Teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of causes of drug abuse and their effects on academic performance

Author

Karadzandima, Peace

Title

Teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of causes of drug abuse and their effects on academic performance

Abstract

This qualitative study researched the perceptions of causes of drug abuse among learners at Chimanda Government Secondary School. The population of the study consisted 400 learners and 20 teachers and the researcher targeted on all teachers and all the O level learners at Chimanda Government Secondary School. A total of 82 secondary school learners were randomly selected and 18 teachers were asked to complete the questionnaires used for the research. After collecting and analyzing data, the main findings emerged. The findings from this research indicated that teachers and learners believed that learners abused drug to be appreciated by friends, to increase academic performance, because they had money, and to be like teachers/parents who take drugs. Also, the findings indicated that the most common causes for drug abuse were marijuana (and cigarettes), and alcohol (and spirits). The findings also showed that the attitudes of parents of learners at Chimanda Government Secondary School were positive and they made efforts to educate their children about the dangers of drug abuse. Apart from that, teachers and learners in the study believed that drug abuse leads to loss of concentration in class, indiscipline, violent behavior, absenteeism and school dropouts, Further more teachers and learners who participated in the study believed that the strategies that could be used to mitigate against drug abuse were educating learners about drug abuse, counselling, and medical habilitation.

Date

September 2022

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Drug abuse

Academic performance

Teachers and learners

Indiscipline

Supervisor

Dr. Y. Mudavanhu