| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT
Currently, the management of institutions requires a strategic approach where prefects represent e students in staff meetings. A few schools have well established prefects but majority of schools are yet to establish functional and strong prefects. This study is aimed at investigating - e involvement of prefects in decision making process among secondary schools in Tigania East District, The researcher seeks to establish the role played by the school management in involvement of prefects in decision making process and the impact on the results. During staff meetings among secondary schools, there is delegation of responsibilities to teachers and prefects. Involvement of prefects in decision making process is key, especially on some administrative issues touching on the students' welfare. The study was conducted in selected schools within Tigania East District using descriptive research design. A sample size of thirteen secondary schools out of forty was selected through stratified random sampling. The selection was based on enrolment and category of the institution. The data was collected using interviews and questionnaires. A pilot study was conducted before the actual one, to enable the researcher to make the necessary adjustments in terms of reliability and validity. Interviews were conducted by the researcher personally while questionnaires were deposited in advance to be collected from the respondents later. The collected data was analyzed through qualitative and quantitative methods using SPSS version 17.0 computer software and presented in tables, graphs and pie charts. The findings of the study revealed that students are involved in decision making touching on curriculum, discipline, resource management among public secondary schools. The study concludes that public secondary schools involve students in decision making at lower and middle levels but not at the management level. Moreover, the study recommends that students need to be involved in formulation and implementation of school policies and rules to improve ownership and support. The study also recommends that; all secondary schools in Kenya need to embrace an inclusive management style in which students are involved in making decisions pertaining to their welfare and the school at large, Students need to be involved in formulation and implementation of school policies and rules to improve ownership and support. This may help a great deal in reducing students' unrest, particularly among secondary schools in Tigania East District, in Meru County and the entire Country, All schools need to establish functional and effective prefects with powers to resolve some minor issues with finality and reporting to the right authority, There is need for schools to form strategic alliances among themselves for synergy and support especially so for institutions with high performance and discipline gaps. | en_US |
