A study of methods used to manage student discipline in Public secondary schools in Makadara division in the Nairobi province

Abstract

'Misbehaviour' in secondary schools has increased significantly during the recent years. The incidence of student's misbehaviour has escalated partly because some disciplinary techniques and practices used in schools have various shortcomings, and are therefore inadequate in curbing the menace. The reasons for student's misbehaviour may have as much, if not more, to do with their experiences at school as those they encounter in the home, or with aspects of their personality. Thus, through the use of appropriate methods of discipline, schools can impact a lot in controlling student's indiscipline. The basic purpose of this study was to examine the methods used to manage student's discipline in public secondary schools in Makadara Division. In addition, the study sought to determine the disciplinary methods, which could be suitable or unsuitable in controlling misbehaviour among secondary school students. The survey involved 6 head teachers, 6 deputy head teachers, 105 teachers and 198 students Multiple methods, namely; purposive sampling, random sampling and systematic random sampling were applied in identifying the respondents. Data pertinent to the study was gathered through the use of three questionnaires developed by the researcher and an observation checklist. A common questionnaire was designed for head teachers and deputy head teachers. Other two instruments were developed for teachers and students respectively. Basically the instruments sought to gather information ranging from the kinds of discipline problems experienced among students, the methods used to deal with the discipline problems, the perceived causes of student indiscipline, the constraints faced in enhancing discipline among students to the perceptions of the respondents toward the suitability or unsuitability of various disciplinary methods in managing students behaviour. Validation of the research instruments was done through the use pilot study's results. The reliability value of the instruments marked for head teachers and deputy head teachers was found to be 0.86, while that of the instruments designed for teachers and students was 0.69 and 0.63 respectively, using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient formula.