Abstract:
Indiscipline cases in secondary schools have been observed in several secondary schools. The increased number of cases of student unrest in the country demonstrates a problem of discipline among students in secondary schools. The majority of the indiscipline cases have pointed to the principal’s leadership styles adopted. It is against this backdrop that this study sought to assess the influence of the principals’ ethical instructional leadership qualities on students’ discipline among students in secondary schools in West Pokot Sub County, Kenya. The following specific objectives guided the study; to determine the influence of the principal’s ethical communication skills on students’ discipline; the influence of the principal’s goal-setting skills on students’ discipline; the influence of the principal’s team-building skills on students’ discipline and the influence of principal’s stakeholder involvement skills on students’ discipline in public day secondary schools in west Pokot Sub County. The theoretical framework was based on teleological ethical theory. The study used a descriptive survey research design. The target population of the study was 3450 respondents. This comprised 24 principals, 24 deputy principals, 449 teachers and 2953 students from the public day secondary schools in the study area. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to arrive at a sample of 593 which was comprised of 24 principals, 24 deputy principals, 205 teachers and 340 students. The study used questionnaires, and interview schedules to collect data. The collected data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Quantitative data yielded from the study was analysed using percentages and means. The results were presented using tables and graphs. Qualitative data were organized in themes and presented alongside their respective quantitative data. The study findings showed that: The principals’ ethical communication qualities had a significant influence on students’ discipline. In conclusion, the study established that there is a significant relationship between principals’ ethical instructional leadership qualities and students’ discipline in secondary schools. The study recommends the adoption of the principals’ ethical instructional leadership in addressing the challenges of student discipline in secondary school through strengthening their ethical communication skills, goal-setting qualities, team-building skills and stakeholder involvement efforts. The research findings are anticipated to be of importance to the ministry of education in terms of developing and revising policies guiding teacher ethics in instructional leadership which will lead to better discipline in schools.
