An Assessment of Influence of Teachers’ Discipline Management Strategies on Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination in Public Secondary Schools in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Discipline in schools is about positive behavior change in order to create conducive environment for learning. When discipline is achieved in secondary schools, it becomes instrumental in students academic performance. This study focused on assessment of the influence of teachers’ discipline management strategies on KCSE performance in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. The objective of this study was to establish the influence of school rules on KCSE performance. The county has had a trend of grade wastage from KCPE to KCSE. The study adopted descriptive survey research design which used mixed method approach. The study targeted 104 public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County, with 10 boys schools, 17 girls schools and 77 mixed schools. Stratified random, purposive sampling method and Krejcie & Morgan population sample table was used to determine the sample size. Principals and teachers were the respondents in this study. Interview schedule for 21 principals and 346 questionnaires for teachers were used as tools for data collection. The study sampled 42 schools, which constituted 40% of the total population size. The researcher prepared the instruments with expert judgment by supervisors. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient (α) was employed in determining the reliability of the instruments. A pilot study of 10% of the sample schools and respondents was carried out from each of school category. Alpha index of 0.869 was obtained for the teachers’ questionnaires. The reliability of the interview schedule was ensured by the consistency of the questions and the order in which they were administered. The study used descriptive statistics which included frequencies, measures of central tendencies (mean) and measures of dispersion (standard deviation). Inferential statistics Pearson r was used to test the relationships of the hypotheses with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) in analyzing the data. The data from the interview guide was arranged thematically, transcribed and then presented verbatim in order to triangulate the results. The results revealed that school rules did not influence KCSE performance positively. The findings of this study are expected to be of benefit to different stake holders, who are sensitized with new information on alternative disciplinary strategies to be used on students’ discipline in schools, the policy makers are assisted to come up with a new policy on use of alternative disciplinary methods in schools. KEYWORDS: Management strategies,academic performance, secondary schools, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-11-12 Publication date : April 30 th 2019


Background to the Study
Discipline refers to educating someone to acquire desired behavior for both remediation and prevention purposes (Cotton, 2012). The quality of students' discipline in schools is an important factor in determining the and structure. Rules can be visual and/or verbal yet they are only a small component of a school's overall climate.
Student involvement in implementation of school rules refers to the work of student representative bodies -such as school councils, student parliaments and the prefectural body in formulation of school rules. It is also used to encompass all aspects of school life and decision-making where students may make a contribution, informally through individual negotiation as well as formally through purposely-created structures and mechanisms. Student involvement also refers to participation of students in collective decision-making at school or class level and to dialogue between students and other decision-makers, not only consultation or a survey among students (Jeruto and Kiprop, 2011). Student involvement in formulation of school rules is often viewed as problematic to school administrators, parents and society at large. This is often due to the fact that students are viewed as minors, immature and lacking in the expertise and technical knowledge that is needed in the running of a school. Thus student participation is often confined to issues concerned with student welfare and not in core governance issues such as school rules (Magadla, 2007).
Sithole (2008) conducted a study on the extent of student involvement in decision making in South African secondary schools. Sithole found that student involvement in decision making especially in as far as formulation of school rules is concerned was debatable with often conflicting viewpoints propagated by differing stakeholders depending on their background and world view. Basically, there were three view-points that were found to guide the extent of student involvement in formulation of school rules. The first was that students must remain passive and receive instructions from parents and teachers (Sithole, 2008). This view meant that rules must be designed by teachers and students are to follow them to the letter. The second view-point suggested that students can participate but only to a certain degree. In support of this view, Mutua (2004) suggests that there is a tendency among some teachers and school leaders to define the issues which affect students quite narrowly. Student consultation and decision-making is often limited to aspects of school life that affect students only and which have no immediate relevance to their discipline, e.g., playgrounds, toilets and lockers.
Aggrawal (2004) adds that while student representatives may not participate in matters relating to formulation of school rules and regulations, their participation should be ensured in all other academic and administrative decisions taken by these bodies. Though this view appears to support student participation in decision making, it however confines student involvement in decision making to specific areas of school life leaving out the most crucial aspect of rules and regulations. Defining the limits of student participation in this way is however not only likely to give students the impression that the school's commitment is tokenistic and therefore not to be taken seriously, but it also severely limits the possibilities for experiential learning (about the nature of schooling and the education system as well as in different forms of public decision-making) (Okumbe, 2008).
The notion is authoritarian and paternalistic, rather than democratic. It not only assumes that secondary school students have a legitimate interest only in student-specific issues, but it also assumes that students have no right to decide for themselves the issues in which they want or do not want to be involved. For this reason, Simatwa (2012) suggested that opportunities for student participation should go beyond specifically student-related issues and extend to wider aspects of school life especially concerning school rules and regulations. Effective involvement, it has been said, would give students a sense of ownership thereby compelling them to adhere to school rules (Fielding, 2002). There are very few aspects of school life and decision-making in which, principle at least, school students cannot be meaningfully involved depending upon their age and experience hence the need to examine the third level of student involvement in decision making.
The third viewpoint suggests that students should fully participate in decision making which includes the formulation of rules and regulations (Magadla, 2007). This view is supported by Njozela (2008) who points out that principals and other stakeholders should not underestimate the contributions of students especially if they are given the opportunity to develop their skills and their level of maturity. In their support, Huddleston (2007) states that students should be involved in all areas of school life. He adds that the range of activities that make up the work of a school can be categorized in a number of different ways, but, however it is categorized, one should expect students to have opportunities for involvement in each major area -in particular in a school's: ethos and climate -including rules, rewards and sanctions.
