Predictors of students transition to junior school

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between school culture,school condition and teacher competencies to student transition from primary school to junior secondary school.The objective of the study was: To establish the relationship between school culture and student transition from primary to junior school.To examine the relationship between school conditions and student transition from primary school to junior school.To determine the association between teacher competencies and student transition from primary to junior school. To assess whether a combination of school culture, school conditions, and teacher competencies predict student transition from primary school to junior school. Quantitative research employing a correlation research design was used to investigated the predictive role of school culture, school conditions,and teacher competencies in student transitions. The study targeted 336 teachers in 30 public primary schools within the Garissa Township sub-county.Census sampling technique was used to collect data from every single unit in the population. The study employed questionnaires to collect data from teachers. Face and content validity was used to measure the extent to which an instrument is intended to measure,technical soundness and meaningfulness while Cronbach Alpha tests were done to analyse items for internal consistency and reliability. All the domains in the questionnaire had Cronbach Alpha correlation coefficient above 0.7, which were considered adequate. As a result, 246 teachers responded to the questionnaire while 90 were unresponsive.Descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation were applied in analysing quantitative data the inferential statistics using Spearman's rank correlation was used to test bivariate a correlation while Ordinal logistic regression was used to analyse the fourth objective The findings revealed significant and positive relationships between each of these factors and student transition.However, it is important to note that the models explain only a fraction of the total variance,indicating the potential influence of other unaccounted factors. Therefore,the study recommendsan emphasis on positive school culture, improved school conditions, and enhanced teacher competencies beyond subject matter expertise. Moreover, future research should consider incorporating additional variables, such as parental involvement and socio-economic backgrounds,to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of student transition.