influence to mention but a few, there is a need for parents and school administrators to work hand-in-hand to keep students behavior under effective check.
(Author has done B.Sc, M.Sc IT, B.Ed, M.ed from Central University of Kashmir, Ganderbal.Email:[email protected])
