Principals’ Decision-Making Skills and Management of Student Discipline in Public Secondary Schools in Bomet County, Kenya

Abstract

Decision-making is an important set of skills that principals needed in the management of schools. These skills are particularly useful when dealing with student indiscipline. The study examined the relationship between principals’ decision-making skills and their ability to manage student discipline among secondary schools in Bomet County, Kenya. The study was descriptive survey by design. The target population was 572, constituting of 5 Sub-County Education Directors, 189 principals and 189 deputy principals and 189 senior teachers. A sample size of 239 respondents, consisting of 78 principals, 78 deputy principals and 78 senior teachers proportionally distributed and all the 5 Sub-County Education Directors, was obtained using Yamane’s formula. Simple random sampling and purposive sampling were utilised to select respondents. Data was then collected using a structured questionnaire and an interview schedule. Interview data was subjected to content analysis while quantitative data was analysed using SPSS version 24 to generate descriptive statistics. The results of the study revealed that principals’ decision-making skills had a positive and significant effect on the management of

student discipline in public secondary schools (β4= 0.261, p=0.005). Therefore, key decision- making skills such as focusing on relevant details, working cohesively with teachers and

students, reasoning, considering all available and relevant data, instincts, teamwork, emotional intelligence, brainstorming and organizational skills, among others, helped principals to better address student indiscipline problems in schools. It is therefore recommended that school administrators and teachers should enforce school policies consistently to promote positive student behaviour. School principals and teachers should be trained on how to enforce these policies and respond appropriately to disciplinary issues that arise in the schools. This will help create a positive learning environment and promote student discipline.