Alternative methods to Corporal punishment in managing Students' discipline in secondary schools: A case of Bomet District, kenya

Abstract

During the past 20 years, there has been a growing outcry worldwide condemning the practice of corporal punishment on school children. After the abolishment of corporal punishment, there was a need to have alternative methods despite the use of guidance and counseling which was proposed by the governments to manage students discipline in Secondary Schools. The abolishment of corporal punishment without effective alternative methods of managing discipline in schools has led to indiscipline and conflicts. The purpose of this research was to explore alternative methods to corporal punishment used in managing students' discipline in secondary schools. The study was guided by the theory of Stage Theories of Behaviour Change by Prochaska and DiClemente (1986) which emphasize that behaviour change is a process influenced by environmental factors. The specific objectives of this study were; to find out the effects of outlawing of corporal punishment on students' discipline; to find out alternative methods of managing students' discipline; to identify challenges facing teachers in dealing with indiscipline in secondary schools and to establish the role of religious education in managing students' discipline. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target populations were headteachers, deputy headteachers, CRE subject head teachers and guidance and counseling HOD in secondary schools in Bomet district. There are 53 secondary schools in Bomet District out of which 42 are coeducational, 8 are boys' schools and 3 are girls' school. For this only coeducational school were involved because it forms majority of the type of school in the district. . In this study, 30% of the co-educational schools were sampled (13 schools), however to take care of non-responsive respondents, 16 schools were sampled. Therefore a total of 16 headteachers, 16 deputy headteachers, 16 CRE subject heads and 16 guidance and counseling teachers translating to 64 respondents were selected for the study. Data was collected by use of questionnaires and interview schedules. A Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used in data analysis. Data was presented by use of tables. The study showed that there were a lot of negative changes in students' discipline with the outlawing of corporal punishment in schools. Teachers also reported that they face challenges in dealing with students discipline in schools without corporal punishment. CRE was reported to have an important role in managing students discipline in schools.