Peter Nyaga MuchanjeHellen Kiende GuantaiIbrahim, Adan Hussein2022-08-192022-08-192022http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/24008A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management in the School of Education, Kenyatta University, May, 2022The issue of insecurity and safety of educational institutions has aroused scholarly interest globally, regionally and in Kenya recently. This study was aimed at establishing both institutional and individual determinants of secondary schools management of safety and security in public secondary schools in Mandera County. The study addressed the following objectives: establish the relationship between principals’ leadership styles and management of safety and security in public secondary schools, establish the relationship between the level of BOM general competency and management of safety and security in public secondary schools, determine the relationship between school security policies and management of safety and security in public secondary school and determine the extent to which school infrastructure relates to safety and security management in public secondary schools in Mandera County. Correlational study design was used as the frame work that anchored the study. The survey targeted a population of 424 teachers, 46 principals, 460 BOM members and 13,387 students in Mandera County which makes a total population of 14,317. The study used stratified simple random sampling to proportionately select respondents involved in the study. The sample size was 201 teachers, 40 principals, 210 BOM members and 373 students and thus narrowing the sample size to 824 respondents. Questionnaires for teachers, semi- structured interview guides for principals and BOM members and focus groups discussions for students were adopted as instruments of collecting data. Two schools located in the area of study and that have similar features with the final sample were used to pre-test the instruments. Content validity was determined using expert judgment. Instrument reliability was established using Cronbach alpha technique. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data while quantitative data was analyzed using frequencies, means and regression analysis. Results from this research show that for every additional unit in secondary school principals’ leadership styles, there was 29.7% increase in management of security; every additional unit in board of management competency, there was 15.5% decrease in management of security and every additional unit in adherence to security policies, there was 44.7% increase in security management; and every additional unit in the development of infrastructure in the schools, there was 56.1% increase in security management in high schools in Mandera County. In conclusion, schools in Mandera should endeavour to implement Ministry of Education guidelines on security and safety measures. The major significance of the research is that it may assist secondary school principals in examining issues of school security and subsequently guide the principals on how to apply leadership styles that best help in the management of security in public secondary schools and come up with suitable mitigation measures. The study recommended that school leadership need to adopt the correct management strategies and involve the community within which the school is situated in matters of student security and safety.enInstitutionalIndividualDeterminantsSecondary Schools ManagementSafety and SecurityMandera CountyKenyaThesis