An Investigation Into Teachers’ Conception Of Student Discipline In The Order Of Causality: A Case Of Selected Secondary Schools In Kakamega North District, Kenya

Abstract

The perennial problem of indiscipline among students in secondary schools in Kenya is a cause for great concern. The purpose of the study was to ascertain how teachers’ understanding of efficient causality influences their approaches to student discipline. The study was a descriptive survey, which focused on teachers’ idea of efficient causes of discipline, the techniques they use to promote discipline and the efficacy of those techniques. The study was conducted in kakamega North District, Western Province, Kenya. Sample schools, teachers and students were selected using stratified random and purposive sampling techniques. The study used structured questionnaires and Socratic dialogue to collect primary data and documentary analysis to solicit secondary data. Being a philosophical study, the data were coded, analyzed and interpreted using both descriptive statistical procedures, namely frequencies and percentages, as well as philosophical methods of induction. They were presented in form of tables, figures and prose. The study established that most teachers are imprecise in their conception of the efficient causes of student discipline, they believe that the principal cause, and the cause of a student’s becoming and being disciplined are both internal and external to the student. Consequently, they frequently use an ensemble of techniques, like punishment, command and supervision, which often create a semblance of order disguised as discipline. Besides, they use potentially effective techniques, like moral education, dogmatically to appeal mainly to the students’ intellect, which renders the techniques less effective in promoting discipline in the affective domain. As a way forward, the study recommends a review of teacher education to ensure that student teachers are properly equipped with skills of promoting genuine discipline; having regular good practice seminars for practicing teachers; school to provide a holistic education and also to have a discipline policy geared toward promotion of self- ordered discipline. The implementation of these recommendations will go a long way in improving discipline among students in secondary schools in the district and the country at large.