Relationship between corporal punishment and Students’ behaviour in public schools of Kibwezi East Sub-county, Makueni county, Kenya

ABSTRACT The central problem of this research was to determine the relationship between corporal punishment and students’ behaviour among secondary schools of Kibwezi East Sub-county. The main objectives of the research were to establish the forms of corporal punishment practiced within the county, the degree to which the punishment influence the students behaviour and the reasons why the schools continue practicing the already outlawed behaviour. The research adopted a descriptive survey where respondents were selected purposefully. Structured questionnaire were used to collect data from 20 schools with each school being represented by 16 students. The principal, deputy principal and the head of guidance and counselling from each school were also included in the research. Data was analyzed using the SPSS package. After the analysis, the research established that corporal punishment is rife in secondary schools. Various forms of corporal punishment ranging from monetary fines to suspension as well as manual punishment were established in the research. Despite this fact, the research revealed that there exist no measures to curb the behaviour. The practice is taking place amid the law burning corporal punishment in all schools regardless of the level of the academic ladder. The research also established that students themselves have been dissatisfied by the practice and have reacted severally. The students reactions have always been negative; strikes, school discontinuation and other disadvantageous forms of response. The research therefore recommends the school management and the government to come up with other strategies of correcting deviant behaviour among the students since corporal punishment has been proven ineffective and unethical