Article Sidebar

Submitted
November 16, 2023
Accepted
February 6, 2024
Published
March 12, 2024
Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 47 Download : 22

Main Article Content

Abstract

Moral instruction in the Nigerian secondary school curriculum is intended to help students develop good moral behaviour. However, the prevalence of deviant and unethical behaviours among students in Nigerian secondary schools raises concerns about the effectiveness and viability of the country’s moral instruction and curriculum. While this issue may be attributed to pedagogical dynamics in Nigeria, particularly in translating the curriculum into practice, the current study argues that the application of moral theories is essential in understanding the complexities of moral instruction in Nigerian secondary schools. This approach aims to uncover the underlying reasons for the interaction between students’ moral conduct and the ethical principles taught in moral instruction. By conducting in-depth and critical data exploration, as well as drawing on Kant’s categorical imperative, the current study advocates for the incorporation of normative moral theory into the existing curriculum. This will provide students with clear ethical guidelines to help them understand how their actions will impact their own interests and those of others.

Keywords

consequentialism deontological ethics Kant’s categorical imperative Nigerian students social vices teaching of moral education consequentialism deontological ethics Kant’s categorical imperative Nigerian students social vices teaching of moral education

Article Details

License
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

TCE (INSTED) is an open access journal, which means that access to the full texts is free of charge. People using the journal may download publications, copy and print them, as well as post on their websites links to the full texts of the journal's publications. Texts can be used as long as readers do not exceed the licenses. Authors submitting manuscripts for publication obtain copyrights. Unless otherwise specified, published texts are available under the Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike 4.0 International license.

How to Cite
Agbanero, I. (2024). A Moral Normative Approach to Issues of Social Vices in Nigerian Schools. INSTED: Interdisciplinary Studies in Education & Society. https://doi.org/10.34862/tce/2024/02/25/tlag-mu
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX

References

  1. Alexander, L. (2000). Deontology at the threshold. San Diego Law Review, 37(4), 893-912.
  2. Atwell, J. E. (1986). The principle of humanity. In J. E. Atwell, Ends and principles in Kant’s moral thought (pp. 105-137). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4345-2_6
  3. Breakey, H. (2014, September 23). Why moral education should involve moral philosophy. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-moral-education-should-involve-moral-philosophy-31675
  4. Clipa, O., & Iorga, A. M. (2013). The role of school-family partnership on moral development. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 76, 197-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.04.098
  5. Cureton, A., & Hill, T. E. (2017). Kant on virtue: Seeking the ideal in human conditions. In N. E. Snow (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of virtue (pp. 263-280). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199385195.013.13
  6. Elujekwute, E. C., Danburam, I. U., Zakariah, J., & James, A. (2021). Influence of social vices on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Nigeria. Sapientia Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Development Studies, 4(3), 215-229. https://www.sgojahds.com/index.php/SGOJAHDS/article/view/266.
  7. van Esch, C., Tarr, E., & Frye III, J. (2023). ‘The Good Place’ in your classroom: Recommendations for teaching management ethics. Management Teaching Review, 8(2), 197-207. https://doi.org/10.1177/23792981211041696
  8. Ezenwafor, J. I. (n.d.). Causes of increasing moral decadence among the Igbo society of Southeast Nigeria and strategies for curbing it. Management, 256, 87-98.
  9. Gboyega, I. (2005). Cultism and violent behaviours in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Zimbabwe Journal of Education and Research, 17(1), 39-53. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/5544/Gboyega,%20I.%20%20ZJER%20%20vol.17,%20no.1.pdf;sequence=1
  10. Gustafson, A. B. (2021). Normative ethics. In D. C. Poff & A. C. Michalos (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics (pp. 1222-1234). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_1222-1
  11. Hodson, J. D., & Hodson, J. D. (1983). The ethics of respect for persons. The Ethics of Legal Coercion, 1-14.
  12. Horta, O., O’Brien, G. D., & Teran, D. (2022). The definition of consequentialism: A survey. Utilitas, 34(4), 368-385. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0953820822000164
  13. Idoko, C. (2022, April 22). Blame parents for moral decadence in Nigeria ― stakeholders. Tribune Online. https://tribuneonlineng.com/blame-parents-for-moral-decadence-in-nigeria-%E2%80%95-stakeholders/
  14. Iheoma, E. O. (1985). Moral education in Nigeria: Problems and prospects. Journal of Moral Education, 14(3), 183-193. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305724850140306
  15. Johnson, R., & Cureton, A. (2004). Kant’s moral philosophy. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/
  16. Kant, I., Schneewind, J. B., Baron, M., & Kagan, S. (2002). Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (A. W. Wood, Ed.). Yale University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1njjwt
  17. Kranak, J. (2019). Kantian deontology. In G. Matthews (Ed.), Introduction to philosophy: Ethics (pp. 53-64). Rebus Community. https://press.rebus.community/intro-to-phil-ethics/chapter/kantian-deontology/
  18. Kemp, J. (1958). Kant’s examples of the categorical imperative. The Philosophical Quarterly, 8(30), 63-71. https://doi.org/10.2307/2216857
  19. Kleingeld, P. (2017). Contradiction and Kant’s formula of universal law. Kant-Studien, 108(1), 89-115. https://doi.org/10.1515/kant-2017-0006
  20. Ladebo, O. J. (2003). Sexual harassment in academia in Nigeria: How real? African Sociological Review, 7(1), 117-130. https://doi.org/10.4314/asr.v7i1.23133
  21. McCain, R. A. (1991). Deontology, consequentialism, and rationality. Review of Social Economy, 49(2), 168–195. http://www.jstor.org/stable/29769548
  22. Mill, J. S. (2016). Utilitarianism. In Seven masterpieces of philosophy (pp. 329-375). Routledge.
  23. Mill, J. S. (1966). Utilitarianism. In: J. M. Robson (Ed.), A selection of his works (pp. 149-228). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-81780-1_2
  24. Moral Education. (n.d.). In Encyclopedia of Education. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved September 18, 2023, from https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/moral-education
  25. Njoku, N. C. (2016). Teachers’ perception on the dimensions of moral decadence among secondary school students in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(26), 187-191.
  26. Nwogu, V. C. (2016). Parenting styles and social interaction of senior secondary school students in Imo State, Nigeria. International Educational Applied Scientific Research Journal, 1(1), 23-38.
  27. Ogunsanya, M. (2015). Impact of campus secret cult organizations on university administration: a case study of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. In J. E. Ade-Ajayi & K. B. Adeyemi (Eds.), The Dilemma of Post-Colonial Universities: Elite Formation and the Restructuring of Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (pp. 63-78). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
  28. Okafor, S. O., Okoye, E. O., Onu, J. C., Kekeocha-Christopher, I. C., Obiozor, E. E., Okechukwu, B. A., & Ogbonna, A. N. (2022). Sex-for-marks scandals in South-East Nigeria institutions of higher learning, female students victim and the war against sexual harassment. Italian Sociological Review, 12(1), 87-118. https://doi.org/10.13136/isr.v12i1.520
  29. Okonkwo, C. O., Olutola A. T., & Aguh, J. C. (2023). Holistic review of ethical issues in Nigerian secondary schools. Sapientia Foundation Journal of Education, Sciences and Gender Studies, 5(1), 201-212. https://www.sfjesgs.com/index.php/SFJESGS/article/view/377
  30. Omonigho, S. (2019, November 18). Sex for grades in Nigerian universities. The Guardian. https://guardian.ng/opinion/sex-for-grades-in-nigerian-universities/
  31. Osuji, C. (2019, November 20). Sex for grades in tertiary institutions: what of in secondary schools? Innonews. https://innonews.com.ng/2019/11/sex-for-grades-in-tertiary-institutionswhat-of-in-secondary-schools-by-dr-chuks-osuji/
  32. Oyemwinmina, C., & Aibieyi, S. (2015). Cultism: a destructive concept in the educational development of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. African Research Review, 9(4), 221-236. https://doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v9i4.17
  33. Oyibo, H. (2020, June 2). Nigeria’s campus cults: Buccaneers, Black Axe and other feared groups. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52488922
  34. Potter Jr, N. T. (1975). How to apply the categorical imperative. Philosophia, 5(4), 395-416. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/philosfacpub/12
  35. Rawling, P. (2023). Deontology. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108581196
  36. Robinson, R. M. (2019). Kant’s categorical imperative and moral duties. In R. M. Robinson, Imperfect duties of management: The ethical norm of managerial decisions (pp. 11-38). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99792-6_2
  37. Rotimi, O. (2021, June 20). Sexual abuse: Female students threaten to prosecute randy lecturers. Vanguard Nigeria. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/06/sexual-abuse-female-students-threaten-to-prosecute-randy-lecturers/
  38. Shaibu, G. O., Okpe, A., & Kaduru, J. M. (2020). Business education in Nigeria: A tool for alleviating social vices. Nigerian Journal of Business Education (NIGJBED), 7(2), 538-546.
  39. Stock-Morton, P. (1988). Moral education for a secular society: The development of moral laïque in nineteenth-century France. State University of New York Press.
  40. Sullivan, R. J. (1994). The limits of the categorical imperative. In An Introduction to Kant’s Ethics (pp. 94-113). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511606151.007
  41. Timmermann, J. (Ed.). (2013). Kant’s ‘Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals’: A critical guide. Cambridge University Press.
  42. Umar, A. A. (2020). Science as a Panacea for Social Vices in Nigeria. Al-Hikmah Journal of Education, 7(1), 173-177.
  43. Uwaezuoke, M. R. I. (2020). Teaching Ethics and Morality Education in Nigerian Schools for Sustainable Development. Unizik Journal of Educational Research and Policy Studies, 1, 36-44. https://unijerps.org/index.php/unijerps/article/view/5
  44. What is Kant’s Second Formulation. (2022, July 12). eNotes. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-is-kant-s-second-formulation-of-the3071827
  45. Wood, A. W. (2007). The Moral Law. In A. W. Wood (Ed.), Kantian ethics (pp. 66-84). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511809651.005