Management of identity crisis among adolescent students in Njoro district; implication for discipline.

Abstract

Some adolescents undergo identity crisis during their teenage while others go through this stage without any problems. The way this stage is resolved has a major influence on development and achievement of the student in his future life. The study assessed management of identity crisis of some secondary school students in Njoro district, Nakuru county. The researcher also assessed teacher's level of knowledge on concept of identity crisis , indicated types of behavior exhibited by students during identity crisis, identified factors influencing inappropriate behavior, indicated challenges and behavior modification strategies . The major problem of the study was identity crisis as the main psychosocial issue teenagers deal with during identity crisis. The purpose of the study was to investigate the management of identity crisis among secondary school students in Njoro district Nakuru County, Kenya. The study will assist administrators acquire knowledge and skills on how to manage inappropriate behavior of students during identity crisis. Survey design was adopted where purposive sampling for boarding simple random sampling was used in day secondary schools. The entire target population was 134 teachers sampled in the entire district. Data collection instruments included mainly the questionnaires with open ended, closed ended and Likert scale questions. Data collected was processed, organized and analyzed with the aid of the computer program, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version and the results presented in frequency distribution, tables, percentages, graphs and pie charts .The findings indicated that the managers did not have adequate knowledge on identity crisis to be able to handle adolescent students. Data collected revealed that identity crisis was a factor that influenced inappropriate behavior. The study established that management of identity crisis through counseling and role modeling was the best preferred management strategies for students during identity crisis. The researcher recommended that teachers should be professionally trained in a guidance and counseling for at least two years for better management of identity crisis in secondary schools. The researcher suggested further study to be conducted to establish whether most inappropriate behaviors were an indicator of identity crisis among secondary school students.