RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHER AFFECTION TOWARDS STUDENTS AND THEIR ADJUSTMENT VARIANTS IN PUBLIC BOARDING SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Student adjustment in school may be a crucial factor for their successful academic, emotional and psychosocial preparedness to boarding school life and its demands. Nevertheless, there is a high number of students who exhibit rebellion against rules, truancy as well as delinquent tendencies particularly in cosmopolitan areas like Nairobi County, that may manifest in form of maladjustment to school life and related activities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher affection towards students‘ and their school adjustment variants‘ in public boarding secondary schools in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study examined students‘ adjustment to school routine, academic adjustment, emotional adjustment and social adjustment in relation to teacher affection. The study adopted Correlational research design. To gather data, a developed questionnaire was administered to secondary school students in Form one and two who at this time are deemed to be in the process of adjusting to school. To get a general understanding of students‘ school adjustment, class teachers were interviewed. The study was guided by Bronfenbrenner‘s Bio ecological systems theory, and Ceci and Connell‘s Self-Determination theories. The target population was 7,123 students and 145 teachers. Stratified and random sampling was used to obtain a sample of 692, among them were 335 boys and 357 girls. Stratified and random sampling was used to obtain 24 class teachers of which 12 were male and 12 were female. To ensure validity, the researcher sought the expert opinion of Maasai Mara University supervisors who checked the face and content validity against the stated objectives. A sample of 69 (10%) students and 3 (12.5%) teachers participated in the pilot study. Reliability of instruments was established by use of Cronbach Alpha and a reliability coefficient of 0.870 was obtained and considered acceptable. Student questionnaire was administered by the researcher with the help of class teachers of the six sampled schools. Data was then organized and summarized by use of descriptive statistics which included percentages, means and presented in form of tables and figures. Inferential statistics involved Pearson Product Moments Correlation Coefficient test at 0.05 level of significance, that was used to test the null hypotheses. Qualitative data was analyzed based on emergent themes and narratively recounted. On testing the hypothesis that there is no statistically significant relationship between teacher affection and students‘ adjustment to school routine, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient of 0.463 was achieved. Based on the level of significance null hypothesis was rejected. Regarding the relationship between teacher affection and students‘ academic adjustment, Pearson correlation of 0.654 was realized. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. Pearson Correlation Coefficient of 0.645 was acquired in the relationship between teacher affection and students‘ emotional adjustment and so the null hypothesis was rejected. Additionally, Pearson Correlation Coefficient of 0.738 was obtained in the relationship between teacher affection and students‘ social adjustment. It concluded that in boarding secondary schools, student adjustment to school is positively and significantly influenced by teacher affection. The study recommended that teachers and other stakeholders need to realize the importance of teacher affection to learners in school adjustment processes. Further recommendation may be applied to enhance research work on affective teacherstudent relationships.