The cases of students' unrest in Kaloleni secondary schools Kilifi district

Abstract

This research sought to identify students' indiscipline problems and unrest, by gauging the opinions of the principals, headteachers, the teachers and students themselves. It also sought to determine the causes and possible solutions to the students' indiscipline problems and unrest in secondary schools within Kaloleni division Kilifi District. This study was conducted in Kaloleni Secondary Schools in Kilifi District, Coast Province, in Kenya. Due to shortage of time and financial constraints, only six (06) out of fourteen (14) secondary schools in Kaloleni were selected by purposive sampling technique, covering all the categories of secondary schools in the division namely; covering all the categories of secondary schools in the division namely: mixed boarding one (01), girls' boarding two (02), boys boarding two (02), mixed day and boarding one (01). The researcher used descriptive case study design, involving six (06) headteachers from the six (06) secondary schools, a total of twenty-four (24) teachers, four (04) from every school, a total of fifty-six (56) students out of a total of one thousand one hundred and seventeen (1117) students, mainly form twos (2s) and threes (3s), as the form fours (4s) were very busy preparing for their final National examinations, and the form ones (1s) were too new to have grasped the nature of the problems. The main instruments used in the study were, interview schedules, questionnaires and documentary analysis. The interview schedules had structured, unstructured, and semi-structured items. The intention was to obtain data that would meet the objectives of the study. They were administered by the researcher to the headteachers. The questionnaires had both structured and unstructured items addressing specific objectives of the study. A combination of these categories of items was to help gather high quality data, which would be easier to analyze from the respondents who were mainly the students and teachers. The data analyzed was interpreted and presented in tables; frequency distributions, and percentages. The findings, which were based on the research questions, were used to generate conclusions and recommendations.

The study revealed that:

1. The most serious students' indiscipline problems which cause unrests were those concerned with social behavior or character. These included, lack of courtesy, rudeness, disobedience to authority and stubbornness. This is a reflection of our Kenyan paternalistic approach to disciplinary issues, which provides no corresponding channels for students to communicate with the school administration. This approach is nothing but a legacy of colonialism that was meant to instill fear in Africans and reward blind obedience to authority. This leads to pent-up frustrations that eventually explode to school unrest.

2. Poor parenting, peer pressure, laxity of teachers, inadequate facilities for the proper implementation of the curriculum, poor quality food, harsh, excessive and unjustified punishments and drug abuse were the most serious factors that contributed to students' unrest in schools.

In conclusion, change is needed in the way students' disciplinary issues are approached by the school administration. The tendency to rush to mete out punitive disciplinary measure only worsens the situation. However, all democratic proposals for improving students' discipline in schools will go for naught if our wider society of which schools are part and parcel, remain adamant in trying to address these explosive issues using the traditional disciplinary measures.