Reconceptualizing school discipline in Kenya as pedagogical care in the light of care ethics theory

Abstract

Indiscipline among learners is a major and perennial educational problem in schools in the world, Kenya being no exception. The persistence of indiscipline among learners in schools in Kenya calls into question school discipline policies, practices and their theoretical underpinnings. The purpose of this study was to position school discipline in Kenya as pedagogical care, an alternative to traditional punitive approaches. The specific study objectives were: to evaluate the adequacy of different conceptions of school discipline within major philosophical frameworks, analyze the suitability of the philosophical frameworks that underpin school discipline policies and practices in Kenya; and position school discipline in the country as pedagogical care. The study was informed by care ethics theory developed by Carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings. The study was library based; it did not involve a target population and a specific sample. The study adopted a desktop or secondary research design. The specific philosophical methods the study employed in order to satisfy the three objectives were the analytic, critical and evaluative methods. Being a library-based study, data required were collected by evaluating school discipline ethical frameworks and analyzing school discipline policy documents and guideline in Kenya. The five key legal and policy documents analyzed were The Constitution of Kenya (2010), The Children’s Act (2022), The Basic Education Act (2013), The Basic education regulations of 2015 and The Basic Education Curriculum Framework (2019). The data were analyzed and interpreted thematically using philosophical frameworks. The results of these philosophical analyses, evaluations and critiques were presented thematically in prose form as arguments and discussions. The validity and soundness of the arguments were determined on the bases of their logical procedures and inferences. The key findings and conclusions of the study were as follows: The evaluation of school discipline philosophical frameworks revealed that pedagogical care grounded in care ethics is a comprehensive approach that integrates some of the best elements of competing school discipline approaches in different frameworks. The analysis of school discipline polices, guidelines and practices in Kenya revealed that they are largely anchored on deontological and human rights-based ethical frameworks with traces of restorative justice ethics that are not harmoniously blended in both policy and practice. The study also found that the integration of pedagogical care discipline aligns with the broader goals of Competency-Based Education (CBE) in Kenya and concluded that its integration in the curriculum can potentially improve the levels of discipline among learners thereby greatly minimize the perennial problem of unrest and indiscipline among learners in schools. The study recommends that the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Education should develop a care-centered framework for school discipline that is explicitly grounded in care ethics theory. The study also recommends the adoption and integration of pedagogical care discipline into school discipline policies guidelines and practices in the context of the current CBE in the country.