Moral Perception and Moral Behaviour Among Secondary School Students in Gakenke District, Rwanda

ABSTRACT This study was carried out to correlate between moral perception and moral behaviour among secondary school students in Gakenke District, Rwanda. The study wanted: (1) To establish the levels of moral perception and moral behaviour; (2) To investigate the significant difference between moral perception and moral behaviour; (3) To determine significant relationship between moral perception and moral behaviour. The data were analysed using descriptive survey and descriptive correlation design with the use of a sample of 122 respondents. Majority of the respondent were between 20 years and above, most of them were male 51%, majority optioned in Accountancy 5l% and many of them helped by their parents. The conclusions: The level of moral perception has been achieved and it was low within an average mean of 2.29 this showed the weakness of school managers, educators and parents in playing a role of ensuring students good moral perception, they considered only the academic and material satisfaction; the level of moral behaviour was ranked low within a score mean of 2.64 this reveals the existence of handicap in secondary school students in moral behaviour; the significant relationship between moral perception and moral behaviour was rejected within the r-value of 0.074 and sig-value of 0.02 this led to conclude that there is significant relationship between moral perception and moral behaviour. The researcher recommends that: (1) Parents should be invited in education partners at school. (2) The schoolteachers are of strategic importance, they should be trained on class management, and they are the ones who ought to start the process of moral behaviour of the students, if academic freedom is to be a reality in the future. (3) The Government should address to the parents to follow their children moral actions particularly those who are in rural areas and with less educational background. Prospective researchers should be encouraged to research on: (1) Moral perception and gender among selected public secondary schools, (2) Moral behaviour and critical thinking among girls in selected secondary schools. V