| dc.description.abstract | Decision making in schools occurs every day. In primary schools, decision making revolves around administration, curriculum and infrastructural development, all geared towards high academic achievement of pupils. In this study, public day primary schools in Kieni West Sub County, Nyeri County, were examined to determine the impact that student "councils'" participation in decision-making had on academic performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examination. In particular, the study evaluated how student council participation in administrative duties, discipline administration, and student welfare affected academic achievement in the schools. Path-goal theory guided the conceptualization of study variables. E-post facto research design was adopted, and 21 primary schools fully engaging pupils’ councils targeted. The population targeted was 699 comprising of 21 head teachers, 216 teachers, 21 Board of Management board chairpersons and 441 pupils’ councils’ members. Simple random sampling method was applied in sampling respondents through 10% random selection to make a total sample size of seventy (70) participants comprising of 2 head teachers, 2 chairpersons of the Board of Management, 22 teachers and 44 pupils’ council members. The study employed KCPE mean index data in the cohort periods 2010-2013 and 2016-2019 for secondary data. Questionnaires and interview guides were utilized to seek further information for validation. Content analysis was applied for secondary data, with primary data analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics aided by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23, and presented in tables. Qualitative data was analysed through themes and presented through graphs and charts. The study results showed significant relationship between the study variables, with involvement in welfare activities decision making being the most significant factor influencing KCPE performance in the studied schools. Generally, pupils’ councils’ involvement in decision making process had a moderate effect on KCPE performance in the study area. Secondary data showed increase in KCPE performance after 2013 when the pupil’s councils were established. Further, there was higher engagement in discipline, administration and welfare management meetings for the pupils’ councils. Results showed that inclusivity of school management through pupils’ councils enhanced self-efficacy among the pupils, leading to higher academic achievement and better KCPE performance in the primary schools. It is thus concluded that pupils’ councils have a significant but moderate effect on KCPE performance in Kieni West Sub County public primary schools. The study recommended that first, pupils councils should be more engaged in discipline decision making, especially in designing punishment for offenders | en_US |
