Thesis:

Influence of school culture strategies on Conflict management in public secondary schools in Nyeri central sub-county, Kenya

School Culture refers to the collective values, beliefs, norms, behaviours, and attitudes that characterise a school community (Fullan, 2007). There has been a wave of conflicts in secondary schools for the last three decades. In Kenya, there have been ugly conflicts, some resulting in massive damage of property and even loss of lives in school infernos. Many commissions of inquiry into this issue have been formed and recommendations made. The culture of violent conflicts has however been a thorn in the flesh and is not getting any better, raising concerns on effectiveness school culture strategies applied to manage the conflicts. The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of school culture strategies on conflict management. The objectives of this study included investigating the influence of co-curricular activities, school culture support systems, school values, and time management on conflict management in secondary schools in Nyeri Central Sub-county. The study was guided by Mary Parker Follett Theory of conflict resolution. The study adopted a descriptive survey design which involves data collection and analysis both quantitatively and qualitatively. The target population for the study comprised all secondary schools in Nyeri central sub-county, the Sub county Director of Education and the District Quality Assurance and Standards Officer. A sample of five secondary schools, that is, 13.16% of 38, based on The Central Limit Theorem was picked. Stratified sampling was used to create 5 different strata based on the number of zones in the Nyeri Central Sub-county. From each stratum, 1 principal and at least 1 deputy principal were selected using purposive sampling considering secondary schools which have registered noticeable conflicts in the recent past. The Sub-County Director of Education and District Quality Assurance and Standards Officer were also selected using purposive sampling. The Split half method was used to test the reliability of the instruments. A validity test was established through the help of my supervisor, lecturers, and fellow students. Research instruments were piloted amongst form III students in the neighbouring county. Questionnaires, interview schedules and documentary sources were used to collect data. The study was analysed using quantitative and qualitative procedures concurrently. The Qualitative data were analysed thematically and presented in narrative form. Quantitative data was coded and subjected to SPSS version 28 and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings were presented using tables and narratives. The study found that there is an insignificant relationship between conflict management and management of teaching and learning norms, there is an insignificant relationship between conflict management and school school culture support systems, there is a significant relationship between conflict management and school values and there is a significant relationship between conflict management and time management. The findings of the study may be beneficial to the ministry of education, education officials, schools and other education stakeholders in the identification of practices which when strengthened may solidify peace in their institutions.