ANALYSIS OF THE STATISTICS AND ROLE OF ISLAMIC TEACHERS IN BUILDING MORAL VALUES (A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS, BAUCHI STATE)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. 1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The moral building in Islam means to learn value and follow all those moral values which Islam has focused on and to avoid all those traits which Islam determines as unpleasant. The moral system of Islam enables an individual to distinguish between right and wrong and live his life accordingly. Following the Islamic moral system determines the moral of an individual which ultimately lays the foundations of the moral of a society. Moral building or moral development is one of the most vital aspects of Islamic education. In order to achieve this fundamental goal, Islamic schools are established all over the world. These schools focus and strive to shape the lives of their students in the light of the teachings of Islam and make them good and responsible citizens. The moral system of Islam has a close bond with the practical life of a human and it has got far reaching effects on the social moral of a society. Islam has urged a great extent on basic rights of all human beings which other humans are bound to respect and observe in all circumstances. In order to ensure the fulfilment of these basic rights Islam has devised a complete moral system. The well being of human moral is directly related to various human physical and spiritual characteristics and a human being is required to be sound in these both aspects. The human moral building in perspective of Islamic Jurisprudence is to reform his belief, mind set-up, thoughts and actions. It also aims to enhance his sense of responsibility, devotion to his work, compliance, good application and reassurance. The progress and prosperity of any society depends upon true faith and good moral. The Nigerian system of education emphasises on producing citizens that are good, comprehensive and integrated in terms of physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual. Elements of conduct, morals and values are important elements in ensuring that the National Education Philosophy is achieved. One of the important aspects evident in the National Education Philosophy is the formation of human with morally conduct. Hence, development of moral values in the students is very important because it is the internalized values that will determine the kind of human you want. Therefore, education and internalization of moral values cannot be separated. It can be claimed that education will be meaningless and imperfect without the internalization of moral values (Kasa et al., 2008; Kasa et al., 2010). It is these values that shape the way an individual should behave, think and act; and this indirectly designs the culture and norms of a society (Ismail et al., 2011). It cannot be denied that education is needed in a present developed society. According to (Kasa et al., 2010) the criteria for education that involves knowledge and understanding is a cognitive perspective that is constantly evolving over time. Education is the key for the country to produce capable human resources to fill the needs of national development. The role of education is no longer confined to national unity and human energy production only, but also focuses on the formation of human personality in line with human development. The education system is also implemented in schools to create a brilliant and knowledgeable generation. This is because the dignity of the nation depends on the possession, development and widespread use of knowledge. In recent years, demoralization problems among the students often become headlines in the newspapers or in the community in this country. Social problems involving youths with loitering culture, drug abuse, theft, illegal sex and behaviour that is contrary to the norms of society are exposed every day through the electronic media. Various efforts have been undertaken by various parties to help alleviate the problem of youth but these efforts have yet to bear fruit, instead the problems have become more rampant. Several past studies have found that there is lack of moral values inculcated by teachers in the classroom (Ismail et al., 2011) which will lead to a lack of understanding and appreciation of moral values among students. Suhid et al. (2001) stated that lecturers or teachers are the most important factors influencing the perception and understanding of morality in the students. This condition may exist because teachers are the persons who regularly interact with the students. According to Othman et al. (2013) there exist many symptoms of anti-social, delinquency, crime and gangsterism in schools today. Therefore, the responsibility and the role of teachers should be reviewed as to what extent are its borders. This phenomenon of misconduct stems from several significant shortcomings in the current education system in the country, especially in terms of curriculum implemented. This needs to be taken seriously in order to improve the quality and performance of education toward a society that is united, disciplined and trained as envisaged by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. If this situation is allowed to continue, progress and prosperity of society and the country will be affected where the continuation of life and the future of the nation and the country will also be threatened. In the advent of realizing the vision 2020, it is unfortunate, that our beloved country is still plagued by social problems affecting adolescents and youth, including school students. The question that may arise in the minds of Nigerians today is how a country can achieve the desired progress if the issue of adolescent and youth involvement in social issues is still perceived to be a hindrance to the progress. In fact, social problems among adolescents and youth may be contained and risk factors inherent in youth and environment can be controlled if proper methods and techniques are used. Recognizing this, the researcher plans to review the appropriate techniques in developing moral values among school students.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

