Students’ Involvement in School-Based Policy Decision-Making Process and Institutional Effectiveness in South-Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

The involvement of students in formal school governance processes to improve their academic opportunities has remained a major challenge for tertiary institutions in Nigeria.  This study examined the influence of students’ involvement in school-based policy decision-making processes and institutional effectiveness in south-eastern Nigeria.  An ex post facto research design was adopted for the study. The targeted population was all deans, HODS, and students’ union leaders from two universities. The sample consisted of 500 subjects made up of 16 deans selected from 8 faculties, 32 HODs, 132 student union leaders, 160 faculty-student leaders, and 160 departmental student leaders. A questionnaire was the main instrument for data collection. The instrument was tested for its reliability using the split-half method and estimates range from 0.73 to 0.87. The hypotheses were subjected to Pearson product-moment correlation and t-test analysis at the .05 level of significance.  The findings revealed that students' involvement in school-based policy-making and discipline management has a significant positive influence on institutional effectiveness. It was recommended that school administration should take concerted actions and careful planning to provide the enabling environment for more student involvement in the policy decision-making process.