Influence of Involvement of Students Council in School Management on Students’ Discipline in Public Secondary Schools in Rongai Sub-County, Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Problem Statement: Cases of students’ indiscipline have been on the rise. Most secondary schools in Rongai Sub-county have been hit by a wave of indiscipline among students which is escalating rapidly with notable strikes, bullying, arson cases in schools, and vandalism of school property, general refusal to follow school rules and regulations as well as increasing alcoholism. Purpose of the Study: Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess how involvement of student council influence students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Rongai Sub-county. Methodology: The study applied mixed methodology and thus adopted descriptive survey research design. The study targeted 800 respondents comprising of 50 deputy principals, 750 teachers and 1080 student leaders from which a sample of 330 respondents was obtained using Yamane’s Formula. A sample of 15 deputy principals, 200 teachers and 115 student leaders were selected. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically along the objectives and presented in narrative forms whereas quantitative data were analyzed descriptively such as frequencies and percentages and inferentially using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Analysis in Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS 23) and presented using tables. Research Findings: The study established that cases of indiscipline among students in public secondary schools are on the rise. However, school management practices such as involvement of student council are yet to mitigate these indiscipline cases. Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: Thus, the study recommends that secondary schools to design training and development programmes meant to equip the student leaders with appropriate leadership skills and specifically on ways of addressing student discipline.