Parental involvement as determinant factor in managing students discipline in Kenya: assessing the status in public secondary schools in Machakos county

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze parental involvement as determinant factor in managing students discipline in Kenya; specifically, within public secondary schools in Machakos Sub-County. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of head teachers use of parental involvement on management of discipline in public secondary schools in Machakos Sub-County. The study was guided by situational theory of leadership which is characterized leadership in terms of task behavior and relationship behavior. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population comprised of head teachers, teachers and students. The study sample was 421. Data was collected using 3 sets of questionnaires. Quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences software programme version 22. Inferential analysis was done using chi square statistics at the .05 level of significance. The study established that head teachers need to use a variety of administrative practices to manage students’ discipline. The study found that the use of parental involvement influenced management of discipline significantly (ℵ^2(df(3) ) =21.902;p<.05. These study findings are beneficial to head teachers and other stakeholders in education in regard to participatory approach in managing discipline issues in schools.