Correlates of Academic Resilience among Secondary School Students in Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

This study explored how external and internal protective factors combined in predicting academic resilience among secondary school students in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study used a descriptive correlational design. The sample comprised of 390 form three (198 boys; 192 girls) with a mean age of 17 years (SD= 1.31; range 12 - 24 years). A demographic form and the California Healthy Kids Survey-Module B, 2007 version were used to collect data. Data were analysed using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and multiple linear regression. There was a significant strong positive relationship between the external and internal protective factors (r (388 = .55, p < .05). In addition, internal protective factors had a higher positive and significant predictive value on academic resilience (b = 0.42, p < .05) than external protective factors (b = 0.29, p < .05). The results indicated that internal and external protective factors jointly explained a significant amount of variance in students’ academic resilience. A key implication of the findings is that interventions focusing on enhancing internal protective factors while strengthening external factors are more likely to have a better impact in promoting students’ academic resilience.