Parental involvement and it’s effect on the management Of students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Kakamega south sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

Indiscipline among students has been, over time, an issue of concern for education stakeholders and therefore, it has become a huge concern among them, owing to the outbreak of aggressiveness among peers, violence within teacher-student relationship and vandalism as well. The purpose of the study was to investigate how parental involvement affects the management of students’ discipline in Public Secondary schools. The study was guided by the following objectives: to examine the effect of parental education level on the management of students’ discipline in public secondary schools; to determine the extent to which parental support affects the management of students’ discipline in Public Secondary schools; to evaluate the effect of family learning environment on the management of students’ discipline in Public Secondary schools and to assess the strategies of handling students’ indiscipline in Public Secondary schools. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The study targeted 27 Deputy head teachers, 282 school prefects, 261 PTA executive members in the 27 Public Secondary schools, one Sub-County Education Officer and one Sub-County Quality Assurance and Standards Officer. A sample size of 27 deputy head teachers, 85 school prefects, 78 PTA Executive members, one Sub-County Education Officer and one Sub- County Quality Assurance and Standards Officer was used. The respondents were selected through simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Stratified random sampling was used to categorize Public Secondary schools. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data accordingly. On validity of the instruments, the researcher used content and face validity while the test re-test method was used to test reliability of the research instruments which yielded an alpha of 0.877 for the instrument issued to P.T.A. executive members and an alpha of 0.831 for the questionnaires supplied to the prefects. The data was then analyzed and results presented in the form of frequency tables. Results illustrated that parental level of education, parental support and family learning environment had a fairly positive and significant effect on the management of student’s discipline in Public Secondary schools. Several strategies were suggested on handling students’ indiscipline in Public Secondary schools ranging from sticking to code of ethics and professionalism; developing administrative procedures and policies for dealing with behavioral concerns to assisting students in developing pro-social skills. Based on the findings and the conclusions of the study, it was recommended that parents should further their studies since high educational levels help in the management of students’ discipline; parents should give moral and financial support, provide all the basic requirements, aid their children in doing homework and be readily available when needed in school to deal with cases of indiscipline of their children; in order to enhance conducive learning environment, parents should provide study rooms, quiet learning environment, be role models to their children and involve their children in decision making. School Administration and Boards of Management should devise and implement tactful and coherent strategies of handling students’ indiscipline in schools which should be reviewed from time to time, through involving the parents directly. The findings of this study may be useful to the Ministry of Education, academicians, researchers and other stakeholders in the Ministry of Education in their improvement of policies and practices on improving the parental involvement and management of student discipline.