An Assessment of Self-Awareness on the Relationship Formation among Students in Public Secondary Schools of Murang’a County, Kenya
Abstract
Self-awareness is the first step to personality development and in overcoming personality defects. One key developmental task that helps in the formation of self-awareness during adolescence is the relationship formation with significant others. However, daily forms of human relationships are becoming negatively impacted by changes in culture, parenting styles, globalization, new technologies and institutional changes with consequences in changing family structures, socialization and relations. This study, therefore, endeavours to assess self-awareness on relationship formation among students in public secondary schools in Murang’a County, Kenya. Descriptive surveys and phenomenological designs were triangulated to provide a cohesive perspective. A mixed methodology paradigm in which qualitative and quantitative data were simultaneously collected was adopted. The target population was 101926 students, 2236 peer counsellors and 292 guidance and counselling teachers. Both random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the research sample. The sample size was 431 participants consisting of 400 students, 21 peer counsellors and 10 guidance and counselling teachers. The data was collected using questionnaires, interview schedules and focused group discussion guides. Quantitative data was computed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 and results were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and presented in narrative forms. Results showed a statistically significant positive relationship between self-awareness and relationship formation among secondary school students in Murang’a County. The study recommended that the Kenyan government through the Ministry of Education should revise the curriculum to offer compulsory life skills and competencies like self-awareness and interpersonal skills at all levels of education. In addition, parents and teachers encourage students to speak openly about their challenges
Downloads
References
Anjum, A., & Swathi, P. (2017). A study on the impact of emotional intelligence on quality of life among secondary school teachers. International Journal of Psychology and Counseling, 7(1), 1-13.
Bem, D. J. (1972). Self-perception theory. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 6, 1-62.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment. Attachment and Loss: Vol. 1. Loss. New York, NY: Basic Book.
Buckingham, M. (2008). Leader strength. Leadership Excellence, 25(8), 16.
Chamizo-Nieto, M. T., Arrivillaga, C., Rey, L., & Extremera, N. (2021). The role of emotional intelligence, the teacher-student relationship, and flourishing on academic performance in adolescents: A moderated mediation study. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 695067. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.695067
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Collini, S. (1979). Liberalism and Sociology: L. T. Hobhouse and Political Argument in England 1880–1914. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Davari, A., Tafakori, M., & Kazemi, F. (2006). [Self-awareness skills (Persian)]. Behvarz Quarterly, 17(3), 26-27.
Davis, A. L., & McQuillin, S. D. (2021). Supporting autonomy in youth mentoring relationships. Journal of Community Psychology, 1-19.
Erden, S. (2015). Awareness: The effect of group counseling on awareness and acceptance of self and others. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 1465–1473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.776
Erikson, E. H. (1982). The Life Cycle Completed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Eurich, T. (2017). Insight: Why We're Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life. New York: Crown Business.
Ghaffari, M., & Ahadi, H. (2007). A consideration of emotional self-awareness and impulse control effect on decrease of social withdrawal and on decrease of social withdrawal and compulsion use of internet (Persian). Journal of Psychological Studies, 2(3), 91-107.
Greenberg, M. T., Domitrovich, C. E., Weissberg, R. P., & Durlak, J. A. (2017). Social and emotional learning as a public health approach to education. The Future of Children, 27(1), 13–32. Link to article
Huynh, V. S. (2017). Applying SEL model into life-skill education for primary student (Unpublished NAFOSTED research, code: 501.01-2016.04). Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Khadivi, R., Moezi, M., Shakeri, M., & Tagheborjeian, M. (2005). The impact of life skills training in the field of suicide attempts prevention in women Ardal city (Persian). Ilam University of Medical Sciences Journal, 13(1), 13-19.
Khasakhala, L., Ndetei, D., Mutiso, V., Mbwayo, A., & Mathai M. (2012). The prevalence of depression among adolescents in Nairobi public secondary schools: Associated with perceived maladaptive parenting behavior. African Journal of Psychiatry. Retrieved November 22, from link.
Lahav O, Maeir A, Weintraub N. (2014). Gender Differences in Students’ Self-Awareness of Their Handwriting Performance. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 77(12), 614- 618. doi:10.4276/030802214X14176260335309.
Landine, R. (2013). The relationship between vocational self-concept, ego-identity development and vocational decision making. The Canadian Journal of Career Development, 12(2), 5-18.
Li W, Wang Z, Cai B, Yang X, Shen H. (2017). The empathy concept in the view of Confucianism Theory. Psychological Exploration, 37(6), 483-488.
Louw, D. J. (2001). Ubuntu and the challenges of multiculturalism in post-apartheid South Africa. Quest: An African Journal of Philosophy, 15(1-2), 15-36.
MacCann C., Jiang Y., Brown L. E. R., Double K. S., Bucich M., Minbashian A. (2020). Emotional intelligence predicts academic performance: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146, 150- 186. doi:10.1037/bul0000219.
Markus, H., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253.
Martin, A. J., & Dowson, M. (2009). Interpersonal relationships, motivation, engagement, and achievement: Yields for theory, current issues, and practice. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 327-365. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308325583
Mohammadiary, A., Sarabi, D., & Shirazi, M. (2012). The effect of training self-awareness and anger management on aggression level in Iranian middle school students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46(1), 987-9.
Mpofu, E. (2010). Exploring the Self-Concept in an African Culture. Journal of Genetic Psychology.
National Council for Population and Development (NCPD). (2017). 2015 Kenya National Adolescents and Youth Survey (NAYS, 2015). Nairobi, Kenya.
Nyerere, J. (1968). Freedom and socialism. A selection from writings and speeches, 1965-1967. Dar es Salaam: Oxford University Press.
Patel, S. K. (2017). Emotional intelligence of college-level students in relation to their gender. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 4, 2349-3429.
Pomerantz, S. C. (2002). Sex Differences in the Relative Importance of Self-Esteem. Physical Self-satisfaction, and Identity in Predicting Adolescent Satisfaction. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 8, 51-61.
Potter, D. M. (2019). American individualism in the twentieth century. In American Social Character, 159-179. Routledge.
Rakove, J. N. (2009). The Annotated U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
Samm, A., Tooding, L.-M., Sisask, M., Kõlves, K., Aasvee, K., & Värnik, A. (2010). Suicidal thoughts and depressive feelings among Estonian school-children: effect of family relationship and family structure. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(5), 457–468.
Sutton, A., Williams, H. M., & Allinson, C. W. (2015). A longitudinal mixed method of self-awareness training in the workplace. European Journal of Training and Development, 39(7), 610-627. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-04-2015-0031
Sutton, A. (2016). Measuring the Effects of Self-Awareness: Construction of the Self-Awareness Outcomes Questionnaire. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 12(4), 645–658. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v12i4.1178
Takano, Y., & Osaka, E. (2018). Comparing Japan and the United States on individualism/collectivism: A follow‐up review. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 21(4), 301-316.
Wasylow, B., Mellott, R., & Martin, E. (2018). The impact of vocational and personality factors on career development of first-year college students. Vistas Online, 219-222.
Rey, L., Mérida-López, S., Sánchez-Álvarez, N., & Extremera, N. (2019). When and how do emotional intelligence and flourishing protect against suicide risk in adolescent bullying victims? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(12), 2114. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122114
Copyright (c) 2024 John Mwangi Marubu, Ann Muiru, PhD, Josephine Kirimi, PhD
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.