Abstract:
Students' participation in decision making on disciplinary matters plays a vital role in
influencing discipline in secondary school. However, students' perception determines
the level of participation. The purpose of the study was to investigate the perception of
secondary school students in Eldoret East, Uasin-Gishu County, on their participation
in decision making, and its influence on discipline. The study was guided by the
following objectives; to determine the perception of secondary school students on their
participation in decision making and discipline, to investigate students' involvement in
decision making in secondary schools, to establish the constraints to students’
participation in decision making in secondary schools, and to establish strategies used
to enhance students' participation in decision making in secondary schools. The study
was based on Kolb's Learning Theory expounded by John Dewey. This study used a
mixed approach, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The research
instruments were questionnaires and interview schedules. The target population was
41280 students from 50 public secondary schools in Eldoret East, 50 teacher
counselors, and 50 deputy principals. The study sample comprised 369 form two
students. Stratified and simple random sampling methods were used in the study to
obtain the sample which also comprised 3 deputy principals and 3 teacher counselors
who were purposively selected. Test retest method was used to determine the
reliability of instruments, while validity of instruments was ensured through the use of
inter-rater judgment, and this helped in making the questionnaire and interview items
clear. Chi-squire test was used to determine the relationship between students'
perception of their participation in decision making and discipline. The data was
analyzed using descriptive statistics of means, frequencies, and percentages.
Qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The study provided insight to
educationists on students’ perception on their participation in decision making and its
implication on discipline. It was found that students would like their participation in
decision making enhanced. The research findings showed that the students are
involved in academic and co-curricular activities. There are divergent ways of
involving students in school activities as found out in the study. The study established
that perception and discipline are related. It was concluded that there is need to
enhance students' involvement in school activities as this has a great influence on
students' behavior. The study recommends that new strategies of students'
participation in school activities be sought.
