Parental Involvement and Students’ Discipline in Twelve Years Basic Education Schools in Rwanda: A Case Study of Nyarugenge District

Abstract

If the discipline of school-aged children is not given a high consideration by both parents and school, the school community becomes dangerous, the educational programs get disrupted and School becomes dysfunctional due to the low partnership between parents and the school itself. This study is entitled parental involvement and students’ discipline in twelve years basic education schools: a case study of Nyarugenge District. The main purpose of this research was to examine the involvement of parents on students’ discipline in twelve year basic education in Rwanda. This study was guided by three specific objectives: to identify cases of indiscipline in twelve years basic education in Nyarugenge District, to examine areas of parental involvement in students’ discipline control in twelve years basic education in Nyarugenge District and to establish the relationship between parental involvement and students’ discipline in twelve years basic education in Nyarugenge District. The findings of this study will serve as advantageous to school leaders, educational policy makers in MINEDUC, parents and other educational stakeholders in Rwanda who are involved in controlling the students’ discipline. The research design used was explorative, descriptive survey and correlational design. The target population was 400 respondents including 6 head teachers, 280 teachers, 42 parents’ representatives, and 72 students. Simple random sampling, stratified random sampling and purposive sampling were the techniques used. Slovin’s formula was used to select the sample size which came to 200 respondents to participate in this study. Data collection instruments were questionnaires and guided interview. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques were descriptive, inferential and thematic approach. Tables, figures, and textual models were used as techniques of findings presentation. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations given forward after analysing collected data. From the research findings 39% of teachers, 57% of students and 63% of PTC representatives confirmed that absenteeism, noise in classrooms, truancy and drug abuse commonly occur in 12YBE schools. It was confirmed by 50% of teachers, 62% of students and 56% of PTC representatives that parents are not adequately involved in students’ discipline control in the areas of effective inter-communication with the teachers and other school authorities, rewarding students for good behaviours, visiting students for discussing their discipline with teachers and other school authorities and attendance of school meeting on discipline. The study on third objective found that a significant low degree of positive relationship exists between parental involvement and students’ discipline in 12YBE schools in Rwanda. This was supported by Karl Pearson coefficient of correlation (r) of 0.208 from teachers’ responses, 0.307 from students’ responses and 0.401 from PTC representatives’ responses. The study recommends that the parents should take into consideration their involvement in their students discipline control by adequately communicating with the teachers and school authorities, rewarding their students once they show pleasant positive behaviours and even visiting their students for discipline issues when it is not perfectly appropriate. School leaders should regularly prepare school meetings for the purpose of discussing and make decisions on the strategies of improving students’ discipline. It is also recommended that government policy makers in the ministry of education should set up a special policy to arouse parents to participate in their students’ discipline improvement and highlighting different areas under which parents should get involved in their students’ discipline control in 12YBE schools in Rwanda. The study suggests that the same study can be carried out in public boarding schools in any district in Rwanda other than Nyarugenge to come up with comparative analysis. Moreover, further research can establish the use of social media on the discipline of the students in 12YBE schools in Rwanda.

Key words: Parental involvement, students’ discipline, Twelve Years Basic Education.