| dc.description.abstract | The main purpose of the research was to study the
aggression and the academic achievement of the nursery school
children in different nursery schools in Nairobi. The study
also examined the effects of sex, age and socio-economic class
differences on aggression and academic achievement.
Since aggression and academic achievement were the
two major dependent variables, different theories of aggression
were reviewed with the social learning theory of aggression
being the most appropriate approach to this study. The social
aspect of education in Kenya has also been reviewed.
Aggression was measured by summing the frequency
counts or tallies of the child's behaviours observed as
aggressive, which were obtained through an observation procedure
developed by Vaughn and Waters (1981). A measure of pupils
achievement was obtained by asking the teachers to grade their
performance on a four point scale, A, B, C, and D. Grades
A and B were awarded for good p~rformance and C and D for
~..
poor performance.
The school sample was obtained through a stratified
random<~ampling of the school fees of the proprietarily owned ~
nursery schools in Nairobi. At the four schools sampled, ten
boys and ten girls were randomly chosed. Five girls and five boys belonged to the age group of three years and
five beys and five girls belonged tothe age group
ef five years at each of the fou~ schools. This
gave a total population of eighty children.
Ip the analysis of the observed data,
the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi square were
used. The major results showed that:
a. Boys are more aggressive than girls at PL .01 Level
of significance.
b. Within the lower socio-economic class boys are
more aggressive than gjrls at p, .05Level of
significance. Yet there was no significant sex
difference en aggre~sion with children of a high
socie-economic class.
These results are useful to policy
makers, preschool education units inNairobi, the
head-teachers and teachers at different nursery schools
a1"'dparents. For instance, guided modelling with
reinforcement would facilitate the acquisition of new
patterns of behaviour, where a particular desired
behaviour is required in a child. Accepted aggressive
behaviours for the non-aggressive five year olds can be
promoted. Further research can be carried out by using
-,
variables such as the rural-urban environment, the family
size of the child, the teacher's qualificatjon and
motivation levels of the child, and developing assessment
tests lor preschool children. | |
