The Relationship Between Peer Victimization, School Unrest and Academic Achievement Among Secondary School Students in Starehe Sub-county, Nairobi County

Abstract

The study aimed at determining the relationship between peer victimization, school unrest and academic achievement in Starehe Sub-County. It was guided by the following objectives: to examine the contribution of peer victimization on school unrest among secondary school students, to identify the impact peer victimization has on academic achievement in Secondary schools within Starehe and lastly to determine the moderating effect of school unrest on the relationship between peer victimization and school unrest among schools in Starehe Sub County. The study was carried out in the 21 secondary schools within Starehe sub-county, Nairobi County. It employed both quantitative and qualitative research designs. Sample size was arrived at by use of stratified random sampling and purposive sampling in each schools for the student population. A sample size of 21 Principals, 21 counselling teachers as well as 384 students was used. The researcher sought approval from the relevant authorities for permission to conduct the research. Self-administered questionnaire were used to collect data from the students while interviews were conducted on the school principals and school counselors. The study was descriptive and the data collected was analyzed using the Pearson’s Correlation coefficient analysis and presented in means, percentages and standard deviations to describe the relationship between independent variable and the dependent variables. The model’s significance was assessed using the ANOVA test. A pilot study was conducted on 38 students who were not used in the main study. The regression coefficient results indicated that peer victimization had a positive and significant effect on school unrest among secondary schools in Starehe Sub County where (β =.263) and p=.000). The regression coefficient of peer victimization had a negative and significant effect on academic achievement among secondary schools in Starehe Sub County where (β =-.798 and p=.000). Finally, the study found that school unrest moderates the relationship between peer victimization and academic achievement among secondary schools in Starehe Sub County. The study concludes that peer victimization significantly affects school unrest among secondary schools in Starehe Sub County and that that peer victimization negatively affects academic achievement of students in Starehe Sub County. The results also conclude that school unrest influences the relationship between peer victimization and academic achievement of students in Starehe Sub County. The study recommends that teachers, parents, students and other educational stakeholders should create counselling services for students involved in attacking others in order to ascertain the root cause of such issues. The study also recommends that schools should establish clear and consistent rules that prevent or reduce peer victimization as well as encourage healthy peer relations. Finally, the study recommends that future scholars and researchers should consider investigating reasons why students engage in peer victimization and the effects of other factors such as their socio-economic backgrounds on their performance.