The influence of communication on student discipline in secondary schools is an issue of continued debate in Kenya. This study was necessitated by the growing concern by education stakeholders in Kenya over the rising reports of student indiscipline in secondary schools. The study utilized qualitative approach with questionnaires, interviews and documentation as instruments of collecting data. Purposive sampling was used to identify Naivasha district as the location of the study. Stratified and simple random sampling was used to identify 8 secondary schools and 200 respondents from these schools. 20 students and 4 teachers in each sampled school were given the self administered questionnaires while all the 8 head teachers were interviewed. The data collected was analyzed descriptively. The findings of this study shows that the level of discipline in secondary schools in Kenya is very low, schools administration rarely discussed implementation of rules and regulations to students hence there are poor channels of communication. Ineffective communication results in conflict, chaos, misunderstanding and lack of confidence in school administration. Factors such as individual communication skills promoted effective communication whereas barriers to interpersonal communication hindered effective communication. This study recommends that the school administration should initiate dialogue when dealing with students to discuss discipline matters, rules and regulations. Regular meetings and morning assemblies should be used as main channels of communication. Schools should avoid ineffective channels of communication which result in conflict, chaos, misunderstanding and lack of confidence in school administration. Guidance and counselling were seen to be effective ways of communication to overcome barriers of communication (255 words).

 

Key words: Communication, effective, channels, influence, discipline, administrators.