Influence Of Institutional Factors On Students’ Council Involvement In Public Secondary School Management In Emuhaya Sub-County, Vihiga County, Kenya

Abstract

The main reason of conducting of this research was to find out the influence of institutional factors on students‟ council involvement in public Secondary school management Emuhaya Sub-County Vihiga County. The study was based on the following objectives; to find out the influence of principals administrative experience on the students‟ council involvement in public Secondary school management; to determine the influence of the election process on students council involvement in public Secondary school management; to establish the extent of students‟ council involvement in the formulation of school rules and regulations in public Secondary school management; to establish the influence of communication channel on the students‟ council involvement in public Secondary school management. The descriptive survey design was used and the target population was 792 respondents while the sample size included 36 principals, 36 deputies and 180 students‟ council members. The sample of the study was selected by use of purposive sampling and census survey method. To test for validity and reliability the researcher used test-retest method. Data collected were both quantitative and qualitative in nature and was appropriately analyzed using SPSS computer programmer for accuracy and reliability. The findings revealed that: the principals administrative experience had an influence on the students‟ council involvement in school management, the more years of principal administrative experience the more they involve the students council in management and the more they motivate them to be involved in management; most students‟ council in Emuhaya Sub-County were democratically elected by students with principals input and this indicated empowerment of the students‟ council to be involved in management matters at school; the students council is part of the body that is involved in formulation of school rules and regulations and ensures that rules in school are followed and thus they don‟t differ with the administration; the right communication channel are adhered to and the students council are able to air their views to the management and they always get feedback on what they write. The study found that students‟ council is more involved in some areas of management and not all areas of management. The study recommends that: the Ministry of education should come up with policies to ensure effective engagement of students‟ council involvement in management; there is need for Kenya Education Management Institute to introduce programs that will enhance teachers understanding of school management in regard to students‟ involvement.