Democratization of Student Leaders’ Elections and its Effect on Students’ Discipline in Public Secondary Schools in Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

Democratization of student leaders’ appointment by way of allowing students in public secondary schools to elect their leaders is one of the approaches designed to enhance student discipline. However, the link between this approach and students’ discipline has been unclear considering the rise in misconduct among students, which is manifest in periodic destruction of properties in schools and the deterioration of morals among students. This study sought to determine the effect of involving students in electing their leaders on students' discipline in public secondary schools in Meru County. The Bandura’s social learning theory of 1977 was critical in guiding this study. The study applied a descriptive survey research design to select ten principals, 196 deputy principals, and 384 student leaders. Schools were stratified into categories, before a systematic sampling technique was applied in each stratum. Both the principals and the deputy principals were purposively selected, while simple random sampling was used in selecting students’ leaders. Questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis were utilized in collecting data, while factor analysis, frequencies, percentages and means were computed with the help of SPSS. Ordinal logistical regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis, while the thematic technique was used to analyze the qualitative data. Cases of indiscipline were prevalent in most public secondary schools in Meru County. The study found out that only 52% of schools allowed students to elect their leaders, while 48% had students’ leaders appointed by teachers. Many schools lacked elaborate electoral processes and a profound orientation program for students’ leaders. Students' involvement in electing their leaders was statistically significant in affecting secondary schools' discipline. The study recommended the Ministry of Education to liaise with principals of secondary schools in streamlining the electoral processes, develop student leadership electoral policy, and devise holistic involvement mechanisms to ensure free and fair elections of students’ leaders. Further, the study recommended that principals should educate students on electoral processes and train the elected leaders on effective leadership. The findings of this study have implications on election democracy and methods for electing students’ leaders in public secondary schools in Kenya.