Principals’ strategies influencing students’ discipline in public secondary schools in kisii central district, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the principals’ strategies influencing students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Kisii Central District, Kenya. It was guided by four objectives which included: To establish how the principals’ use of democratic leadership influences students’ discipline in public secondary schools, to determine the extent to which the principals’ means of communication influence students’ discipline in public secondary schools, to examine how the involvement of the prefects’ body in the decision making process affects students’ discipline in public secondary schools and to establish the extent to which the guidance and counseling department influences students’ discipline in public secondary schools. The study is based on the collegial theory which attempts to explain all those theories that emphasized that power and decision making should be shared among some members of the organization. The researcher applied descriptive survey research design. This is because the design is useful since it would collect data from members of the population in order to determine the current status without manipulating the variables. The target population consisted of all 52 public secondary schools in Kisii Central District, 52 principals and 1,560 teachers in the administration of the school affairs. Simple random sampling was used in selecting teachers at school level from the 16 principals and 30 teachers per school who participated. Data was gathered by use of questionnaires and analyzed using the quantitative method in frequency distribution tables, percentages and bar graphs. The validity of the questionnaires was checked by my supervisors, pilot testing in two schools and checked against the research objectives. Reliability was established through computation of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient formula. The research process was carried out jointly by both principals and teachers. Based on the findings, the study recommended that the principals of secondary schools should be democratic in the administration of school affairs; that the principals should establish students’ councils through which the students can participate in leadership matters of the school and other affairs; that there is also need for the principals to be clearer when communicating rules and regulations to students to avoid misinterpretation; that the stakeholders in education should provide appropriate resources for guidance and counseling such as special rooms. Based on suggestions for further research the study recommended that a similar study should be carried out in other districts for comparison purposes. The same research should be carried out to identify additional strategies that the principals use to influence students discipline.