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

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.