| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of students' discipline on the school's performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination in Ruiru district. The study was set out to achieve the following objectives; to determine the effects of the common cases of indiscipline in public secondary schools on KCSE performance in Ruiru district, to establish how students class attendance affects KCSE performance in Ruiru district, to determine how students' truancy affects KCSE, to examine the impacts of challenges influencing students to indiscipline cases on KCSE performance in Ruiru district and to assess the effects of students' suspension on KCSE performance in Ruiru district. It was important to carry out the study because discipline and academic performance are closely related. Academic performance is pegged on discipline as no study time is wasted to punish students who are deviant. It provides a conducive learning environment for students in schools.
This study adopted the cross-sectional survey method in which 40 teachers and 200 students participated. The selection of the respondents was done randomly. Random sampling was used to select respondents from a population of 2,289 students and 140 teachers. The research instruments that were used to collect data were questionnaires, interview schedules and document analysis.
The validity of the research instruments were piloted and pre-tested before they were used in the actual study. While reliability of the research instruments was correlated using Pearson's Coefficient Correlation or simple correlation. The questionnaires were pretested using the test-retest method whereby the same questionnaires were administered to the same group after an interval of one week. The values were found to be 0.84 for teachers and 0.91 for students. Hence the instruments were reliable In addition, the study generated both Qualitative and Quantitative data.
Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive techniques of data analysis. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used to generate frequencies, percentages and presented as tables, pie charts and bar graphs. Qualitative data was analyzed using the descriptive techniques of data analysis. The findings of the study, show the common cases of indiscipline as: theft of learning materials, noise making, vernacular speaking, late coming, not completing assignment, absenteeism/truancy, disobedience to prefects and teachers, fornication, abuse of drugs and drinking alcohol, use of vulgar language, fighting, sneaking through the fence and idleness, and cheating in exams. These indiscipline cases affect KCSE performance.
It was also revealed that a majority of teachers (37.5 percent) in Ruiru district support class attendance as it influences full syllabus coverage leading to good results in examinations. From the study therefore it can be concluded that, good discipline is very important for success in any endeavour and education is no exception. Hence schools should consider involvement of parents and their children (that is in academic clinics) which would pave way in identifying and addressing thereof the possible indiscipline cases that could be affecting the performance of the particular studentls as from the findings of the study for example truancy and absenteeism.
The findings from the study also recommend that administrators in mixed secondary schools should focus on gender indiscipline cases like boy/girl relationship as this affects students' concentration on their studies. The researcher therefore recommends that, schools should endeavour to offer guidance and counseling to students with disruptive behaviour as well as enforce strict punishment for misbehavior and equip students with essential facilities for better examination results. | en_US |
