Influence of Pupils' Councils in Decision Making on Academic Performance in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examinations in Kieni West Sub-County, Nyeri County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of pupils ‘councils’ involvement in decision making on academic performance in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examination among public day primary schools in Kieni West Sub County Nyeri County. Specifically, the study assessed the influence of pupils’ councils’ and involvement in administrative function, Path-goal theory guided the conceptualization of study variables. The study adopted longitudinal research design with 21 primary schools fully engaging pupils’ councils targeted. The target population for this study was 699 comprising of 21 head teachers, 216 teachers, 21 Board of Management board chairpersons and 441 pupils’ council’s 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 collect data. Content analysis was applied for secondary data, while quantitative primary data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23. Qualitative data was analysed through themes and patterns. The analysed data was presented using charts and tables, upon which inference, conclusions and recommendations was made. 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. The study 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.