Implications of Alcohol Abuse Among Teachers in Public Schools of Kabompo District, Zambia.

Peter Wazili Chitondo1, Rose Chikopela2, *Lefterius Kalonga Mwamba3
1University of Zambia,
2Department of Educational Psychology, Sociology and Special Education
3Zambia Institute of Special Education, Lusaka, Zambia.
*Corresponding author

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2023.10606

Received: 26 May 2023; Accepted: 06 June 2023; Published: 05 July 2023

Abstract: The study sought to investigate the effects of alcohol on teachers and its counselling implications in selected secondary schools in Kabompo district, Zambia. The study was guided by four specific objectives, namely: to identify factors that causes teachers to abuse alcohol within working hours (objective 1); to investigate implications of alcohol abuse on teachers’ performance (objective 2). The study adopted a descriptive research design, with a total of 30 respondents sampled from selected schools of Kabompo district. Primary data was collected using in-depth interview guide while secondary data was collected using journals and studies conducted in line with the research. Data that was collected from the key informants was analyzed manually; and classified (sorted) into main themes. In relation to this study, thematic analysis was used to analyses all the responses obtained on the topic. The study revealed that there is abuse of alcohol among teachers in Kabompo District and one of the contributing factor is availability of alcohol in places were these teachers are currently residing. The study also revealed that teacher’s abuse alcohol during working hours and this reduces teacher pupil contact hours which in turn affect curriculum coverage. The study recommended that teachers with severe alcohol abuse disorder must go on rehabilitation program with trained counselors in drug abuse of which they should produce a report before any radical intervention is made by the higher authority.

Key words: Alcohol abuse, Alcohol use disorder, Counseling intervention, Implication

I. Background

Education is an important experience both to the individuals who have it and the nation at large. For without it, it is meaningless to talk about development in any form. According to Tugbiyele as cited in Kwaghbo (2007), education is a necessary national investment for it is the key to overall national development. Hence, government, communities, agencies and individuals invest heavily in the provision of educational experiences to the citizens. At the center of every education process stands the teacher. According to Eriba (2006), what the teacher knows and does can make a great difference; what he does not know or cannot do or fails to do can cause irreparable loss to the children under his care. This is so because the teacher “is a manager of ideas and activities, the judge of disciplinary cases, the molder of character, the rarer of human minds, the mobilizer of students’ efforts and indeed the window through which pupils visualize the world around them” (Eriba, 2006). This is the more reason a failure by a teacher to exhibit certain levels of excellence has the capacity to compromise positive behavioral change in learners.

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