Jeruto and Kiprop (2011) conducted a research on the Extent of Student Participation in Decision Making in Secondary Schools in Kenya. The study was prompted by the recurrent of student unrest in Kenya; often blamed in media and research to unequal decision making opportunities in schools. Data was collected by means of a survey questionnaire distributed among 300 secondary school learners and thirty teachers. The findings were that though there are attempts to include views of students in school policy, such attempts were mainly tokenistic and did not extend to core issues of school rules and regulations. Students were only allowed to participate in student welfare issues but were deemed to be immature and therefore unable to participate in administrative issues such as formulation of rules and regulations. It was thus concluded that student participation in secondary schools was still wanting and needed to be expanded to include issues beyond student welfare issues. Students" views are excluded when making decisions on the formulation of school rules, discipline of students and nature of punishments.
The study by Jeruto and Kiprop (2011) looked at student participation in decision making, which is a wider perspective while the current study specifically focused on the formulation of school rules. Further, this study investigated how student participation in the formulation of school rules enhances discipline, an aspect which the above study fell short of. Adams (2003) asserts that schools rules and regulations are among the strategies designed to instill good conduct of students. This implies self-control, orderliness, good behaviour and obedience to school authority (Adams, 2003). Also on admission, schools especially at secondary level, students are given prospectuses, which spell out some of the expectations which include compliance with rules and regulations (Adams, 2003).
Kiggudu (2009) conducted a study on how the management of school rules influences students" academic performance in selected private secondary schools of Busiro County in Wakiso District, Uganda. The study employed survey research design particularly cross sectional survey design. Questionnaire was the main instrument of data collection in addition to interview guide and document review. Four private secondary schools were randomly selected in Busiro County of Wakiso District in which the study was conducted. The major findings of the study were; all schools have written rules and regulations but which they don't understand, some rules and regulations require modifications and others lack consistence in their implementation, which raises students" anger leading to violence, strikes and aggression. The researcher found that despite rules and regulations specifying what school members should do and what they should not do, this expectation, in most secondary schools in Busiro County, students broke the rules and regulations with wide spread indiscipline acts such as escaping from schools, taking of alcoholic drinks, participating in frequent strikes with closure of schools and suspension of students.
The study was conducted in Uganda while the current study was conducted in Kenya. The study further used a cross sectional survey design. Data generated from across sectional survey was not systematic for analyzing the characteristics in the specific area of concern. The current study employed a descriptive survey research design that is aimed at gathering systematic information from a specific area. The scope of the study was selected private secondary schools; however the current study was interested in finding out the effectiveness of school rules in enhancing discipline in public secondary schools in Kangundo Division, Machakos County in Kenya. Kabandize (2004) carried out a study on students control through rules and regulations set by individual schools in Uganda and observed that, rules and regulations are enforced through prefect bodies and councils, disciplinary committees, teachers and involvement of parents. Cotton (2000) also argued that the best results could be obtained through vigilantly reminding students about rules and regulations of the school and monitoring their compliance with them. However it has become normal in many secondary schools for students to break school rules and regulations with impunity, showing lack of respect to school authority, damaging of school property, beating up their teachers, rioting at any slightest opportunity and even inflicting harm on one another to the extent of using acid as a means of defense. The consequences from such undisciplined behaviours may result into poor students' academic performance.
According to Matsoga (2003), during his study on discipline in schools of Botswana, he discovered the wide spread violence and misbehaviour that existed in many secondary schools. This lack of discipline, which interfered with the teaching and learning process, manifested itself in various ways including bullying, vandalism, alcohol consumption and substance abuse, truancy, inability or unwillingness to do class work at home. Theft was also identified as a common activity among secondary school students. An example was cited in 2003 where students of one of the secondary school in Botswana, broke into a biology lab to steal ethanol (Banda, 2004). Some of these students lost their lives, and others lost their sight. In another secondary school, a 19-year-old boy committed suicide after fighting with another student over a borrowed plate (Maleke, 2003). These were due to students disrespecting the formulated school rules and regulations that could assist them guide their behaviours at school. However, these researchers concentrated on discipline in secondary schools without focusing on how effective the existing rules and regulations were in enhancing discipline. Cotton (2000) in his study about the modes of students" control in Public Schools in the United States of America shares the same opinion and recommends an open minded approach to effective school rules and regulations as a way of minimizing unwanted students behaviour in schools. However, since most school rules and regulations are set without students" participation (Kabandize, 2001), students tend to resist them and at times break them leading to indiscipline acts that could result into suspension and dismissal of students.
Salzer-Morling (2010), also concurs with Cotton (2000), and believes that, responsiveness to school rules can become a consequence of how teachers view them. Harris (2005), carried out a study on discipline among learners in a state funded secondary school in Oxford, United Kingdom and established that, the collapse of discipline in the classroom order, classroom hooligans was an indication of students disrespecting classroom rules and regulations. Much as Harris (2005) study concentrated on discipline and established that it was declining among students, it did not focus on how effective the school rules were and hence a need for this study.
The Elton Committee carried out research on the standards of discipline in Scotland and Wales in 2009, and reported that students were cited with violence that involved verbal and physical aggression to teachers. According to Adeyemo (2005), who carried out a study on the level of discipline in secondary schools in Nigeria, established that, there was wide spread violation of school rules and regulations which was capable of obstructing the smooth and orderly functioning of the school system. This argument was also supported by Mukharjee (2005), who carried out a study on the standards of discipline in secondary schools in Mexico and noted that certain changes signaling maturity in the course of growth and development of students in secondary schools tend to make students misbehave by faulting school rules and regulations.
