A study to assess the knowledge of the teachers regarding selected behavioural problems among school children to selected schools under Elachipalayam block in Namakkal District.

INTRODUCTION

Children are the inheritance from God and a developing individuals, whose capacities and coping skills change markedly during childhood. During childhood the child undergoes a remarkable transformation from a helpless infant to independent individual. Some amount of behavioural problems occur among children in the age group of 6 to 12 years usually in any one of the following areas:- emotions, behaviour, relationship. Children spend most of their time in the school. The teachers are the capable persons to identify the psychological problems and high skills of behavioural problematic children, and they are capable to promote psychological competencies like decision making, problem solving, critical and creative thinking, interpersonal relationship skills, self awareness, empathy and skills for coping with emotional stress among children.

METHODOLOGY

A descript[ting survey approval with nonexperimental research design was adopted for the study. The study was conducted in Elachipalayam block, Namakkal District. Convenient sampling technique was sued for selecting to school teachers. The tool consists of two parts. Part A: It consist of 12 items on demographic variables such as age, sex, education, experience, participating in service education. Part B- It consist 40 items related to knowledge regarding behavioural problems in 3 sections namely conduct disorders. Every correct answer was scored one and wrong answer scored. The tool were validated by subject experts and reliability was established with split half technique should co-efficient and correlation is about 95.

Prior to data collection administrative approval was obtained from Assistant Educational officer at Elachipalayam Block. A written consent was obtained from the study subjects after explaining the purpose and usefulness of the study and assurance about the confidentiality. The questionnaire was distributed among school teachers and data was collected. The collected data was analyzed manually using descriptive and inferential statistics.

RESULT:

I. Socio- demographic characteristics of teachers.

The demographic characteristics showed that more than half of the subject (60%) were belongs to below 40 years age group and 61.7% of them were females, 48% of the subjects have teacher training qualification and 61.7% of the teachers had below 15 years of experience and only 35% among them were participated in service education programme.

II. Teachers knowledge score regarding behavioural problems.

The overall knowledge score of teachers regarding behavioural problems among school children were 30.95%. The total mean score percentage of teacher’s knowledge on conduct disorder is 29.42%. The total mean score percentage of teachers knowledge on emotional disorders was about 32.4% and the total mean score percentage of teacher’s knowledge on scholastic disorder was about 32.34%.

III. Relationship between demographic variables of teachers with their knowledge level.

The chi-square test used to determine the statistical significance of the mean score. It was found that age, sex, educational qualification of teachers are not significant but experience and participation of inservice education program about child psychiatry was significant at 5% (P>0.05) level.

DISCUSSION

In our study group 60% of teachers from below 40 years age group and 48.3% of more of teachers have teacher training as educational qualification and 61% of the teachers are have less than 15 years of experience (1988) to assess teachers knowledge about behavioural problems indicates 59.8% of teachers have below 15 years of experience shows 65% of them not attend the inservice education program.

The overall mean score percentage of teachers knowledge about selectors behavioural problems is below average (30.95%) Pravhi (1980) also indicated school teachers (30.6%) below average level of knowledge of behavioural problems. This study supports the present study.

A study done by Svedn L (1994) indicate teacher have fair knowledge (42.6%) about conduct disorder and total mean score percentage of knowledge about emotional disorder 32.4% scholastic study reveals teachers experience and participation in inservice education program have high significant relationship with knowledge score that is found through ch-square analysis

CONCLUSION

Overall knowledge of teachers regarding behaviour problems were below 30.95% since the study reveals that the experience of the teachers and their participation in inservice education regarding child psychiatry and influence on the knowledge score of the school teachers. So the health education during training on regarding behaviroual problems of children are very much essential for teachers to promote the Childs bheaviour in good maner, health personnel who working in schools should take the responsibility to improve the knowledge of teachers in the area of commnest behavioural problems among children. So the teachers should give more importance to the behavioural modification of the children.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Author express thanks to dean, principal, HOD & all faculty and PG’s of department of community health nursing, primary school teachers in Elachipalayam block, for their useful contribution in carrying out their study.