Choice shifts in school disciplinary decision making: Analysis of age differences of panel members
Date
2020
Authors
Aloka, P.
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Abstract
Background:
Decision making is critical to each organization and it requires the ability to find a possible balance between risky and cautious decisions. The
Kenyan secondary schools are mandated by the Ministry of Education to manage students’ misbehaviors by the disciplinary panels.
Aim:
The present study investigated the choice shifts in disciplinary decision making in Kenyan secondary schools based on age groups of the panel
members.
Methods:
The Quasi-Experimental Pretest-Posttest Design was adopted. The study targeted 360 teachers- members of disciplinary panels in 45 secondary
schools in the Rongo sub-county of Kenya. A sample size of 78 members of disciplinary panels in 10 secondary schools was involved. This was
22% of the target population of members of disciplinary panels in the Rongo district. The choice shift in decisions was ascertained using the
Modified Choice Dilemma Questionnaire. The validity of the tools was ensured by the expert judgment by two Kenyan psychologists, while the
reliability was determined using the internal consistency method and an alpha of 0.695 was reported.
Results:
The results of the Multivariate Analysis Of Variance indicated that there were differences in choice shifts from the pre to post-disciplinary hearing
decisions among the members of selected school disciplinary panels on the basis of their age groups (Wilk’s Lambda (λ) test: F (12, 188) = 7.40, P
= 0.000, P < 0.05).
Conclusion:
It was concluded that the age of the members of disciplinary panels influenced the nature of choice shifts in decisions. It was recommended that
principals should ensure that the membership of school disciplinary panels is broad-based.
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Citation
1. Aloka, P. (2020). Choice shifts in school disciplinary decision making: Analysis of age differences of panel members. Open Psychology Journal, 13, 86 - 94.