Teachers' and students' perception of discipline in Armed Forces Secondary Technical School

Abstract

Discipline is the bedrock of every educational institution. To attain the goals of education students should be taught to obey rules. As a result, a research was conducted to investigate teachers' and students' perception of discipline in the Armed Forces Secondary Technical School. Four research questions guided the study. The study investigated teachers' and students' perceptions on discipline, frequency of disciplinary problems and strategies to improve discipline. The population consisted of teachers and students. The sample comprised 135 students and 15 teachers. The techniques for sampling students and teachers were the cluster and random sampling respectively. Data was collected using questionnaires. The reliability of the questionnaires was determined. The Cronbach's alpha co-efficient obtained for disciplinary problems were .803 for students and .871 for teachers. On strategies for improving discipline, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient were .708 for students .861 for teachers. However, the co-efficient obtained on the perceptions of discipline were poor due to the nature of the items. The overall perceptions on discipline were based on measures, which enable students manage their behaviour without punishment. One of the most frequent disciplinary problems was cheating in examination. In addition, guidance and counseling was regarded as one of the most effective strategies for improving discipline. Among other factors, it was indicated that parents and the community could help improve discipline through regular visits to the school.