Determining Ways of Controlling Unruly Students so as to Curb Destruction of School Building in Boarding Public Secondary Schools in Nyanza, Kenya

Abstract

The research investigated ways of controlling unruly students so as to curb destruction of school building in boarding public secondary schools in Nyanza, Kenya. The concept of discipline should not be associated with pain or fear, but rather it should be viewed as a system of guiding the students to make reasonable decisions. Discipline in school and at home should be that which will produce young people who will be responsible when they become adults. The total number of teachers in affected public secondary schools at the time of the study was 102, 300 students and 50 school principals. A sample size of 150 of the following respondents was suitable for the study, that is 25 deputy principals, 100 students and 25 school principals. Data was collected through questionnaire and interviews. Validity and reliability of the instrument were established through expert opinion and Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient of 0.80 reliability test respectively. Data was analyzed using Coefficient of Determination, Analysis of Variance, frequency counts and percentages. Ways of controlling unruly students so as to curb destruction of school building in boarding public secondary schools were: preventive type of discipline 33.3%, guidance and counseling 52.4% and application of both preventive and corrective means of discipline scored 47.6%. This study is significant in that it reveals the factors leading to unruly behavior and burning of school premises among boarding public secondary school students in Nyanza. The findings of this study would be useful to the Ministry of Education Science and Technology and the achievement of Kenya Vision 2030 in education.