Relationship Between Peer Counselling Programs and Student Discipline Management in Public Secondary Schools in Isiolo North Sub-County, Kenya

To examine the relationship between peer counselling programs and student discipline management in public secondary schools in Isiolo North Sub-County, Kenya. The study adopted a census design involving all 134 teachers from the 13 public secondary schools in Isiolo North Sub-County, Kenya. Data were collected using structured questionnaires comprising closed-ended items measured on a five-point Likert scale. Prior to the main study, the questionnaire was piloted in two public secondary schools in Isiolo South Sub-County to establish its reliability and validity. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's Alpha, which yielded an overall coefficient of 0.860. The collected data were coded and analyzed using SPSS version 27 through descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations) and correlation analysis to test the study hypothesis. The study found that, to enhance discipline management, schools had put in place peer support programs, student mentorship activities, peer mediation, and communication-based counseling structures. The results demonstrated that peer counseling strengthened student responsibility, improved polite conversation among students, and decreased instances of wrongdoing. The study did find, however, that peer counseling programs were occasionally constrained by insufficient training for peer counselors and an excessive dependence on teacher intervention in conflict resolution. Peer counseling programs and student discipline management have a statistically significant beneficial link, according to correlation analysis (r = 0.359, p < 0.05). Peer counselling programs are effective in strengthening student participation in discipline management by encouraging peer mentorship, communication, and positive behavioral influence. However, the effectiveness of peer counselling depends on proper training, supervision, and support from school leadership and teachers.  The study recommends that peer counselling programs should be strengthened in public secondary schools through proper training, supervision, and empowerment of peer counsellors. The school administration should further allocate adequate time and resources for peer counselling activities to improve student participation and enhance discipline management. Continuous collaboration between teacher counsellors and peer counsellors should also be promoted to improve guidance services and student trust in counselling programs.