INFLUENCE OF REWARD AND PUNISHMENT TECHNIQUES ON TEACHING AND LEARNING IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ZARIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE

Abstract

The study explored the influence of reward and punishment techniques on teaching and learning
in public secondary schools in Zaria Local Government Area, Kaduna State. The study was
carried out with the objectives to: investigate the opinions of inspectors, principals and teachers
on the application of reward in public secondary schools in Zaria Local Government Area,
Kaduna State; and explore the opinions of inspectors, principals and teachers on the
application of punishment in public secondary schools in Zaria Local Government Area,
Kaduna State. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the
study comprised 32 inspectorate officials,48 principals and 1567 teachers from Zaria Local
Government Area, Kaduna State. A sample size of 6 inspectors, 10 principals and 306 teachers
were sampled, making the total of 322 respondents used in the study. The instrument titled
“Classroom Management Techniques Questionnaire (CMTQ)” was used for data collection in
the study. The reliability co-efficient of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha
statistics and a reliability coefficient of 0.87 was obtained. The data collected in the study was
analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation to
answer the research questions, while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the
hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. Findings showed that poor application of reward hampers goal
attainment among students in public secondary schools in Zaria Local Government Area,
Kaduna State and application of punishment in public secondary schools in Zaria Local
Government Area, Kaduna State was significantly different. Recommendations were made to
include that the use of reward during classroom instruction should be regulated as this may be
encouraging docility and defence to authority rather than originality and spontaneity of effort;
and application of punishment during classroom instruction should be made a temporary drive
as students always associate fear of pain with study, and it is not healthy to keep students under a
permanent state of siege.