INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS ON ADJUSTMENT OF FORM ONE STUDENTS TO SECONDARY SCHOOL IN UASIN GISHU COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Research evidence indicates thatthe transitionfrom primary to secondary school is an educational milestone in the lives ofall children(Sirsch, 2003). This implies thataproperadjustmentto secondary school forform onestudents is necessary because itleads tolearners’ schoolretention. Transitionfrom primary tosecondary schoolinvolves amovementfrom asmall schooltoamoreheterogeneous school withincreased expectationon academic performance and less teachers’ attention. As a result of reduced attention from teachers, a fall in academic performance and risinganxiety may emerge (Frey, Ruchkin,Martin& Schwab-Stone, 2009).Therefore, learners’ schoolretention andacademic motivationwere linked to teacher support(Frey etal,.2009). The objective ofthe studywas todetermine the influence ofteachersonadjustmentform one students to secondary school. Bronfenbrenner’s ecologicaltheory (1979)was employed sinceitasserts thatbehaviour isas aresultofpersonal attributes and the environmentcontributions. Thestudyemployed explanatory survey researchdesign. The target populationwas 414schooladministrators and 14,043form one students inUasin Gishu County. Multiple samplingtechniques were used to selectthe schools and participants. The sample size was 200 administrators and 389form one students. The study used bothquantitative and qualitative datahence sets ofquestionnaireand focusgroup discussion were usedindatacollection. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. The findings were (β2 = -.008, ρ<0.05)and r=0.496,ρ<0.01 respectively. Qualitative datawas analysed based onemerging themes. The resultsindicate no significantinfluence ofteachers onadjustmentofform one students tosecondary school. The study concluded thatfocus on high meanscore for the school and personal aspects ofstudents hinders teachers from helping form one students adjust to secondary school.