| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to establish the school factors which influence
secondary school students' discipline in Kinangop District, Kenya. The study
was guided by five objectives which included; identification of major
discipline problems in public secondary schools; establishing the extent to
which the head teachers work experience influence students discipline;
investigating the influence of peer group pressure on discipline among
secondary school students, establishing the influence of school size on
students' discipline and determining the influence of teachers' supervisory
role on students' discipline.
The researcher developed research questions to gather information in order to
meet the objectives of the study. Related literature of the study was reviewed.
The study was based on the Erikson theory on psychological stages of
development which argues that at adolescence stage, life gets more complex as
one attempts to find his own identity, struggles with social interactions and
grapples with moral issues. The researcher applied descriptive survey research
design. Data were collected by use of self administered questionnaires and
analyzed based on descriptive statistical method. A pilot study was conducted
to test the reliability of the instrument and was found suitable.
The study findings revealed that there were major discipline problems among
students in Kinangop District, such as truancy, theft, defiance, lateness and
immoral relations. In the study, it was revealed that head teachers with long
experience were capable of handling discipline problems with ease unlike the
less experienced ones. The findings further revealed that peer pressure
influence was deeply entrenched among students and largely contributed to
students' indiscipline. The sizes of the schools as well as the involvement of
teachers were found to have direct relationship with the students' discipline in
Kinangop district.
In view of the above, there is need to strengthen and enforce the school rules
and regulations, strengthen guidance and counseling department, train the
head teachers, deputy head teachers, teachers and prefects and arm them with
news skills of countering new trends of student's indiscipline. This would go a
long way in reducing occurrence of indiscipline cases hence creating a
conducive learning environment for the students. The study further concludes
that the school administrators and the teachers on duty should remain vigilant
all the time and seal all the loop holes that can be exploited by sly students.
This helps a lot in curbing indiscipline problems long before they occur. It also
enables the teachers to handle discipline issues consistently. Further there is
need to deploy well qualified head teachers to secondary schools because
experienced head teachers consults widely and have developed ability to
foresee discipline problems before they emerge. They also put in place
administrative structures that would deter them. Peer counselors are crucial
because they teach others the positive aspects of behaviour. They enlighten
their fellow peers on the dangers of negative peer influence and how to choose
friends wisely. School size also is an important factor that contributes to
students' indiscipline in schools. Thus proper administrative mechanisms need
1'1} be out in place to check indiscipline irrespective of the school size.
Taking the limitations and delimitations of the study, the researcher made the
following suggestions for further research: a research should be done on
whether there are any other factors that influence students' discipline in public
secondary schools. There is also need for research to be carried out on how
discipline in private secondary schools compares with discipline in public
secondary schools. A research also needs to be conducted on how supervision
can be enhanced to counter the ever rising indiscipline cases in secondary
schools. | en_US |