These researchers however only attempted to establish the level of discipline in schools without studying how effective the rules and regulations were in enhancing discipline and this called for this study. The question is how effective are the school rules in enhancing discipline in secondary schools? A critical analysis of the above studies did not provide a clear answer. Much as the researchers had studied the way school rules and regulations control the students" behaviour in schools, a gap remained undiscovered on how the administration of rules and regulations was effective in enhancing discipline. This study therefore investigated the existing relationship between the effectiveness of school rules and regulations and discipline enhancement Ideally, schools set rules and regulations for the proper governing of the various lifestyles of students containing the dos and don'ts (Okumbe, 2008). Regulations are authoritative orders with a course of law intended to promote order and efficiency in a school. Lupton and Jones (2002), also concurred with Okumbe (2008), and argued that effective schools demonstrate sound inclusive practices, which includes emphasizing school rules and regulations, collaborative leadership and their good practice. The school rules and regulations therefore prescribe the standard of behaviour expected of the teachers and the students. However these researchers did not say anything on the effect of school rules and regulations on discipline enhancement hence the need for this study.
In a proper learning situation, a disciplined student is the one expected to do the right thing at the right time (Kajubi, 2007). Bratton and Gold (2003) also shared in the same opinion where they argue that, a disciplined student is the one who is in the right place at the right time. However in most schools, students misuse time through loitering in villages and yet time is a factor for achieving success, others arrive very late for classes missing lessons, which seems to affect their academic performance. This can be blamed on the existence of ineffective school rules and regulations especially concerning time management.
According to Byarugaba (2001), time is a scarce resource and therefore requires proper apportioning so as to enable any organization achieve its objectives. Punctuality needs to be observed not only by students but also teachers, head teachers and non-teaching staff in an educational institution. Many a times, this is usually dependent on effective school rules and regulations. Mafabi (2003) also agreed with this idea and argued that, in the school environment for success to be achieved, the school head teacher is expected to be an example of good time management. Despite this expectation, the practice in most secondary schools is that, most of the school activities seem not to respect the designed timetable. There is a need therefore to establish the source of this poor time management. Clifford (2003) noted that discipline should take precedence over other activities and must be enforced. He argued further that, much of time management in schools is guided by school timetables that indicate time for every activity in the school such as teaching, break time, assembly, lunchtime and sports. This usually forms part of the school rules and regulations. Parkes and Thrift (2001) also shared the same opinion with Clifford (2003) during their study on time management in public schools in the United States of America and established that time is a mental device that gives order to events by identifying them as successive. But in reality, in most secondary schools, for example, assemblies tend to encroach on the time for other activities an indication of poor time management. Docking (2006) argues that, a disciplined student is the one expected to arrive before lessons start and wait for the teacher. At the same time a disciplined teacher is the one expected to respect all the time allocated to him or her on the timetable. Despite this belief, most teachers in the secondary schools are also reported to attend lessons late and leave classes before the end of lessons. This generally seems to originate from ineffective school rules and regulations. A critical analysis of the above studies shows that researchers concentrated on time management and its effect on academic performance in a class situation but without looking at its origin. Also the current time management practices in most secondary schools in Kenya has remained unknown and always raised a big concern. This study will therefore reveal the relationship between time management and school rules and regulations.
As mentioned in the background to this study there are incidents of misbehavior among secondary school students in Tanzania. Punishment is often used on students who break school rules or do not follow school regulations. Some of the evidence is based on studies of Kuleana, (1999), an NG'O which deals with Tanzanian Secondary Schools about school rules and regulations, challenging the use corporal punishment in schools. Baumard (1999) argued that punishment is a means of controlling disruptive behavior. He further stated that if punishment is the logical result of misconduct, the student is likely to accept it without resentment. He insists on teachers need always to help students to realize the appropriateness of punishment before initiating it.
On students side Byarugaba, J. (2008) revealed that students realized that punishments are an effective method of remediating individual misbehavior and therefore improving school order. Also Mafabi, et al (2008) revealed that students understand that punishment can be effective way of controlling students' behaviour when it's fair and consistent. It acts as motivators to students in order to improve students' learning and academic performance. However, Kiggundu Herbert (2009), findings indicated that punishments were found to be unfairly administered that causes dissatisfaction, anger and thus inducing acts of indiscipline such as strikes, vandalism of school property as well as violence.
One of the objectives of having school rules and regulation is to make student realize that offenders are punished. According to Cotton, et al (2000) in supporting this argument, points out that, students believe that punishments in a school system are expected to teach them the relationship between their behaviours and outcome or accountability for their mistakes. Okumbe (1998) in study done in Kenya found out that through discipline, students in secondary schools develop social adjustments, responsible attitude towards life, skills for self-development and improved performance in examinations. Schools further form character among students which benefits them and society as a whole.
Some studies indicate that punishment on breaking school rules and regulations may have negative effects on the students. Docking (2000) carried out a study on application of punishments in schools in the United Kingdom and observed that, some punishment are appropriate and constructive while others are not desirable, baseless and instead intended for instilling fear. Canter (2000), argues that some punishment such as corporal punishment should not be used because no evidence suggests they have produced better results academically, morally or that to improve school discipline. Furthermore he adds instead it may provoke students' resistance and resentment and lead to pro-violent behavior. Students turn to lying about their behavior so as to escape punishment.
One of the objectives of school rules and regulation is to bring harmony and cooperation in the classroom. School rules and regulations specify what school members should do and what they should not do (Machumu, H. 2011). In case of Tanzania, Mosha, (2006) concluded that teachers believe that if students are properly disciplined and controlled there will be order, peace and harmony in schools. This implies self control, orderliness, good behavior and obedience to school authority are imperative to create a sense of cooperation and harmony in the school.
Sometimes the school rules and regulations do not meet their objective of bring harmony in the school. Kiggundu Herbert (2009) conducted a study on the influence of Discipline Management on student academic performance in Private secondary schools in Kenya and the findings of the study revealed that all schools have written rules and regulations but some require modifications, and others lack consistence in their implementation, which raises students" anger leading to violence, strikes and aggression. Babyegeya (2002) observed that sometimes school administration encourage students to violate school rules and regulations.
