Student council election process and effectiveness of student councils in public secondary schools in Siaya County, Kenya

Abstract

The Ministry of Education in Kenya introduced the Student Council Policy in 2009 to enhance student participation in school governance and make student leadership more participatory. This was to help reduce the cases of student unrest in schools. However, even with student councils in place, schools still experience cases of student unrest among other indiscipline cases. Concerns have therefore been raised over the effectiveness of student councils in their role performance, which necessitates such research. This study sought to assess the influence of the student council leaders’ election process on student councils’ effectiveness with clear focus on establishing how student council elections were conducted in schools; the extent to which the election process influenced student council’s effectiveness and suggest some of the measures that could be used to enhance the effectiveness of Student Councils (SCs) among public boys’ boarding secondary schools in Siaya County, Kenya. The sample included 14 deputy principals, 178 student council leaders, and the County Director of Education (CDE). The study employed a correlational research design using the convergent parallel mixed methods approach with purposive sampling to select respondents. Interview schedules and questionnaires were used to collect data. The quantitative analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was presented thematically according to the objectives and presented via narration and word verbatim. The analysis established that most of the public secondary schools had blended student councils with some of the council members elected while majority of them were appointed by the school administration. The study also found out that there was a strong statistically significant positive relationship between the student council election process and effectiveness of student councils. The study recommended the need for schools to fully implement the SC policy as designed by the MoE; that students should be allowed to elect their leaders with minimal interference by the school administration; and the Ministry of Education should have elaborate guidelines on the management of student council elections in public secondary schools in Kenya.