Influence of visiting days on student discipline in girls’ public boarding secondary schools in Uasin Gishu County

Visiting days in boarding schools have become a phenomenon in Kenya. Each school has its own policies on the management of the whole event, relating to who visits to what is brought to students during visiting days. These policies are often flouted resulting in indiscipline. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of visiting days on student discipline in girls’ boarding secondary schools of Uasin Gishu County. The target population comprised all the 92 secondary schools with an approximate population of 12,273 students. Out of these, 6079 were girls. All the Form Three girls in the schools were 850. Thirty (30) Form Three girls from each school were selected using lottery technique; yielding 210 girls. For schools, purposive and stratified sampling was used to yield seven girls’ only boarding secondary schools comprising: 1 national, 2 provincial, 2 district and 2 private secondary schools. The 7 head teachers automatically qualified once their schools were selected. The 2 Guiding and Counselling teachers in each school were selected purposively. The entire sample size consisted of 7 schools, 210 students, 7 head teachers and 14 guiding and counselling teachers; totalling 231. Data collection utilized mainly the questionnaire, augmented by interviews and documentary analysis. Analysis was done using qualitative computer software with matrix output capabilities (SPSS and Excel). Results were presented and interpreted using suitable simple tables, charts, graphs and prose. The study revealed that mothers were the main visitors to schools during visiting days, with foodstuff being the major items brought. There was also no uniform system used in managing visiting days as each school was to come up with their own devices. However, lapses in enforcement compromised discipline management. The study recommends to the MOEST to streamline and regulate visiting days; as well as determine the extent of parental involvement when children are in boarding schools.