Several studies have commented on the consequences of breaking school rules and regulations. Schools are affected by students' behavior which leads to crisis such as removal of the students from classroom, aggression, bullying and violence and low academic performance (Roger 1995). According to Adeyemo (1985) who carried out a study on the level of discipline in Secondary schools in Nigeria established that wide spread violation of school rules and regulations leads to obstructing the smooth and orderly functioning of the school system.
According to Adams (2003), students perceive that school rules and regulations are among strategies design to instill good conduct of students. This implies self control, orderliness, good behavior and obedience to school authority hence create a sense of cooperation and harmony in the school. Also on admission to school especially at secondary level, students revealed that they are given prospectus which spell out some of the expectations (Okumbe, J,2008). These rules and regulations specify what school members should do and what they should not do. (Machumu, H. 2011). He concluded that this shapes positively students discipline hence stimulating good academic performances.
Most administrators spend a large portion of their time dealing with school discipline and behaviour. While there is no way to eliminate student behaviour problems, there are steps that can be taken to ensure that discipline programmes are seen as effective and efficient. According to Mafabi (2009), management is the process of working with and through people to accomplish organizational goals. Management deals with the establishment of rules and regulations as well as planning activities that aim at fulfilling the objectives of a particular organization. Rules are suggested or self-imposed guides for a scientific communication for conduct or action or an accepted procedure and custom. Rules or standards of behaviour can be defined as the shared expectations of a group of people. These include what the group regards as a socially acceptable pattern of behaviour expected of every individual in the group (Harris, 2005). There should be ways of dealing with misconduct at various levels: (1) misconduct inside the classroom; (2) misconduct by breaking school rules; (3) serious misconduct or serious violation of school codes; (4) very serious misconduct or very serious violations of school codes; and (5) criminal acts which not only violate school codes but which breach the law.
Secondary schools have rules and regulations which have common threads. Students are expected to attend every school day, unless they are legally excused, and be in class on time and prepared to learn. They are also to maintain a neat appearance, including adhering to the requirements of the schools uniform or dress code policy; behave safely, considerately and responsibly, including when travelling to and from school; show respect at all times for teachers, other school staff and helpers, including following class rules, speaking courteously and cooperating with instructions and learning activities; treat one another with dignity and respect; care for property belonging to themselves, the school and others. Behaviour that infringes on the safety of others, such as harassment, bullying and illegal or anti-social behaviour of any kind, is not tolerated as these are acts of indiscipline (Magadla, 2007).
Lack of discipline among students is largely a reflection of attributes, values and practices of their society. This was evident in the conceptual framework where student adherence to school rules and regulations was found to be reliant on parental upbringing and the social environment as intervening variables. If there is no social order in a society, the students will be in disciplined in school (Grossnickle and Frank, 2006). In South Africa, the alarming level of classroom violence and schoolyard crime mirrors a wider problem in a country with some of the world's highest rates of violent crime for instance, a spate of fatal school stabbings involving teenage pupils who were both perpetrators and victims (McGregory, 2006). However, if the family background is not good, different social classes are present, school is located in a socially disadvantaged area and there is bad influence of peer groups it will have a negative effect on discipline so academic achievement will also be negatively affected.
Lack of proper management by teachers results in conflicting rules at home and the school situation. Sometimes, students are ignorant of the rules or want to try the teachers to see which rules are operational and which are not for instance, form four students of Murray secondary, Taita-Taveta, left the school without permission after a trip aborted. They were later suspended. Unqualified school managers are also some of the major causes of crisis in schools (Mwiria, 2004). In the last few years, secondary schools in Kenya have experienced unprecedented spate of students' unrest. This occurrence has elicited a barrage of attacks directed towards students. Most criticism has been precipitated on the premise that students are indisciplined as a result of ineffective rules and regulations (Kiprop, 2007).
The discipline of students both in school and at home is determined by many factors. Among these factors, parental upbringing lays the most important basis for the discipline of the child. Beyond the home, the social environment plays another fundamental role in shaping the child's character. Corporal punishment has been used Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) DOI: 10.7176/JEP Vol.10, No.11, 2019 for long in our society both at home and outside the precincts of home to instill discipline. Compliance through caning is often mistaken for discipline. However, research has shown that this form of violent approach to discipline is counter -productive in the long run. Corporal punishment dehumanizes the child, is brutal and instills fear in the child which inhibits the child's normal growth and productivity (Kiprop, 2007). Most proponents of corporal punishment are losing sight of the very basic fact that approaches of instilling discipline abound in our midst. Guidance and counseling is yet to be fully embraced in our schools yet it is one of the best methods of reforming children.
In several international treaties that Kenya has ratified, corporal punishment has been regarded as a form of physical violence against children. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines physical abuse as the intentional use of physical force against a child that results in or has likelihood of resulting into harm of the child's health, survival, development or dignity, examples include hitting, beating, kicking, shaking, biting, strangling, scalding, burning, poisoning and suffocating (WHO, 2010). The Children Act 2001 Laws of Kenya categorizes corporal punishment as a form of violence against children. It is against this understanding that the Act outlaws it.
Rules or standards of behavior can be defined as the shared expectations of a group of people. These include what the group regards as a socially acceptable pattern of behaviour expected of every individual in the group (Harris, 2005). Ideally, schools set rules and regulations for the proper governing of the various lifestyles of students containing the dos and don'ts (Okumbe, 2008). Regulations on the other hand are authoritative orders with a course of law intended to promote order and efficiency in an organization. McGregory (2006) also concurred with Okumbe (2008), and argued that effective schools demonstrate sound inclusive practices, which includes emphasizing school rules and regulations, collaborative leadership and their good practice. The school rules and regulations therefore prescribe the standard of behaviour expected of the teachers and the students. However these researchers did not say anything on the effect of school rules and regulations on students" academic performance and thus a need for this study.
