Students involvement in decision-making in St Joseph’s College of Education

Abstract

Involving students in decision–making has been identified as management tool that ensures efficiency in school administration. One of the problems confronting authorities in Colleges of Education is how to involve students in making decisions that affect them. The purpose of the study was to find out the decision-making areas in which students take part and factors that impede students’ involvement in decision-making. Descriptive design was employed for the study. The target population comprised the students, and the principal of St Joseph’s College of Education. Stratified random sampling was used to select the students. Purposive sampling was used to select the Principal of the College. The sample size for the study was 84. This comprised 83 students and the Principal. The study employed the use of questionnaire and interview guide. Cronbach Alpha was used for the pre-test and the alpha coefficient obtained was .83. The study revealed that most of the structures that could promote students’ involvement in decision-making had not been instituted. The study established that fear of victimization and intimidation impeded student’s participation. It was recommended that college authorities should not intimidate and victimize students when they express their views. The study recommends frequent organization of open forum and provision of suggestion box in the school to enable student speak their minds on problems confronting them.