Publication: Involvement of students’ council in the running of public Secondary schools and its’ impact on students’ discipline: A case of Narok South Sub-County, Narok County
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2015-10
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Mount Kenya University
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Abstract
Proponents of student participation in decision making have justified their support for
establishment of student councils on premise that decisions in a school affect the student in latent
and manifest ways. Largely they are recipients of final decisions hence the recommendations made
by students may be very constructive and if approached in the right manner would work positively.
The purpose of this study was to investigate involvement of students’ council in the running of
public secondary schools and its' effect on students discipline in Narok South district as guided by
the following research objectives: to assess the extent of students’ council involvement in
administrative tasks in public secondary schools; to evaluate the effect of students’ council
involvement in the running of public secondary schools; to identify the challenges encountered in
involvement of students’ council in the running of public secondary schools in Narok south
district; to enlist solutions to the challenges encountered while involving students’ council in the
running of public secondary schools in Narok South district. The study used descriptive research
survey design. The target group of this study was the students, teachers and head teachers of the
secondary schools in the District. A set of questionnaires containing both structured and
unstructured questions was used for the study to collect primary data. This targeted members of
the student councils and teachers. Data collected was coded with regard to the type and source then
analyzed and interpreted both quantitatively and qualitatively in the light of the research
objectives. Qualitative statistical techniques were used to describe and summarize data. Data was
analyzed for descriptive statistics using frequencies, percentages and the mean. The findings were
presented using tables and graphs (bar charts and pie charts) for easy interpretation. It is hoped
that the results of the study will add to the body of knowledge in the area of students’ council
involvement in the running of public secondary schools. According to the findings, teachers
alleged that schools in Narok County involve students’ council in administrative tasks occasionally
as reflected by the overall index that stood at 3.2. In contrast, students from Narok County schools
alleged that students’ council is seldom involved in administrative task as indicated by the index
of 2.6. From the teachers’ perception on the impact of students’ council involvement, findings
indicated that the impact is moderate as indicated by the index of 3.3. Congruently, findings on
students’ perception on the same indicated that the impact is moderate with the index standing on
the same mark of 3.3. The different challenges mentioned fall under three main categories namely:
School Culture, Teachers perception and Students perception. Solutions suggested to address these
challenges include: Engaging the students’ representatives in the making of rules, conduction of
transparent elections for prefects where the votes are counted in the presence of the students and
the leader elect announced among others. In conclusion, students need to be heard for the sake of
the future of education. Students should be considered as partners in school change hence a
meaningful student involvement in the school administration. The researcher therefore
recommends that teachers should learn the role of meaningful student council involvement. This
calls for training in Student/teachers Partnerships amongst the school heads. Additionally,
workshops should be organized for students to share with their teachers on their cultures, heritages,
and backgrounds. This can greatly help the teachers to have an in-depth understanding of the
students hence a useful tool in the selection of student leaders.
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Educational planning, Administration, Management