Good discipline at school plays a vital role in the achievement of expectations and goals. Many secondary schools experience ineffective discipline. This lack of discipline has affected the learner's academic performance and their progress in school. Wood, Nicholson and Findley (2005:312) state that good discipline helps to develop desirable student behaviour. If a school has effective discipline, the academic performance will be good. Directions on the side of the learners as well as educators will be easy and smooth. Gawe, Vakalisa and Jacobs (2001:190) emphasize co-operative learning as a solution. If a school lacks effective discipline, the achievement academically will be poor.
Discipline also plays a vital role in the acquisition of responsibility in learners as well as educators. Educator's ability to exercise effective discipline as suggested by Dunham (2004:66) is essential. Good discipline creates a good image of the school and prepares learners for the future. Disruptive behaviour amongst learners is eliminated if there is good discipline at school. The implementation of effective discipline at school is a key for the learner in his journey to adulthood. Parents often have no choice but to enroll their children in a school with poor discipline which often leads to poor academic performances.
Effective discipline is needed in school for good academic achievement. When there is effective discipline in a school and in the classroom, effective teaching and learning can take place thus leading to positive academic achievements. Sonn (2009:86) emphasizes that a school without effective discipline is unmanageable and often results in unmotivated and demoralized educators and learners which in turn leads to poor academic performance. Effective discipline results in good academic achievement because self discipline is involved which promotes the focus on the achievement of a learners goal but indiscipline has negative results such as high failure rates.
Visser (2009) refers to the role of partnership between parents and educators in effective discipline. If discipline [effective] is present at school and the parent at home is also aware of good discipline at school and it is also applied at home, this is a good recipe for good academic achievement because what is applied at school is also applied at home. There is no difference between the school environment and the home environment.
Traditionally, teachers are encouraged to believe that the learning environment must be orderly and quiet. For some principals, a quiet classroom means adherence to classroom rules which prohibit noise making in class. With the growing movement toward cooperative learning, however, more teachers are using activities in which students take an active role. Sharing ideas and information with various activities occurring at the same time can 117 make for noisy classrooms. But it would be a mistake to conclude that in such classrooms students are not learning and that they are violating classroom rules (Carr, 2008).
The classroom management and mastering order inside the classroom are the most important factors in educational process and basic requirements. They are considered the basic problems which face the teacher since teachers complain about mastering the order inside the classroom, and it consumes much effort and time, and they are considered as sensitive, important and critical factors for the teacher's success or failure in his tasks. Teachers do not generally want to give control to their students especially on matters of discipline. They are instructed that the mark of a good teacher is the teacher who controls the class (Taylor, 2007). The amount of control that teachers have in the class is often seen by the administration as a measurement of the quality of a teacher. Administrators are usually happy ifa teacher never sends a student to the office and interpret this as proof that the teacher is in control and must be doing a good job thus the students are disciplined (Visser, 2009).
Students that practice disruptive behaviour cause disciplinary problems in the classroom and have negative effects on student, it may also lead to low achievement. There are many academic and behavioural problems regarding students that face teachers in the classroom and has a direct impact on the teaching -learning process such as: forgetting school tools, frequent absence, lack of attention, hyperactivity, inappropriate talk in the classroom vandalism, disobedience, aggressiveness, refusal to do tasks and school works. There is no instruction without any problems, as long the classroom has different achievement factors, and different personality (Visser, 2009).
A study carried out in Zimbabwe by Tull and Hawking (2006), on how attitude plays an important role in predicting behaviour among secondary school students showed that the knowledge of how students perceive rules and regulations and their readiness to embrace them can help in determining if they instill discipline in students or not. Tull and Hawking proceed to say that attitudes impel students to react to objects, situations or propositions in ways that can be called favorable or unfavorable. This can also be termed as an atmosphere created by an individual towards another individual, object, subject or even surroundings. The sample study consisted of 10 secondary schools, 50 students randomly sampled and 10 teachers who were purposively sampled according to the subjects they taught.
This study was conducted in Zimbabwe, a different country from Kenya; there is therefore a need to determine the effectiveness of school rules in enhancing discipline within a Kenyan geographical location. Further, the study focused on how attitude plays an important role in predicting behaviour among secondary school students while the current study will focus on the effectiveness of school rules in enhancing discipline.
In Kenya most students tend to have a negative attitude towards school rules and regulations (Kamau and Njenga, 2009). This is attributed to the fact most students at this level are usually in their adolescent stage where they develop a rebellious attitude towards what is even meant for their benefit. This can have a negative effect over the implementation of school rules and regulations. Kamau and Njenga (2009) conducted a study on how negative attitude hinders effective implementation of school rules and regulations in secondary schools in Kenya, case study of Kiambaa Constituency, Central Province. They stated that right attitude formation is a core part in the implementation of school rules and regulations. Formation of favorable attitude is central to the education process. The study sample consisted of 7 secondary schools in Kiambaa Constituency, fourteen teachers purposively sampled and 150 students randomly sampled. The result of the finding concluded that the attitude of a teacher and students matter a lot in the implementation of school rules and regulations. This study was conducted in Kiambaa which is an urban setting while the present one will be conducted in Kangundo Division which is in a rural area.
The purpose of discipline and punishment should be constructive and not destructive; educative rather than punitive. The aim of discipline should be to educate and nurture values of tolerance, respect and self-discipline in the learner rather than to victimize, seek revenge or belittle him/her (Gottfredson, 2009). The major challenge faced in enforcing school rules and regulations is ensuring that these aims are met.
