Analysis Of Factors Affecting The Management Of Students In Mixed Day Secondary Schools In Nyamira North District – Nyamira County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Students are key stakeholders within a school in particular and the entire education establishment in general. However, they cannot be easily managed without a proper identification and implementation of certain necessary strategies. The situation worsens if schools are not aware of the existence of such strategies that would be harnessed in order to be enabled to manage them effectively. The purpose of the study was to analyze the strategies on management of students in mixed day secondary schools in Nyamira North District, Nyamira County. The objectives were to establish the impacts of strategies on management of students, to establish the role of school principals in provision of strategies on the management of students and to analyze the strategies used to manage students in Mixed Day Secondary schools. The study applied Ludwig von Bentalanffy Systems Theoretical Framework. The significance of the study will be to improve on the utilization of the strategies for the management of students in schools; help the school managers, principals, teachers and other school stakeholders to understand the existence and importance of such strategies in the management of students in schools; and finally, provide valuable information to Ministry of Education on the need to initiate new policies on strategies to deal with management of students in schools. The study used ex-post facto research design that involved a systematic empirical enquiry in which the scientist does not have direct control of independent valuables because their manifestations have already occurred and they are not manipulative. It was carried out in Nyamira North District, Nyamira County. The target population was 2016 and involved 901 form three students, 854 form four students, 116 class prefects, 116 class teachers and 29 school principals. Schools were stratified and simple random sampling procedure was used to select a sample of 6 schools. Purposeful sampling was used to select the study sample of 174 respondents which included 120 students, 24 class prefects, 24 class teachers and 6 school principals. In consideration of gender, males and females were proportionally selected. Three different questionnaires were administered to three groups of respondents in the selected schools: that for students and class prefects, for class teachers and for principals (see Appendix III to V). The questionnaires were of Likert type. Reliability for the instruments was established through a pilot study that involved 38 respondents from two non-participating public Mixed Day Secondary Schools within Nyamira North District, Nyamira County. Validity of the instruments was ensured by clarification of ambiguities and the extent the questionnaires provided adequate coverage of the topic under study. Reliability of the questionnaires was determined by use of internal consistence techniques. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze and interpret the data with the help of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). Data was presented in form of tables. The study established impacts of strategies on management of students, the role of school principals in provision of strategies on management of students and, finally, analyzed strategies that can be used to manage students in mixed day secondary schools in Nyamira North District.