Effects of Stress Management Strategies on Enhancement of Students? Discipline in Secondary Schools In Elburgon Division, Molo Sub-County, Nakuru County, Kenya

Educationists are currently paying more attention to the effects of stress on students in relation to school discipline. Inability to cope with stress culminates to indiscipline behaviour that has rocked many schools in Kenya. Stress management strategies are a set of techniques and programme intended to help people experiencing stress, acquire appropriate measures to avert harmful behaviour. The purpose of this study therefore was to determine the effect of stress management strategies on enhancement of students- discipline in secondary schools in Elburgon Division, Molo Sub County in Nakuru County. The study adopted the ex post facto research design. The target population of the study consisted 4145 students, 20 school counselors and 20 school administrators while the accessible population consisted 2072 students. A sample size of 322 students was selected using simple random sampling, 16 school counselors and 16 administrators were purposively sampled. The data was collected through the administration of students, teacher counselors questionnaires and an interview schedule to the school administrators. A pilot study was carried out in two different schools from those in the study but with similar characteristics to help in determining the reliability of the instruments. The pilot study yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.825 obtained through Cronbach-s coefficient method. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentages) with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. The findings of the study revealed that application of stress management strategies in secondary schools would reduce significantly stress among students and enhance their discipline. These findings may assist school guidance and counseling units to apply the stress management strategies in their daily encounter with stress related issues among students. School administrators may benefit from the findings of this study by adopting stress management strategies to curb indiscipline incidences in their schools. This study may also benefit parents who would better understand the problem behaviour among their children and employ stress management strategies to correct undesirable behaviour. The study recommended that stress management strategies be applied in secondary schools to enhance students- discipline.