Perception of Students’ Participation in Governance on Academic Performance in Public Middle Level Colleges in Machakos County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of students’ participation in college governance on academic performance in public middle level Colleges in Machakos County. The objectives of the study were students’ participation in curriculum implementation management, students’ participation in management of physical facilities, students’ participation in discipline management and students’ involvement in co-curricular activities management and their influence on academic performance in public middle level colleges in Machakos County. The study target population was 2914.The study sample comprised of 86 students, 20 lecturers, 2 principals and 2 deans of curriculum. The study used test-retest technique to ascertain the instrument reliability. The value of the reliability coefficient obtained was 0.72 which meant that the instruments were considered reliable. Questionnaire instrument was used to collect the data. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically while quantitatively collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Data was analyzed using frequencies and correlation statistics. The findings on student involvement in curriculum implementation management show that majority respondents strongly agreed that students should set academic targets for individual subjects. The study findings on students’ involvement in management of physical facilities revealed that majority of the respondents indicated that they agreed with the statement that students should have a say in making important decisions affecting them in college physical facilities. The findings also revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.678 amongst students’ academic performance and curriculum implementation management. Further findings also revealed that there was a strong positive relationship by a coefficient of 0.860 between student involvement in management of discipline and Students’ academic performance. The findings also indicated that there was a positive relationship by a coefficient of 0.540 between student involvement in management of discipline and Students’ academic performance. The study suggested a research to be done on socio-economic factors influencing students’ participation in middle level colleges in other counties of Kenya to compare the findings to those of this study