 There is no doubt that moral degeneration and character laxity especially among the Muslim students have become the bane of the contemporary Nigerian society. These problems have eaten deep into the fabric of all aspects of our national life, social, political, cultural or economic. The anti-social behaviours which are the manifestation of this moral and character decay have been worrisome to successive governments in power as to elicit incessant calls on religious groups to intensify efforts in their missionary activities to combat this menace. However, placing these efforts (particularly that of Islamic education which is the researcher’s focus of study) against the rate of crime in the country is smack of contradictions. These contradictions have now provoked some fundamental inquiry to: Whether Islamic Education as focal of teaching and learning is still playing these roles effectively? Whether the approach of the Islamic education teachers to teaching and counselling could no longer meet the contemporary reality of the moral and character degeneration in the society? Whether, in view of the above, one could be tempted to assume that the Islamic education teacher have failed in his primary duties of safe-guarding his students, and by extension, the nation against the scourge of moral and character bankruptcy? All these burning issues are the basic problems which this research work intends to address. Furthermore, Islamic education is mainly aims at balance growth personality of an individual morally, linguistically, socially, religiously and helps a man toward the attainment of goals. Islamic education aims primarily to sharpen the life of a man to be able to differentiate between what is right and the wrong. These are the issues this research work will critically look upon.

1.3 AIMS OF THE STUDY

The major purpose of this study is to examine the analysis of the statistics and role of Islamic teachers in building moral values. Other general objectives of the study are

1. To examine Islamic teachers’ beliefs about their roles in inculcating moral values.
2. To examine the level of teaching Muslim youths Islamic manners and etiquette in relation to themselves and others.
3. To examine the effect of Islamic teachers not teaching good moral values in schools.
4. To examine the role of Islamic teachers in building good moral values among Muslim youths
5. To examine teachers’ techniques in developing moral values in the students.
6. To recommend ways Islamic teachers can improve on promoting morality among the Muslim Youths.
   1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. How are the Islamic teachers’ beliefs about their roles in inculcating moral values?
2. What is the level of teaching Muslim youths Islamic manners and etiquette in relation to themselves and others?
3. How is the effect of Islamic teachers not teaching good moral values in schools?
4. What are the roles of Islamic teachers in building good moral values among Muslim youths?
5. What are the teachers’ techniques in developing moral values in the students?
6. What are the ways Islamic teachers can improve on promoting morality among the Muslim Youths?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0: There is no role of the Islamic teachers in building good moral values among Muslim Youths.

 H1: There is a significant role of the Islamic teachers in building good moral values among Muslim Youths.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is significant at two levels: theory and practice. At the level of theory, this is an addition to the extent literature on education and suggestion on how to solve Moral problems. At the level of practice, it is hoped that the suggestions made in this work will help education policy makers, curriculum planners, Islamic teachers and Muslim Youths to make necessary adjustments that will turn the future of Islamic Religion. Teachers, parents or guardians, students (Muslim Youths) alike will benefit from it as this concerns religious studies and its contribution in promoting good moral values among the youths. It will also determine the role of Islamic teachers on the Moral upbringing of the Muslim youth.

1.7    SCOPE OF THE STUDY 

The study is based on the analysis of the statistics and role of Islamic teachers in building moral values (A Case Study of Selected Secondary Schools, Bauchi State)

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Islam: The act of surrendering to God by spreading the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah.

Teacher: Defining a teacher is easy but to elaborate what a teacher means could be daunting because a teacher is a complex person in one body with diverse roles that makes it more complicated. A teacher is someone who imparts knowledge. But setting aside that definition of a teacher, a teacher is a person of different responsibilities and jobs blended into one. One could not be a teacher without being able to handle a lot of responsibilities and a flexible personality to adapt to different situations. A teacher needs to have all the positive traits available; patient, kind, loving, caring, honest, real, down to earth, friendly, calm, alert, smart, etc., because she has a lot of responsibilities to take care of and must be able to adapt to different personalities and situations around her/his. As an educator a teacher imparts knowledge to people. She/he teaches them to read and write. She explains how problems are solved and explains the lesson to the students.

Moral decadence: It is connected with the principles or standards of good behaviour of what is right and wrong, and with the difference between good and evil.

Character: the particular combination of qualities that makes someone a particular kind of person. It also means a combination of qualities such as good virtues that are admired and regarded as valuable.

Building: It entails the gradual growth of something, so that it becomes bigger or more advanced

Curriculum: Curriculum is defined as all the desirable learning experiences: cognitive, psychomotor and affective, planned for the learners under the direction of the school to achieve educational goals and procedures, strategies, and materials employed for effective reconstruction of such experience.

Islamic studies: Islamic studies can be defined as the totality of learning experiences, which centre on the relationship between man and his creator and between man and his fellow men.

Muslim youths: Muslim youths can be defined as a group of Muslims who are so young especially the time before one become an adult and born in the religion of Islam