Influence of School Rules' Formulation on Students' Discipline in Public Secondary Schools in Makueni County

Abstract

Since independence, the Kenyan Government's desire has been to ensure quality education. However, learning institutions have been plagued with cases of students’ unrest and indiscipline which mitigate against quality education. In spite of the existence of school rules, many secondary schools are reporting a wide range of potentially disruptive behaviors in the classrooms and around the schools. This study sought to investigate the influence of school rules' formulation on students' discipline in public secondary schools in Makueni County. It was guided by four research objectives which were: to determine the influence of students' involvement in the process of formulating school rules on their discipline, to find out whether students know all their school rules and the influence on their discipline, to establish whether students like their school rules and the influence on their discipline and to determine the influence of shared goals and plans on students' discipline in public secondary schools in Makueni County. The study targeted 324 principals, 3,865 teachers and 97,200 students in public secondary schools in Makueni County, and employed descriptive survey design. The sample size of the study, which was obtained by stratified and simple random sampling procedures, was 100 principals, 387 teachers and 398 students who participated in the study. Questionnaire, interview guide and observation schedule research instruments were utilized for the study. Test-retest technique of reliability was used to affirm the reliability of the instruments. The reliability coefficient of the instruments was 0.675 for questionnaire for students and 0.748 for questionnaire for the teachers. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and presented in frequency tables. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the hypothesis. From the data analysis, it was found out that the processes of formulation of school rules and regulations had significant positive relationship at r=+0.612, p=0.030 with levels of students' discipline in public secondary schools in Makueni County. The researcher recommended that principals in public secondary school in Makueni County should actively involve students in the process of formulation of school rules and regulations, so as to enhance students’ discipline.