Early Acculturation and Value Re-Orientation in the Imo State School System: A Case Against Deviance and Moral Decay

Abstract

The study adopted a case study descriptive design to investigate the remote causes of the prevalent deviant behaviours among the youth of nowadays with focus on the secondary school students in Imo State. It is assumed that the family and school socialization/acculturation have suffered severe collapse. Hence, the impulse to investigate the value system as emphasized in the Imo State Schools. The population for study is 200 respondents sampled randomly across the rural, semi-urban and urban areas of the state with focus on students of secondary schools, parents and teachers. Data collection was by questionnaire. A Value Emphasis Questionnaire (VEQ) was formulated and structured to find out the causes of students deviant behaviour, the prevalent antisocial conducts, as well as the perceptions of parents and teachers on value re-orientation in the school system. The questionnaire was structured using four-likert scale of VHE, HE, LE and VLE of points graded for 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively. Data were collected and analyzed using Mean Rating Statistics at 2.5 value benchmark. From the results, it was deduced that moral values are poorly emphasized in the present day school system, that deviant behaviours are high among the school children of nowadays; and that parents and teachers advocate for inclusive and value-emphasized education in the state. The researchers also made some recommendations.