An assessment of features of school culture influencing student deviance in schools within Bungoma County, Kenya

Abstract

Whereas many schools have been known to exhibit strong school cultures that seem to drive academic excellence, deviant behaviour in schools continues to be a matter of global concern. Knowledge of the role school culture plays in mitigating deviance is vital for any prevention programme yet this has been missing. The purpose of this study was to address this gap by examining influence of features of school culture on student deviant behaviour in secondary schools of Bungoma County, Kenya. A sample size of 79 was used from a study population size [N] of 504 composed of school management staff in secondary schools of Bungoma County. The mixed research design that comprised of concurrent triangulation, correlation and phenomenology was employed. Multiphase and stratified sampling was used to select schools. Purposive sampling was used to select school management staff. The data for the study was obtained through questionnaires and interviews. Descriptive statistics: cross-tabulations and frequency tables together with inferential statistical analyses: Chi square and simple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the data. The study established that all the sampled features of school culture were being applied in schools within Bungoma County. Chi-square tests revealed a significant relationship between features of school culture and student deviant behaviour prevalence in Bungoma County schools. Regression analysis revealed a weak to moderate relationship between features of school culture and deviance levels. The study concludes that school culture influences student deviant behaviour prevalence. The study recommends that alleviation of student deviant behaviour in Bungoma county schools requires formulation of school cultures that ensure engagement of partnerships both within school and family environments as prescribed by Bronfenbrenner’s model. The findings give an empirical backing to educational policy makers in addressing school culture as an important variable among contributors to student deviance.