The use of corporal punishment at school is one of the most debated topics in education and it poses a big challenge. Corporal punishment was out-lawed, but there are still a number of schools where it is an acceptable practice. Alston (2008) conducted a study titled Student Discipline in South Africa: Problems and Solutions. In his findings, the situation was that many educators face daily struggles in their school environment with issues of discipline. The study revealed that many educators found themselves in a position of not knowing what to do in the absence of corporal punishment. These educators were not alone in their struggle; even those educators who were committed to this change sometimes found themselves in a difficult situation.

Du Plessis (2008) carried out a research titled Exploring Secondary School Educator Experiences of School
Violence in South Africa. The research found that one of the scariest issues for teachers is dealing with confrontational students in the classroom. While confrontations did not occur every day in every classroom, most secondary school teachers had to deal with a student who was acting belligerent and speaking out in their classroom. This research was carried out in South Africa, a different geographical setting from the one to be used in the current study and this has different implications on the findings.
When Johns Hopkins University researcher Gottfredson (2009) analyzed data from over 600 of the nation's secondary schools, he found that the following school characteristics were associated with discipline problems: Rules were unclear or perceived as unfairly or inconsistently enforced; students did not believe in the rules; teachers and administrators did not know what the rules were or disagreed on the proper responses to student misconduct; teacher-administration cooperation was poor or the administration inactive; teachers tended to have punitive attitudes; misconduct was ignored; and schools were large or lacked adequate resources for teaching (Gottfredson, 2009).
After reviewing dozens of studies on student behaviour, McKenzie and Rutto (2008) agreed with many of the Gottfredsons' conclusions. Orderly schools, they noted, usually balance clearly established and communicated rules with a climate of concern for students as individuals, and small alternative schools often maintain order successfully with fewer formal rules and a more flexible approach to infractions than large schools typically have.
Rono (2006) conducted a study on the use of guidance and counseling in managing student discipline in public secondary schools in Eldoret Municipality. The findings revealed that a school administrator's job in the realm of student discipline is much like the combination of judge and jury. A school administrator listens to all the evidence and makes the best possible decision that he or she can make in handing out a reasonable consequence. However, this was found to be very challenging.
Wanja (2010) conducted a study on challenges principals face in enhancing student discipline in secondary schools in Tigania District, Kenya. Her findings revealed that the challenges secondary schools face when enforcing rules and regulations include political interference, parents interference, restriction by law, lack of support by superiors, teachers being poor role models, inappropriate knowledge on disciplinary actions and drug abuse by students. This implies that effective methods of enforcing rules and regulations in schools are varied.
The attributes, habits and other activities of parents strongly influence their children which in turn influences school discipline (Nyaga, 2004). Due to threats from some influential parents, teachers may suspend taking disciplinary measures like suspensions for the fear that the influential parents may have it terminated altogether and the student readmitted unconditionally (Okumbe, 2001). The pitfall evident from the studies reviewed above was the failure to focus on the effect of teachers discipline management strategies on students' academic performance. This study therefore attempted at filling this gap.

Statement of the Problem
Education is critical to industrial and technological development, with the history of developed nations bearing records of this, developing nations aspiring to realize the same status have to put a premium. UNESCO (2005) indicates that knowledge holds key to the attainment of the millennium development goals, which include, food security, eradication of child mortality, and reduction of the spread of HIV and AIDS among others. Scholars and researchers generally agree that the school variables, which include teachers, administration and resources, perform a critical role in educational achievement especially in KCSE performance than other variables. The commitment and determination of Kenya government to provide education as a means of developing human resource cannot be overlooked. Over the years, the government has made several policy pronouncements and institutional changes aimed at improving the quality of the graduates of education system. There is great effort made by the Ministry of Education to offer guidance and counseling services to schools but still cases of indiscipline in public secondary schools are reported in Tharaka Nithi County. Despite government effort and emphasis to have all schools embrace change and incorporate students in the management of schools, the question is whether all schools in Tharaka Nithi County are giving young people freedom of expression and appropriate participation in policy making as enshrined in the United Nations convention on the right of the child. Again the suspension discipline strategy is time wasting not only to students but also principals and BOM. It can therefore be easily avoided. The academic trend for 2013 to 2015 show a grade attained in KCPE and a decline of the grade at KCSE in the same years in Tharaka Nithi County. In 2013 the mean grade for KCPE was C and for KCSE D+. IN 2014 KCPE was C and KCSE was D+. In 2015 KCPE attained grade C+ whereas KCSE managed grade C-. The results show a lot of wastage from primary to secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County. Whereas, there has been studies carried out on the causes of indiscipline in schools and reasons for the lack of good performance in KCSE, there is scanty information on how the teachers discipline management strategies impact on the students' performance in KCSE. Owing to the high number of indiscipline cases and decline in grade from KCPE to KCSE in Tharaka Nithi County, this study seeks to assess the teachers' discipline management strategies and their impact on students' performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations in public secondary schools in the County.

Research Methodology
This study employed descriptive survey research design. This design was suitable because it fits the nature of the study. This study described the teachers' discipline management strategies and examined how they affected the students' performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County. According to Bryman (2012), descriptive survey deals with counting the number of respondents with certain opinions, attitudes towards a specific object. For this study opinion was sought through questionnaires and interviews on whether the teachers discipline management strategies support students performance in KCSE or not. This study targeted all the public secondary schools of various categories in Tharaka Nithi County. There were a total of 104 public schools in Tharaka Nithi County with 104 principals and 6862 teachers. Data collected through questionnaires was sorted, edited and cleaned. Coding is whereby researchers assign respondents' answers to pertinent responses categories, in tabulation form, (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2003). Descriptive statistics included frequencies, measures of central tendencies (mean) and measures of dispersion (standard deviation). The data was then keyed into the computer. Pearson r was used to test the relationships with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). To present quantitative data, descriptive statistics was used. Data was presented in form of tables, graphs and pie charts.

