Drug Use Challenges Facing Student Leaders in Discipline Management in Secondary Schools in Kosirai Division, Kenya (Published)
Student leaders in school play a very important role in enhancing discipline among the students. However, they often face a lot of indiscipline challenges from the students, making it difficult for them to perform their management duties in school. Based on a study conducted in Kosirai Division, Nandi County, Kenya, this paper examines the drug use related challenges facing student leaders in discipline management. The study employed a descriptive survey design. Questionnaires, interviews and document analysis were used to collect data, which was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively and presented in form of frequency tables. SPSS also aided the data analysis process. A total of 183 students/student leaders, 50 teachers and 12 deputy principals were sampled in the study. The study findings indicated that there was use of drugs among high school students. The student leaders also said they encountered problems when dealing with students who use drugs. Consequently, these student leaders ended up performing poorly as they tended to use much of their time dealing with discipline problems amongst drug abusers. The prevalence of drug abuse among the youth is high and therefore there should be concerted efforts by the ministry of education officials, school management and parents in general to combat the use of drugs in schools and outside school.
Keywords: Challenges, Discipline Management, Drugs Use, Secondary Schools, Student Leaders