Level of involvement of Peer Counsellors and Students' Discipline in Selected High Schools in Ainamoi Sub-County, Kericho County, Kenya

Abstract

Peer counselling is a program focussing on peers helping peers. The duty of a peer counsellor is to moderate problems within students by helping them to find out answers to their challenges. Peer counselling has been lauded as a strategy to curb indiscipline in high schools. The study aims to establish the influence of involvement and participation of peer counsellors on students' discipline in selected schools in Ainamoi sub-county, Kericho County. The study may be useful to key stakeholders in education, including school administrators, both private and public, and researchers who may find this information useful in implementing policy on students' discipline in schools in Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The study was conducted in 4 selected high schools in Ainamoi sub-county, Kericho County, with a target population of 2980. The research involved students, peer counsellors, teacher heads of Guidance and Counselling department, and deputy head teachers. The sample size of 325 respondents was selected using a stratified sampling technique. The researcher used two instruments for data collection: The questionnaire and Focus Discussion Groups (FDGs) was key to gathering information on students' response. An interview schedule was used to collect Data from the Teacher HODs, Deputy Head Teachers, and Sub-County Education Officer. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics that adopted mean and standard deviation. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation was used as inferential statistics. Data were further presented in tables, pie charts, and bar graphs. Content analysis was used for interview questions. The processes involving the students, teachers, and administration significantly influence students' discipline. Therefore, the study concluded that peer counselling affected the students' discipline. The peer counselling has assisted in reducing bullying, solving problems, and reducing students' fights and strikes, giving a positive picture to the students.