Purpose of the Study and objectives of the paper
The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of teachers' discipline management strategies on KCSE performance in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. The study was set to assess the influence of school rules on KCSE performance in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County.

Theoretical Frame Work
The theoretical framework for the proposed study was based on Systems Theory of Peter M. Senge, (1990). Peter looks at organization as where people continually expand their capacity to create the result they truly desire, where new and expansive pattern of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspirations is set and where people are continually learning to see the whole together. For the discipline in a school to work, all the discipline strategies must work together for a common outcome. The four disciplines in an organization according to peter are discussed below. Systems thinking: this is the cornerstone of the learning organization. Each member sees himself as a member connected to the whole and having interrelationships with other members of the organization. In this study the administration system is the focus point where all discipline strategies of the organization can be coordinated. Personal mastery or continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision focusing our energies, developing patience and seeing reality of objectivity is the second discipline. This is the work of guidance and counseling in our schools.
Mental models are ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures that influence how we understand the world. This is the third discipline. When the student council is involved in the day to day of school management, their view of their academic performance is heightened and they contribute more to schools discipline. Team learning: process of aligning and the capacities of team to create the results its members truly desire. This is where students are suspended to pave way to the conducive environment for other stundents. This is the fifth discipline. The integration of the discipline strategies in management of discipline is geared towards good performance in KCSE. In this study the Systems Theory will be used to understand the impact of the teachers' discipline management strategies such as, school rules and students' performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County.  Vol.10, No.11, 2019 120 Findings and discussions

Respondents Teachers
The total numbers of questionnaires issued to the teachers were 346. The collection of 340 realized. This was 98% return rate. These rates are high enough and therefore build confidence in the results as presented in figure 1.

Gender of the Respondents
The study sought to establish how the sample was spread out across gender. Results of the respondents in involvement in gender are presented in table 1. Results in Table 1 indicate that 70% of the principals who responded were male and 30% were female implying that majority of principals employed in these schools are males compared to their female counterparts.  Table 2 indicate that 61.2% of the principals who responded were male and 28.8% were female implying that majority of teachers employed in these schools are males compared to their female counterparts.

School Category
This study aimed at establishing the distribution of the respondents among the schools selected for this study.  Table 3 indicate that majority of the schools studied were mixed schools (77.5%). Pure boys' schools studied were 10% of the total sample while pure girls' schools were 17.5% of the total sample. The study therefore recommends that stake holders should give more alternatives for pure girls' and pure boy's schools in the county.

Relationship between the Use of school rules and KCSE Performance
To test the relationship between School Rules and students' performance, hypothesis was used.
H0: There is no significant relationship between the use of School Rules as teachers discipline management strategy and KCSE performance among students in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County.
The researcher subjected the test items that were based on a five Likert scale to descriptive statistics with the help of SPSS software. The results of the computation are shown in The results in Table 4 shows that 50.3% of the teachers strongly agreed and 45.9% agreed that their respective schools had a set of written rules. However, 2.9% of the teachers were not sure on this while 0.9% strongly disagreed. Majority (61.1%) of the teachers did agree that school rules have assisted in managing discipline with 38.3% strongly agreeing to this. On whether the rules are displayed in the dining halls and notice board, 74% of the teachers could not confirm this (neither agreed nor disagreed) while 24.6% agreed and only 1.5% strongly agreed that the rules are displayed in the dining hall and notice board. As to whether the parents/guardians have signed to abide to the school rules upon admission, 36% of the teachers were not sure whether this is done in their respective schools. 33.9% agreed, 2% strongly agreed while a good number of teachers i.e. 28.1% disagreed.
The rating by the teachers on whether students are regularly reminded of the school rules was varied. 48% agreed and 16.7% strongly agreed while 34.8% were not sure and 0.6% disagreed. Another 48% of the teachers were not sure whether students are involved in making school rules. However, 34.2% agreed and 1.2% strongly agreed that students are involved with 16.7% disagreeing. On whether time wasted in doing punishment recovered, 48.8% of the teachers disagreed and 33% were non-committal on this statement. Only 14.6% and 2.3% agreed and strongly agreed respectively with 1.2% strongly disagreeing. There was a very high rating by the teachers on the importance of student rules in KCSE performance with 91.8% strongly agreeing and 5.6% agreeing that school rules play a role in student performance in KCSE. Only 2.5% strongly disagreed.
The results agreed with the findings by with Visser (2009) who stressed the role of partnership between parents and educators in effective discipline. If discipline [effective] is present at school and the parent at home is also aware of good discipline at school and it is also applied at home, this is a good recipe for good academic achievement because what is applied at school is also applied at home. There is no difference between the school environment and the home environment. Mwiria, (2004) blamed indiscipline in schools to lack of proper management by teachers. He retaliated that bad management results in conflicting rules at home and the school situation. Sometimes, students are ignorant of the rules or want to try the teachers to see which rules are operational and which are not for instance, form four students of Murray secondary, Taita-Taveta, left the school without permission after a trip aborted. They were later suspended. According to Mwiria (2004), said that the unqualified school managers are also some of the major causes of crisis in schools.
The findings were in line with Chaplain (2003) who argued that the purpose of the school rules is to create a safe and warm environment. Classroom Discipline Plan (2005) notes that such involvement must be genuine and should include all students and not limited to just a few students in student government. Such students may be least likely to challenge the rules in the first place (Arthur-Kelly et al. 2006).
To test the relationship between School Rules and KCSE performance, hypothesis was used.
