PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS AND ADJUSTMENT ON JOB PERFORMANCE OF TEACHERS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC PERIOD IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KAKAMEGA CENTRAL SUB-COUNTY KENYA

Abstract

Psychosocial stress resulting from Covid-19 and the resultant psychosocial adjustment to the pandemic could have had a significant impact on the job performance of teachers in secondary schools. The stress may have caused psychological and social changes in teaching and learning activities in secondary schools. According to WHO report 2020, the fast-spreading infectious disease caused universal psychological ripples amongst them anxiety and distress. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of psychosocial stress and adjustment on job performance of secondary school teachers during Covid-19 pandemic in Kakamega Central Sub-county, Kenya. The objectives of the study were: to determine the psychological effects of Covid-19 related stress on job performance of teachers, to evaluate the social effects of Covid-19 related stress on job performance of teachers; to evaluate the psychosocial adjustment strategies to Covid-19 related stress and their effects on job performance of teachers and to assess moderating effect of government regulations on the relationship between Covid-19 related stress, psychosocial adjustment to Covid-19 and job performance of teachers in secondary schools. The study was guided by the social cognitive theory. The mixed methods research approach was used and it involved two specific designs namely descriptive survey, and correlational designs. The target population consisted of 429 teachers, 24 principals, and 1 sub-county director of education. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 228 teachers from 24 public secondary schools in Kakamega Central sub-county. Research instruments used were questionnaire and interview schedule. To cater for face, content and construct validity, the instruments were examined by the researcher and the supervisors from the department of educational psychology, MMUST before piloting. The pilot study was conducted in two sampled secondary schools to ascertain validity and reliability of the instruments. Reliability coefficient determined by Cronbach’s alpha was 0.845, indicating that the reliability test for the questionnaire was good. ANOVA was used to analyze effects while regression was used to analyze relationships. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and used to validate quantitative data. The descriptive statistics indicate that psychosocial factors affected teachers job performance. From the inferential analysis, the results of the study indicated that psychological effects of Covid-19 had a substantial impact on teacher job performance, (t statistic = 13.625, p-value = 0.001< 0.05). Social effects of Covid-19 had a substantial impact on Job performance (t-statistic = 23.729, p-value = 0.001< 0.05). Psychosocial Adjustments to Covid-19 related stress had a substantial impact on job performance (t statistic = 4.843, p-value = 0.001< 0.05). Government regulations had a moderating role in the connection between psychological effects, social effects, and job performance of teachers (p=0.0.001 < 0.05). Psychological and social effect (p=0.001< 0.05) affected job performance while psychosocial adjustments (p=0.960< 0.05) did not significantly affect job performance of teachers. The study concluded that psychosocial stress and adjustment had a significant effect on job performance of teachers. The findings of this study may be used in decision making by policy makers and organizations interested in management of work related stress associated with pandemics. The study recommended that: Schools should consider psychological factors that affect job performance of teachers, teachers should be provided with adequate internet access gadgets at all times and during pandemics, school managements should support improved resilience during pandemics and government should implement policies that regulate psychosocial stress causing factors in secondary schools.