Conflicts in the management of religious sponsored public secondary schools. Experience from Kenya

Abstract

Religious sponsors have in the past contributed immensely to the growth of education in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to find out the factors that lead to the management conflicts between religious sponsors and other stakeholders in public secondary schools in Nandi South Sub-County. The purpose of this study was to find out the factors that lead to the emerging conflicts between religious sponsors and head teachers, education officials, parents and schools’ Boards of Governors in the management of public secondary schools in Nandi South Sub-County. The survey research design was adopted for this study. The study population comprised of all the 38 religious sponsored Public Secondary Schools in Nandi South Sub-County, 38 Board of Governors’ Chairmen, 38 Parents and Teachers’ Association Chairmen, 38 head teachers and 342 teachers from the same schools, 6 education secretaries of the schools’ religious sponsors and 5 Assistant Education Officers. The saturated sampling technique was used by this study. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to collect data. These instruments were first tested for reliability through a pilot study and the use of the coefficient of internal consistency of the split-half reliability method. Validity was established through the application of face validity procedures. Quantitative data were analyzed critically in themes as guided by study objectives to establish relationships among responses. The findings of the study indicated that most of the conflicts involved religious sponsors on one hand and other stakeholders. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education sensitizes the public secondary schools’ church sponsors, head teachers, Board of Governors and its field officers with regards to the correct interpretation of the Education Act as a tool in secondary schools’ management. The findings of this study would therefore provide a useful reference for educational administrators and managers.