Student Voice in the Decision-Making Process in Schools

The need for students' involvement in decision-making in schools is becoming increasingly important in many countries as one way of enhancing democratic practice in schools. For democracy to take root in schools, there is need for structures that enhance the process. This book is based on a study that explored student voice in decision-making process in a secondary school in Kenya. It is set against a background of a requirement by the Government that schools involve students in decision making processes. The study was an ethnographic case study, where data were collected using interviews, focus group discussions and observations. The findings suggest that teachers use prefects and the student council as structures through which students participate in decision-making processes. Nevertheless, teachers retain the prerogative to make the final decisions either as a group or individually after getting views from students. With its detailed coverage of the research process and levels of student participation in decision-making processes, this book is suitable for researchers, postgraduate students and anyone else who intends to interrogate issues of student voice in school leadership.