| dc.description.abstract | Attempts to prevent increasing cases of students indiscipline such as student unrests, poor observation of school rules, wanting academic achievement and poor social relationship among themselves and with their teachers has been emphasized in schools through guidance and counseling programs. However, the situations experienced by both the teachers and students create a need that the study intended to address. The purpose of this study was to establish the role of guidance and counseling services in promoting students discipline in public secondary schools in Ugunja Sub-County, Kenya. Objectives of the study were; establish the forms of discipline among students in public secondary schools in Ugunja Sub-County, Siaya County, to establish the role of peer counseling in promoting discipline among students in public secondary schools, find out the role of teacher counselors in promoting discipline among students in public secondary schools, establish the challenges encountered in promoting discipline among students in public secondary schools. The study was guided by the Assertive Discipline Approach Theory of Lee Canter ( 1992). The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprised of 36 principals 36 guidance and counseling teachers and 3500 students from public secondary schools in Ugunja Sub-County, Kenya. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 12 Principals, 12 guidance and counseling teachers. The total number of students was 3500 and the researcher used the Table of Krejcie and Morgan
(1970) to determine the sample size of 246 students who were selected using simple random sampling technique. The instruments for data collection were questionnaires and interview schedules. Piloting was done in four institutions to obtain the instrument’s reliability. Face validity of the instruments was ascertained by two experts from the Department of Psychology and Educational Foundations of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, and percentages. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The study findings indicated that peer counseling has substantial role in helping to promote discipline among students in public secondary schools. The study showed that teacher counselors have an important role of assisting and maintaining order in school through disciplinary interventions. The study also revealed common cases of Indiscipline such as; noise making, truancy, lateness to school, drug abuse, insult/assault, theft, bullying and cheating. The study found out that lack of adequate resources, equipment and space was identified by majority of respondents as some of the hindrance to effective counseling and also some school principals not fully support the guidance and counseling services. The key conclusion of the finding was that guidance and counseling departments were ineffective in alleviating indiscipline problems in schools. Based on the findings, the study recommends that peer counselors should be motivated; the government should employ trained teacher counselors in schools, regular refresher and in service courses on guidance and counseling should be provided by government, government should provide adequate reading materials and equipment such as computers, television sets and videos, and provision of guidance and counseling rooms. The study
suggests that future research be done on the role of guidance and counseling services in prornoting discipline in primary schools among others. These findings are important as they might help the teacher counselors to identify and manage challenges faced through appropriate interventions to guidance and counseling programs with a view to promote discipline among students. | en_US |
