Effectiveness of School Mechanisms in Socialization of School Council Leaders on Conflict Resolution in Secondary Schools in Lugari Sub- County, Kakamega County, Kenya

Abstract

t have been heightened to arson as experienced in 2021 in some schools. This study sought to establish effectiveness of school mechanisms in socialization of school council leaders on conflict resolution in secondary schools in Lugari Sub- County. The objectives of the study were: to establish how often school council leaders are socialized in communication on conflict resolution, investigate the school mechanisms in mentoring student council leaders in mediation on conflict resolution in secondary schools, find out the challenges faced by student council leaders in the use of available school mechanisms of conflict resolution. The study was guided by two theories; social change and conflict theory that are heavily influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx. Social change is defined as a social process whereby the values, attitudes and institutions of the society become modified because of the belief that a particular group is at risk for a problem. For social change to occur, a group of people must have certain characteristics. For school council leaders to effectively resolve conflicts, they must be well socialized with adequate and relevant skills and attitudes for their roles. The study adopted a descriptive design. The target population for this study consisted of school council leaders, guiding and counseling teachers and principals of the sampled secondary schools in Lugari Sub County. A total of 180 school council leaders were selected through random sampling. Simple random sampling was used to identify respondents in every class. In the selected school, ten principals were interviewed and ten guiding and counseling teachers were useful in providing information on the study topic. In the study, the researcher used questionnaires, oral interviews and focus groups. During the study, it involved collecting open ended data, based on asking general questions and developing an analysis from information supplied by the participants. Triangulation was used to strengthen the reliability of the study by comparing questionnaires different respondents which was the main source of data collection. The raw data from the students’ responses was organized, coded and keyed on the SPSS programme. Data was analyzed by use of both qualitative and quantitative methods. In qualitative methods, narrative description was used while in descriptive statistics was used in analyzing quantitative data. In deed 95% of the respondent agreed that communication, mediation and decision-making skills on conflict resolution is key in a school setup as the school remains peaceful hence its academic goals are met. The study is significant in addressing the social needs of Student Council Leaders in conflict resolution in secondary schools. Practically the findings will guide policy makers to fully deal with the challenge of conflict resolution in schools through student council leaders. The final report will provide information that will help educationist in alleviating the negative effects of conflicts and student unrest on education sector and socialization of student council leaders on conflict resolution methods in schools.