DAVID LIVINGSTONE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH PROPOSAL

TOPIC: THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS DRUG ABUSE AMONG SCHOOL GOING
CHILDREN IN KAFUE DISTRICT AREA.

NAME: SITUMBEKO MALIWA

DALICE NO: 182022106

COURSE CODE:

COMBINATION: ENGLISH/ RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

LECTURE: MR SILAVWE

DUE DATE: 18/12/202

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background……………………………………………………………………………………3

1.2 Statement of the problem……………………………………………………………………...3

1.3 Significance of the study………………………………………………………………………4

1.4 Research objectives……………………………………………………………………………4

1.5 Research question……………………………………………………………………………..4

1.6 Limitations of the study ………………………………………………………………………5

1.7 Definition of terms ……………………………………………………………………………5

CHAPTER TWO:

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………………………………………………….5

CHAPTER THREE:

3.0 METHODOLOGY

Research Design……………………………….……………………………………………….….6

Population Sample……………………….………………………………………………………..6

Sample Technique………………………….…….………………………………………………..6

Research Instrument………………………….……………………………………………..……..6

Data Collection Procedure……………………………………………………………………...…6

Data analysis ……………………………………………………….……………………………..6

CHAPTER ONE

Chapter one focuses on background, statement of the problem, significance of the problem,
objective of the study, research questions, limitation of the study, acronyms and definitions of
terms.
BACK GROUND

In the society, people take drugs of one kind or another depending on the problem they are
facing. Hamiinga (2010: 74) defines drug as “any substance which alters the state of the body
and consequently affects the natural balance of the mind and emotions”. The drugs can be good
to the body if they are taken for right reason and at the right time. Besides that, they are also
good if they are prescribed by the working personnel. In other words, drugs are prescribed by
doctors are intended to cure infections and help us relax. The intake of drugs can be harmful if
they are taken without prescriptions by doctors and if they are taken by wrong people and for
wrong reasons. This means that drugs are given according to the age of a person and for specific
purposes. The excessive or wrongly in taken of drugs is termed as “drug abuse”. Drugs can be
either natural or synthetic chemicals. Natural drugs are those found in certain plants such as
cannabis while synthetic chemicals are those made by mixing chemicals such as those found in
hospitals Ibid (76).

The problem of drug abuse is commonly increasing in many parts of Zambia. This problem is
now commonly practised in many schools, basic and high schools, in particular. This means that
pupils are getting involved in this habit. Lusaka province of Zambia, Kafue area, in particular is
one of the affected areas of drug abuse. For each and every action which people take there are
always the causes as well as effects. It is in this regard that the research aims at finding out the
causes and effects of drug abuse among the school-going children in Kafue district schools. This
means that it will be carried on both girls and boys who are still schooling.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Schools which have high number of pupils who abuse drugs have been facing problems in
delivering quality of education. This has also affected the teacher -pupil relationship and the
learning process or progress of pupils in most schools. The study, therefore, seeks to find out the
causes as well as the effects of drug abuse among school-going children in the selected schools
in Kafue district.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The research will be of great importance to the people in that its findings will be useful in
dealing with the problem. In other words, the findings of the research will help stake holders
(DEBS, Parents, Community teachers and District Education Standard Officers) find the possible
solutions to the problems and it will also contribute to the public awareness on the causes as well
as effects of drug abuse among school- going children.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 To determine the causes of drug abuse among the pupils in Kafue district schools.

 To find out the effects of drug abuse among the school-going children in Kafue district
on their education.

 To investigate the commonest type of drugs that the pupils like to take.

 To find out the measures that has been taken by various stake holders to minimize drug
abuse among pupils in Kafue district schools.

RESEARCH OF QUESTIONS

1. What are the causes of drug abuse among pupils in Kafue district schools?

2. What effects does drug abuse among school-going children have on their education?

3. What kind of drugs do they mostly take?

4. What measures have different stake holders taken to minimize drug abuse among the
pupils in Kafue district schools?
LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The research will only be done in five selected schools in Kafue district, that is, Kafue day,
Naboye secondary school, Kansege primary school, Mutendere secondary and Nangogwe
Secondary school, in Kafue district area. This is due to distance in some schools, the lack of time
and financial constraints.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Abuse- is to use something excessively or wrongly.

Cannabis-is a drug made from dried leaves and flowers which is smoked or eaten and which
gives the user a feeling of being relaxed.

Drug-is any substance which alters the function or chemistry of the body and consequently
affects the natural balance of the mind and emotions.

Substance-is any material or type of matter.

CHAPTER 2

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Addiction to natural and synthetic drugs has increased in recent decades. As a result, it has
become a serious problem in social and psychological health issues and this problem has led to
an increase in the number of researches done on the prevalence of substance abuse. Therefore,
this chapter presents findings of other researchers who have done similar studies on the causes as
well as effects of drug abuse among school-going children in Zambia as well as other countries.

Hamming etal (2010:74) contends that “children mostly abuse natural drugs as well as synthetic
drugs or substances.” He goes on by stipulating that easy availability of substances, especially
the licit ones, has been the most common reason for continuation, followed by relief from stress,
and acceptability among friends. Influences of peers and close contacts with those that use
substances are usually responsible for initiating their use in others. The Post Newspaper dated
May 31, 2013 reports that, “Action for Development has expressed concern at high levels of
drug and alcohol abuse among the youths in Mansa district.” The same paper attributes to the
fact that during the survey, it was discovered that most of the bars were operating without legal
documents. When liquor licence is issued, it goes with regulations which applicant is expected to
abide by, like the issue of who can enter that particular bar and what time.

Data from Beyrami etal (2008) also substantiates that the World Health Organisation report
estimated that there were 200 million of drug addicts throughout the world. In addition, it was
reported that the highest addiction rate occurred in Iran and the highest prevalence of abuse was
observed in the age group of 15-25 who were school-going children. These reasons have been
cited even by other authors. This shows that home and neighbourhoods furnish the adolescents
with ways to procure and coi shown that the abuse of drugs by pupils may result in mental
illnesses such as Psychosis, a mental illness in which a person loses contact with reality and has
difficulty functioning in daily life. Psychotic symptoms can indicate severe mental illnesses, such
as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness).

The increase in drug abuse among pupils does not reveal that no tangible measures have been put
in place to combat this problem among school- going children in Zambia and the world at large.
Therefore, many studies have been done on whether there are preventive measures that different
stake holders have put in place in order to over the problem of substance abuse among youths
and pupils to be specific.
CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

Qualitative method will be used in the process of collecting and analysing the data.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The research will use survey type research which is qualitative.

POPULATION SAMPLE

A sample of 50 people will be selected. This means it will target 15 teachers, three from each
school, 30 pupils; six from each school. Besides this, it will also target people from other
departments; Three officials from the drug enforcement commission. Two official workers from
the district education board, The District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) and the District
Education Standard Officer (DESO).

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

The research will use a random sampling technique.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
The data collection will be done by using both questionnaires and interviews. This will be
convenient as well as time serving to make clarifications on certain questions that will not be
understood.

DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE

The research will collect data by visiting the interviewees one by one.

DATA ANALYSIS

The data will be analysed qualitatively as it involves description of the situations.