Aggression and achievement in nursery schools

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.