Teacher Intervention Strategies to Improve Social Skills among Learners with Emotional and Behavioural Disorders in Selected Primary Schools, Nairobi City County
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Date
2025-02
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
High-profile disruptive behaviours, many of which are attributed to emotional and behavioural disorders (EBDs), are a common occurrence in primary schools in in Embakasi Sub-County, Nairobi City County, Kenya. Strategies to enhance social skills may help learners with EBDs improve their behaviour. However, the evidence of the use of such strategies in primary schools in Embakasi Sub-County is currently lacking. This study, therefore, investigated teacher intervention strategies to improve social skills among learners with EBDs in selected primary schools in Embakasi Sub-County. The objectives were to identify the social skill deficits, determine teacher competencies in facilitating social skills, establish intervention strategies that teachers use to influence social skills, and find out the challenges encountered by teachers in promoting social skills for learners with EBDs in these schools. The study, which was guided by Vygotsky’s Theory of Social Development, employed descriptive survey design using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The target population comprised 39 administrators, 239 teachers, and 10,571 learners in 7 public, regular primary schools in Kayole Zone, Embakasi Sub-County. Following a scrutiny of the institutions’ ‘black books,’ the population was narrowed to class seven learners in two schools, purposively selected because they had the highest number of behavioural cases in the zone. The two schools had 12 administrators, 74 teachers, and 363 class seven learners, out of which 47 were identified as having EBDs. The initial sample included all the 12 administrators, 23 teachers selected through a stratified random process, and all the 47 learners with EBDs. Of these, 8 administrators, 16 teachers, and the 47 learners took part in the study. A structured questionnaire, which also had the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS), and interviews were used to collect data. Instrument validity was achieved by ensuring that they adequately captured the research variables. For reliability, the test-retest procedure was used and a correlation coefficient of 0.83 was achieved. Quantitative data was analysed using frequencies, percentages, means, the independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA. All analyses were done in SPSS (v. 21) and findings presented using tables and graphs. Qualitative data was analysed thematically and presented narratively. The mean SSRS score for the learners was 12.64 (SD = 3.54), indicating very low social skills. Teachers had, on average, a low competency in identifying learners with EBDs, with a significant difference observed between those with and those without a formal training in EBD management (t = 5.25, p < 0.001). Teachers rarely used recommended intervention strategies for EBDs. The most salient challenges included a lack of specialised training, issues with school/class environmental management, difficulties adapting the curriculum and instructional methods, problems with identifying learners with EBDs, and inadequate instructional resources. From the findings, it can be concluded that the majority of teachers in primary schools in Embakasi Sub-County have low competencies in facilitating social skills among learners with EBDs and, instead, rely mostly on ineffective strategies. The government should ensure regular effective training for these teachers to equip them with the skills and competencies needed to address the needs of learners with EBDs.
Description
A Research Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for the Award of the Degree of Master of Education in Special Needs Education in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, Kenyatta University, February 2025.
Supervisor
1. George Mathenge Wairungu
2. Beatrice Bunyasi Awori