Topic: Discipline Problems Encountered by the Private School Teachers

with Their Learners during Virtual Classes

Background of the Study

Discipline is one of the most important parts of education, thus
new generation knows, and learns their responsibilities; their bounds
for social peace, where and how to behave with their own free will.
Schools should always revise, renew and educate themselves because
discipline is a process to be always continued due to security reasons
and educational objectives (Garman and Walker, 2010). Discipline
states all kinds of measures providing a common unity to live in
safety (Sarıtaş, 2003). It is necessary to show consistent and
decisive behaviors in order to prevent negative. The aim of discipline
is not to force students to obey the rules imprudently but to help
them control themselves, and gain them educatory, regular, proper
behaviors, and perfection to bring them up. Necessary freedom should
be acknowledged individuals to gain their own identity and make them
responsible enough to behave appropriately (Gomez, 2002). An adoring
supervision environment should be provided for individuals to be able
to find the true path, and learn social rules. We should not forget
that successful discipline’s main aim is to reinforce positive
behaviors and prevent possible undisciplined behaviors before they
emerge.
Teacher is one of the most important factors in discipline. That
is why teachers should pay attention to students’ psychological and
physical health in classroom discipline (Aydın, 2006). School
management, family, environment and each individual in society should
be aware of the importance level of discipline separately and
completely so they can help teachers perform their duties successfully
(Brown, 2006).
The task of managing learner’s discipline in the community and
elsewhere in country, is one of the teachers’ primary responsibilities
during the school day. Each teacher’s goal is to instill discipline in
everything that students do during school hours to make sure that
school operations are conducted uninterrupted and all students have
adequate opportunities to education (Darlow, 2008). Of course, this
includes students who manifest commonplace behavior, learning, and
emotional problems (Center for Mental Health in Schools, 2008). This
view of discipline is based on the common belief that human beings
require some guidelines that direct the conduct and performance of
students’ everyday duties. Parents, teachers, school managers and
other stakeholders in our country believe that learner’s discipline is
an important ingredient in academic success and see punishment as part
of the disciplinary strategies employed by schools (Santos, 2009).
Elsewhere, stakeholders claim that this reasoning is based on common
sense (Darlow, 2008). Stakeholders have argued that discipline
provides an environment conducive to teaching and learning; and both
teaching and learning are enhanced enormously if the behavior of
learners in schools does not in any way disrupt the normal teaching
and learning process (Darlow, 2008). Stakeholders also believe that
creating a positive learning environment by developing an incentive-
based system that rewards good conduct and encourages self-discipline
will go a long way towards lessening the need for disciplinary
measures (Stanley, 2014). However, when a learner misbehaves or is
guilty of misconduct, punitive disciplinary steps should be taken
(Bear, 2008). Equally, parents and teachers know that lack of
discipline seriously impacts on learners’ access to educational
opportunities because academic success comes, almost with certainty,
when focused attention on what students learn is uninterrupted. Thus,
disruptions of any kind seriously impact learners’ access to
educational opportunities (Fields, 2000). According to this logic, the
fewer the disruptions, the better chance there is for students to
excel in what they learn in schools. This reasoning implies the need
for a code of conduct clearly established at each school (Bear, 2008).
While discipline is generally recognized by parents and teachers as an
essential ingredient for school success, few studies have examined why
learners’ discipline could become a predictor of academic success or
an important factor in overall long-term success in adult life. Recent
studies in most of the schools have shown that when discipline breaks
down in school, the safety of teachers and students is jeopardized,
turning the school environment into a dangerous place to teach or
learn (Duran, 2017). Despite the government’s commitment to providing
resources, improving school conditions, and minimizing school strikes,
cases of students’ lack of discipline in both private and public
schools continue to be a major problem in learning institutions. Duran
study revealed that, typically, discipline-related problems manifest
themselves in various ways; over time, such problems can spin out of
control and take different forms of unruly behaviors. These problems
not only affect students’ academic performance in schools but also
scare other students who aspire to pursue studying online or virtual
class. Therefore, it is difficult to envision how teaching and
learning can take place in such chaotic conditions.
According to some recent research findings, there are
disciplinary problems related with classroom management in almost all
levels in the Philippines arises even during typical classroom set-up
or face to face scenarios. Recently, the Department of Education
allows conducting Virtual classes since learners are prohibited to do
social contact and required to stay at home due to arising pandemic
that may harms anyone because of the threatening deadly virus that
affects most of the places in the country and even worldwide. Hence,
teachers teaching in private schools encountered problems during their
class hours online, these are interrupting, speaking without
permission, not doing and submitting homework on time, wandering in
class, improper etiquette, lack of materials, subjective type of
assessing students; biases such as learners are being taught what to
answer during assessment tests; not participating in the lesson and
learners tend to easily distracted of their toys at home. Teachers are
pushed to have possible way to educate the students in spite of these
problems that are happening during virtual classes. Teachers are
struggling to have smooth functioning online classes best for the
needs of their learners that is why establishing and constant
reminding of the agreed rules among their students help.
The purpose of this research is to determine the most frequently
encountered disciplinary problems, reveal disciplinary punishment
frequency, and present the relationship between families and their
undisciplined students during virtual classes. Indeed, conducting
classes online may perhaps be a new experience for teachers, but there
is a familiar challenge they are facing and that is controlling
students. Many stakeholders say this is the new normal that teachers
and students should get used to.
Due to recent experiences of the teachers adopting new normal
classroom set-up became a turning point for them to adjust themselves
and embrace changes happened recently is what made me as a researcher
to choose this topic of interest. A researcher strongly believes that
discipline is the key that can effectively improve the learners’
behavior and possibly helps them to enhance the system of education we
had recently for continuous learning in spite of several hindrances.
This will help the administrators too to improve the system of
education they need by finding solutions to those problems and helps
the teacher improve their learners’ behavior and performance in
school. And this will help parents too to know their role for the good
of their children.