Influence of student councils’ involvement in Student welfare activities on management of public secondary schools in Kisii County

Abstract

In the recent past there has been a large number of secondary schools’ unrests and other forms of indiscipline in Kenyan secondary schools. This happens despite inclusion of student councils in secondary school management. The objective of the study was to establish the influence of student councils’ involvement in welfare activities and management of public secondary schools in Kisii County, Kenya. The study was anchored on social systems theory and adopted mixed methods design. The target population was 140,948 respondents comprising of 104 principals, 2080 teachers, 1040 student leaders, 137,713 students and 11 Sub County Directors of Education. The sample size was 1066 respondents comprising of 31 Principals, 336 teachers, 289 Student leaders, 399 students and 11 Sub-County Directors of Education. Stratified, simple random sampling and purposive sampling technique was used to select respondents. Data collection was done through the administration of questionnaires, interviews and document analysis. Validity was determined using expert judgement, while reliability was determined using Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient. Data analysis was done by using descriptive and inferential statistics ie correlation analysis and linear regression with the aid of SPSS V26. From the linear regression model, (R2 = .199) shows that student councils’ involvement in student welfare accounted for 19.9% variation in management of public schools. There was a positive significant effect of student councils’ involvement in student welfare and management of public schools (β2=0.539 and p value <0.05). Therefore, an increase in student councils’ involvement in student welfare led to an increase in management of public schools. It was concluded that involving student council in students’ welfare activities influences management public schools in Kisii. The study recommends that students be involved in welfare activities to avoid unnecessary conflicts between the school administration and students.