Distribution of immorality in attitudes of students towards school misbehaviour

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of immorality in attitudes of students towards school misbehaviour (codes of behaviour at school) and whether the intensity of agreement with school misbehaviour is relative to student age. The research was conducted on the territory of Serbia and included 11 primary schools, 12 secondary schools and 2 faculties. The sample consisted of 1847 students (the gender was almost evenly distributed), who were administered the School Misbehaviour Scale. The scale showed a high reliability. We examined the following misbehaviours at school: attitudes towards exam cheating, truancy, answer whispering, falsifying school documents, rationalising violence towards teachers, bribery and corruption, school nepotism and general attitudes towards misbehaviour. The results showed that a great number of students agreed with school misbehaviour; exam cheating and answer whispering are the most common misbehaviours agreed with by students. Significant age differences in the agreement with school misbehaviour were established; the development line of approval of school misbehaviour is fairly equal for all types of school misbehaviour and shows that fourth grade students in primary school least approve of school misbehaviour, followed by sixth grade students. Seventh grade figures as the period when agreement with almost all types of school misbehaviour starts to increase. This is an upward and continuous trend during the eighth grade, as well as in the first and second grade of secondary school. In the third grade, agreement with misbehaviour starts to decrease and this trend continues through the fourth grade of secondary school and at the faculty.

Keywords

• school misbehaviour
• immorality
• school age
• scale of attitudes