| dc.description.abstract | The concept of participatory decision making permeates virtually all facets of our lives today. However, students' participation in decision making as a tool towards the enhancement of administrative effectiveness and efficiency in Kenyan secondary schools has not been wholly embraced by schools. The inadequate facilitation of students' participation in secondary school .decision making processes has been cited in various forums as a cause of school strikes/un rests as a result of lack and/or limited students' participation in decision making. The study was envisaged to serve as an important pointer for efforts towards enhancement of participatory decision making in secondary schools in Kenya.
The study sought to fulfill four objectives, namely:
1. To find out the key factors that explain the increasing student strikes in secondary schools in Nairobi Province in the late 1990s.
2. To investigate whether limited and/or lack of students' participation in decision making processes had any significant influence on upsurge of student strikes in Nairobi province in the 1990s.
3. To explore the extent to which principals involved students in school decision making processes.
4. To examine whether changes calling for multipartism have had any significant influence on students' demand for participation in decision making.
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To realize these objectives, the study tested three hypotheses. The dependent variable for all these research questions was student strikes. The hypotheses sought to establish whether the dependent variable was influenced by the following independent variables; type of school, limited and/or lack of student participation in decision making processes and undemocratic prefect system in schools.
The study was designed as a cross sectional survey research study. Random sampling was used to select 35 public secondary schools in Nairobi province. All students and principals in the selected schools were given questionnaires to complete. In all, 478 secondary school students and 25 principals were studied.
Based on the study's data, the following are the key findings of this study:
1. Majority of the students (67.9%) revealed that they were not satisfied that
they were adequately involved in decision making processes in their school.
2. The most prevalent causes of school strikes and unrests among secondary school students were lack of student participation in decision making, lack of dialogue between principals and students, too much powers vested on prefects, lack of democratic system in schools and drug abuse among students.
3. The majority of principals tended to exercise complete control over some democratic processes in school seen as most appropriate for students' participation. This came out despite their acceptance that students' participation in decision mak,ing is very important since they are the direct recipients of the decisions so made.
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4. The most common methods suggested for curbing school strikes/unrests include: involving all the stakeholders in school decision making, ensuring that principals are present and accessible to students, and enhancing student guidance and counseling in schools.
5. The socio-political changes taking place in the society have made students more aware of their democratic rights hence demanding participation in decision making processes. Out of the twenty three principals who responded to the item on causes of strikes, the highest percentage (26.1 %) indicated that one of the causes of increased strikes is that students are more informed about their rights of participation in decision making.
Drawing from its findings, this study suggests the following recommendations.
1. Students should be allowed to participate actively in schools' decision
making processes. This could be done through establishment of student councils in schools.
2. A policy should be established through the Ministry of Education on how principals could involve students in decision making processes and increase dialogue with students. This would have a positive impact on student behaviour in school instead of principals exercising complete control.
3. The prefect system in schools should be reviewed to allow students to elect prefects. The study found that majority of the students felt that prefects had too much power.
4. Frequent workshops, in-service and refresher courses on participator
decision making should be organized by the Ministry of Education or Nor
Governmental Organizations (NGOs) targeting the school principals | en |
