The Influence Of Community Participation In School Governance In Public Secondary Schools In Rachuonyo South Sub County, Kenya

Abstract

Devolution of authority with provision for community participation in school governance has become a priority in several major education systems of the world. The purpose of the study is to establish the influence of community participation in school governance in public secondary schools in Rachuonyo South Sub County, Kenya. The study sought to determine how accountability, quality education, realization of democracy and maximization of limited resources is influenced in public secondary schools through community participation. The study adopted expost facto study design where simple random sampling method was used to select 10 principals, 89 teachers and purposive sampling was used to select 10 B.O.M and 10 P.T.A members. The study used questionnaires and interview schedule to collect data. Descriptive statistics used included the frequencies and percentages. The study found that; schools were accountable in the management of resources. Community participation influences accountability in schools which in turn positively influences governance of secondary schools; Community participation in education has an influence on the quality of education in secondary schools as it leads to good governance of schools which leads to improvement in education quality offered; involvement of communities in schools was a way of reaching democracy and community participation in public secondary schools governance influence maximization of limited resources. The following recommendations were made; schools should ensure that there is community participation in the governance of schools to achieve accountability; parents and community at large should participate in the governance of schools to ensure quality education. Principals should practice democracy through involving teachers, parents and students in decision making and schools should try and maximize the available limited resources. Suggestions for further studies included; influence of community participation in school governance in public primary schools in Rachuonyo South Sub County, Kenya; influence of community participation on school performance and levels and ways in which community participate in school management