Application of school conflict resolution procedures in the management of student discipline in secondary schools in Bomet County, Kenya

Abstract

Conflicts arise from unresolved disputes, consisting of actions that the students take to express their feelings, articulate their perceptions and have their emotional needs met. The purpose of this study was to investigate the application of conflict resolution procedures on the management of student discipline in secondary schools in Kenya. The broad objective of the study was to determine procedures applied in resolving conflicts in secondary schools in Bomet County. The hypotheses of the study were aimed at testing whether conflict resolution procedures have influence on the student discipline in secondary schools. The significance of this study was pegged on the fact that conflicts are a natural part of life and therefore a natural part of school life. Teachers can intervene successfully to prevent conflicts from escalating into violent acts by providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to settle disputes peacefully. This study was guided by Rational-Emotive Behavior Theory (REBT) advanced by Froggatt in 2005. Rational- Emotive Behavior Theory proposes that human emotions and behaviors are the results of what people think, assume, or beliefs about themselves, other people, and the world in general. The study adopted descriptive survey design and the area of study was Bomet County. A combination of stratified, random, and purposive sampling was used to determine the sample size for adequate representation. The sample used consisted of 6 full boarding schools, 3 boarding-day schools and 13 full-day schools, a total of 22 secondary schools. The target population comprised of secondary school head teachers their deputies, guidance and counseling teachers, and school head prefects. Questionnaires, interview guides and document analysis was used to collect data. The content validity of the research instrument was certified by the supervisors and experienced instructors in the school of Education, Moi University. Test-retest reliability was assessed by administering the same measures to the same respondents under as nearly the same conditions through a pilot study in two boarding schools in Sotik subcounty where it was not used in the study. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques. Qualitative data analysis techniques was used to achieve in-depth understanding, interpretation of set of items obtained from interview and document analysis, and making generalizations that cover the consistencies the researcher discerned in the data. In quantitative data analysis, the data collected was be organized in tabular form and presented in tables of frequencies and percentage distribution of the responses of respondents and summarized using descriptive and inferential statistics specifically using chi-square(x2). The findings from the research would assist the ministry of education and specifically the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to develop curriculum that can be used to enhance the capacity of the administrators, the teachers, and the students in handling conflicts in schools