Abstract:
Whereas many schools have been known to exhibit strong school cultures that seem to drive
academic excellence, deviant behaviour in schools continues to be a matter of global concern.
Knowledge of the role school culture plays in mitigating deviance is vital for any prevention
programme yet this has been missing. The study sought to address this gap by examining
influence of features of school culture on student deviant behaviour in secondary schools of
Bungoma County, Kenya. A sample size of 79 secondary school management was used from a
study population size [N] of 504. Mixed research design was employed while sampling strategy
was a blend of multiphase, stratified and purposive sampling. The data for the study was
obtained through questionnaire, interviews, document analysis and direct observations. Results
were analyzed using cross-tabulations, frequency tables, Chi square and simple linear regression.
The sampled features of school culture were being applied in schools within Bungoma County
and Chi-square tests revealed a significant relationship between features of school culture and
student deviant behaviour prevalence in schools. However, regression analysis revealed a weak
to moderate relationship between features of school culture and deviance levels. The study
concludes that features of school culture influences student deviant behaviour prevalence hence
other than direct punishment of deviants, school cultures with features loaded with preventive
and corrective aspects should be embraced. The findings strengthen empirical view to education
sector towards packaging school culture as an important variable to mitigate student deviance.