H0: There is no significant relationship between the use of school rules as teachers discipline management strategy and KCSE performance in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County. . This was out of data collected by questionnaire items 27 to 34 put in a Likert scale form that got information on school rules. The computation produced a p-value of .099 and an r-value of .089 at a df of 340 at an alpha level of .05. The results of the computation revealed that the two variables were significant (r (340) =.089, p<.05).
With a Pearson's Correlation value of .089, it means that the relationship was significant. The results also indicated that a p-value of .099 was greater than the chosen alpha level of .05 that was used to determine the rejection or retention of the null hypothesis in this study. This means that the null hypothesis was retained.
In agreement with these results, some researchers have made their contributions. When Johns Hopkins University researcher Gottfredson (2009) analyzed data from over 600 of the nation's secondary schools, he found that the following school characteristics were associated with discipline problems: Rules were unclear or perceived as unfairly or inconsistently enforced; students did not believe in the rules; teachers and administrators did not know what the rules were or disagreed on the proper responses to student misconduct; teacheradministration cooperation was poor or the administration inactive; teachers tended to have punitive attitudes; misconduct was ignored; and schools were large or lacked adequate resources for teaching. After reviewing dozens of studies on student behaviour, McKenzie and Rutto (2008) agreed with many of the Gottfredsons' conclusions. Orderly schools, they noted, usually balance clearly established and communicated rules with a climate of concern for students as individuals, and small alternative schools often maintain order successfully with fewer formal rules and a more flexible approach to infractions than large schools typically have. Rono (2006) in agreement with these results revealed that a school administrator's job in the realm of student discipline is much like the combination of judge and jury. A school administrator listens to all the evidence and makes the best possible decision that he or she can make in handing out a reasonable consequence. However, this was found to be very challenging. These results again agree with Wanja (2010) who conducted a study on challenges principals face in enhancing student discipline in secondary schools in Tigania District, Kenya. Her findings revealed that the challenges secondary schools face when enforcing rules and regulations include political interference, parents interference, restriction by law, lack of support by superiors, teachers being poor role models, inappropriate knowledge on disciplinary actions and drug abuse by students. This implies that effective methods of enforcing rules and regulations in schools are varied.
The attributes, habits and other activities of parents strongly influence their children which in turn influences school discipline (Nyaga, 2004). Okumbe, (2001), blamed these results to threats from some influential parents, "principals may suspend taking disciplinary measures like suspensions for the fear that the influential parents may have it terminated altogether and the student readmitted unconditionally". He added that in America, head teachers are ordered to use "suspended expulsion" and he/she has no right to punish or suspend the student before summoning the parents for a conference with the school. A suspended student is even allowed certain rights by the United States Supreme Court and whenever such cases are taken to court, the principal loses.
After testing the hypothesis, the researcher also analyzed data that was collected from the interview schedule form principals for triangulation purposes. Twenty one principals were interviewed based on structured interview questions one to twelve. The items sought to determine the principal's discipline management strategies in relation to KCSE performance in secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County. These questions (see Appendix 3) were designed to obtain relevant information from twenty one principals in relation to principals discipline management strategies. In answering interview questions 10 and 11, out of the 21 sampled interviewees, 17 (80.95 %) had a clear way of formulating school rules while 4 (19.04%) had no clear way of formulating school rules. One of the interviewees, Principal 5 stated that: "School rules and regulations in our school are formulated by the discipline committee although sometimes we consult the students".
Principal 13 when interviewed had this to say: "We have discipline committee, we have manuals on discipline, we have a student council so we agree to formulate the rules. We even borrow from other areas and modify them to suit our purpose. Our rules are simple; it is an in house thing and we just agree and follow them".
On the question number 7 which dealt with the influence of the school rules (discipline) on KCSE performance, all principals (100%) interviewed indicated that there is a positive influence. One of the interviewee, principal 14 responded that: "Indiscipline among students leads to poor performance. Indiscipline cases will definitely lead to time wastage especially when the students are punished they are out there when learning is in progress; they are not able to get anything from class and they are not able to perform." When principal number 8 was interviewed, he stated the following: "Discipline is key in performance. Without discipline, performance is so low. The better the discipline, the better the performance. So you must enhance discipline then the performance goes up." The meaning of is that schools need discipline in order to perform in KCSE. School rules are tools to discipline but do not have direct connection with KCSE performance. The school rules therefore can be used as a guide to discipline but not as a strategy for KCSE performance.

Conclusions and recommendations
This study sought to assess of teachers' discipline management strategies and their impact on students' academic performance in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study was to assess the influence of school rules as teacher's discipline management strategy on KCSE performance among students in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County. It was clear that students are reminded about school rules regularly. Most of the schools have a set of written rules the students and parents/guardians signs to abide by them upon admission into the school. This is because rules play a significant role in students' academic performance since it assists in managing discipline. The students were found not to be involved in the making of school rules. The use of school rules did not indicate relationship between the use of school rules as teachers'discipline management strategy and KCSE performance among students in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County. Thus the hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between the use of school rules as teachers' discipline management strategy and KCSE performance among students in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County was also retained.

Conclusions
Conclusions were based on the findings of the study in reference to the specific objectives. The study concluded that school rules as principal's discipline management strategy have no statistically significant effect on KCSE performance. The results also show that school rules don't contribute to a unit change in student performance. School rules are therefore a tool for managing discipline with no effects to academic performance. Alternative discipline management strategies should be adopted to enhance student performance in KCSE.

Recommendations of the Study
From the findings of the study, the researcher made the following recommendations: i. The school administration should involve the students in formulating school rules. This can be done by encouraging the students to come up with rules that could be incorporated in the old school laws. This would give them a feeling of ownership since they will view them as their own creation and thus strive to obey them.
ii. School rules are a tool for managing discipline with no effects to academic performance. Alternative discipline management strategies should be adopted to enhance student performance in KCSE.