| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to analyse institutional factors that influence the discipline of the boy child in Dagoretti District. The study sought to analyse institutional factors that influence the discipline of the boy child in primary schools in Dagoretti District, Kenya; to examine the influence of peer pressure on the boy child's discipline; to determine the extent to which head teachers' leadership styles influence discipline of the boy child; to determine the extent to which pupil-teacher ratio influences discipline of the boy child in primary schools in Dagoretti District; and to explore possible intervention measures that need to be put in place to curb the problem of discipline of the boy child in Dagoretti District. The study was guided by masculinity theory which is as a result of sociological research that has been undertaken on the subjects of gender and has led to studies devoted to topics concerning men, masculinity and gender.
The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population was 24 public primary schools. In these schools, there were 465 teachers, and 2599 boys in class 7 and 8. Dagoretti District had two divisions, Waithaka and Riruta. The researcher purposely sampled four schools in each division, two from an urban setting and two from a rural setting to interview the head teachers. The researcher randomly sampled five teachers from each school. Simple random sampling was used to pick five boys from each stratum (class seven and class eight) from each school. The sample size for this study was therefore 95 boys, 95 teachers and 8 head teachers. Data was collected using an interview guide for the head teacher, questionnaires for pupils, and the teachers.
The study established that there are various institutional factors that influence the discipline of the boy child. The major institutional factors that affect the discipline of boys included: Lack of concern from teachers, lack of male role models at school, neglect from parents, dormant guidance and counselling departments, gender disparity in the teaching force is to the disadvantage of the boys, community around the school, poor pupil-teacher relationship, location of the school, and poverty at home, boys undergoing emotional changes, boys feeling they are grown-ups, and favouritism at school.
The teacher factors included high teaching load, poor guidance and counselling skills, lack of disciplinary skills, inadequate time for teaching, teaching methods, failure to be good role models for the boys, and inconsistency in lesson attendance. Peer pressure factors included introduction to drug and substance abuse, engaging in premarital relationships, joining gangs, playing truant, chronic absenteeism, stealing, fighting, bullying, engaging in child labour, and subsequent school drop out. The head teacher not being a good role model and poor motivational skills had the highest effect on boys' discipline. Overcrowding in schools which leads a high pupil-teacher ratio resulted to lack of individualized learner attention to the boys by the teachers, difficulty in identifying and monitoring discipline problems among the boys, and competition of time between classroom preparation and handling discipline issues among the boys.
The study concluded that there are various school, teacher, classroom, head teacher and peer factors that influence the discipline of the boy child. It was therefore recommended that pupils should be empowered to make appropriate choices concerning individual and collective discipline. The Ministry of Education should employ more male teachers in the District as well as ensure gender parity in the teaching force. The Ministry of Education should formulate a policy on guidance and counseling in schools. Guidance and Counselling departments in schools should be strengthened by training more teachers, having a designated full time trained counselor at school, counselors to have clearly marked offices and not to be overburdened with class work. | en_US |
