The Role of Socialisation Agents in Shaping Pupils Behaviour in Primary Schools in Thika Region, Kenya

Abstract

Socialization agents shape pupils' behavior. Pupils' behaviour have deteriorated over time in primary schools in Kenya. The purpose of the study was to assess the role of socialization agents in shaping pupils' behaviour. The objectives of the study were to; establish the role of family factors in shaping pupils' behavior; determine the role of school variables in shaping pupils' behavior; evaluate the role of peers and establish the role of media in shaping pupils' behavior. The study adopted the descriptive research design. The target population was 570 teachers, 3256pupils, 69 head teachers and 3 County Directors of Education Officers. A sample of 57 teachers, 35 class seven pupils comprising of 10% of the respective target populations drawn from 7 schools and 7 head teachers participated in the study. The research instruments used consisted of the teachers and pupils questionnaire while an interview guide will be used for head teachers and county directors of education. The research instruments were piloted and a correlation coefficient of < 0.7 was acceptable. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the Scientific Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study found out that majority (74.1%) of the participants agreed that children from harsh and inconsistent parent have developed antisocial behaviours. The findings were consistent with Scott (2008) that parenting style influenced a child’s behaviour patterns. The study found that 92.6% of the respondents agreed that domestic violence affects a child’s behaviour. Analysis of head teachers interview guide showed that children who come from abusive families have vulgar language which depicts the abusive language used at home. The study established that children who are raised by harsh parents tend to develop anti-social tendencies and those from abusive families use vulgar language. The study also showed that learners use the language used in the mass media and at times this language is vulgar. The study also found out that children’s language and dance moves were consistent with what the children watch on mass media. This was noted by 64.8%of the teachers who noted that children dance to the latest dance moves seen on TV. The school rules played a key role in management of children’s behaviour in school since they maintained socially acceptable norms within the school. However the school rules did not dictated the form of punishment for non-compliance. The school should carry out background checks on learners in order to establish behavioural issues that are likely to face from a particular set of learners. This would assist in discipline management in schools. The teachers should also consider prior behavioural and discipline issues in order to determine how to address the current pupils’ indiscipline. The study recommends that parents should control what their children watch on TV and other mass media in order to reduce incidences of children adopting vulgar and obscene language.