NASHON OKWANY ODENY

THESIS/PROJECT TITLE: INFLUENCE OF LEARNERS’ PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING ON DISCIPLINE IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN RARIEDA SUB COUNTY SIAYA COUNTY KENYA

PROJECT ABSTRACT

In Rarieda sub-county seventy percent of primary schools had cases of pupil indiscipline and the records showed that the various discipline problems that existed among  leaners included lateness, truancy , theft , sneaking, cheating, making noise, absenteeism, fighting, bullying, failure to complete assignments, sexual harassment and use of abusive language.  In addition, the Kenya National Examinations Council revealed that between ninety percent and hundred percent of teachers in primary schools in Kenya encountered disciplinary problems among their pupils. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of learners’ participation in decision making on discipline in public primary schools. The objectives of the study were; to determine the influence of learners participation in the formulation of school rules on discipline, to establish how learners participation in administrative functioning of school influence discipline, to examine the influence of pupils’ involvement in decision making on co- curricular activities influence discipline and to establish how the implementation of pupils’ decision making influence discipline in public primary schools in Rarieda sub-county Siaya County Kenya. This study was based on the ladder participation model. This study adopted a descriptive survey research design where 113 public primary schools, 113 head teachers 791 teachers, 3,729 standard seven pupils only were targeted. A sample of 34 head teachers, 79 teachers and 373 pupils were randomly selected.  Questionnaires for teachers and pupils and interview guides for head teachers were used as methods of data collection and piloting done in two schools with six respondents to ensure reliability of the instruments for this research. Quantitative data gathered from closed and open ended questions was analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and means. Results of data gathered were presented using frequency tables, cross tabulation tables and explanation of the findings made based on themes. The findings of the study established that teachers, head teachers and pupils agreed that learners’ participation in the formulation of school rules has a significant influence on discipline, learners’ participation in administrative functioning also influenced discipline in leaners. Pupils’ involvement in decision making on co- curricular activities positively influenced discipline and that learners’ participation in making decisions influenced discipline positively in sports clubs and entertainment and that implementation of pupils’ decision making influences discipline in public primary schools positively. The study concluded that learners’ participation in making decisions influenced school discipline in primary schools. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education should provide policy direction to enable active participation of learners in decision making not only in BOM but also in PTA and have representatives in staff meetings in order to air out their class issues. The Ministry of Education (MOE) should also establish a structural enforcement to make sure that all primary schools comply with the policy guidelines of student representation in Boards of Management (BOM).Further studies should be conducted on the factors affecting learners’ participation in decision making in primary schools. It is hoped that the findings of this study will provide baseline data that may be used by policy makers in education such as the Ministry of Education (MOE) in formulating policies that will improve pupils participation in decision making in schools and even management of primary schools.