There has been an overwhelming rise in the number of orphans in Kenyan primary schools. The purpose of this study was to establish the efficacy of peer counseling on emotional adjustment among orphaned learners. The study was informed by Carl Rodgersu0027 Self-Centered and Skinnersu0027 Behavioral Theories. The study employed sequential triangulation design. Simple random sampling was used to select 30 primary schools and purposive sampling was used to select 60 orphaned pupils, 30 head teachers and 30 teacher counsellors drawn from the selected public schools thus making a total sample of 120 respondents selected from a target population of 404. Structured questionnaires and Interview schedules were used in collecting data. Validity was ensured by expert judgment of lecturers in the Department of Psychology and Technology while reliability was ensured by Cronbachu0027s Alpha and a coefficient of r = 0.717 was reported. Quantitative data was analysed using inferential statistical techniques. Qualitative data collected from interviews was analysed thematically. The study found out that there was a strong positive correlation between peer counselling and emotional adjustment with r=0.730. This study recommended that the Ministry of Education should enact policies regarding the provision of Guidance and Counselling services, care and support of orphaned children in primary schools with the aim of helping them attain appropriate emotional adjustment.

Stress is a major global health challenge affecting the well-being of service providers especially those working in the human service sectors like: teachers, health care providers and media specialists. Specifically the study determined school physical environmental factors responsible for stressful experience among teachers in special primary schools. The study employed descriptive research design. The target population was 138 teachers in special primary schools and 4 head teachers. The study used self-administered questionnaires to collect quantitative data from 138 teachers. Qualitative data was collected from the head teachers using interview schedules. Saturated sampling was used to select the respondents. The instruments were validated by expertsu0027 judgments by University lecturers in the Department of Psychology and Educational Foundations while reliability was estimated by use of Cronbach Alpha method for internal consistency. The questionnaire yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.94. Quantitative data was analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 which yielded descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The study found a positive significant relationship between social, physical and academic demand factors and stress. The study recommended that Ministry of Education should ensure immediate review of condition of services and develop a policy on stress management to guide the induction, operations and counselling of teachers on their day to day duties.

Academic performance among students may be a function of many factors such as their abilities, socio-economic background and pedagogical beliefs. This study investigated the influence of learnersu0027 involvement on academic performance of secondary school students. The study was guided by Locke and Lothamu0027s achievement theory which claims that setting goals and targets allow individuals to be focused and provides a sense of direction which enables individuals achieve their aims without distractions. Correlational design was adopted in the study. The target population of students was 2500. Stratified sampling was used to select 12 secondary schools while simple random sampling was used in this study to select 387 students. Content validity of the research instrument was enhanced through a pilot study using students not under the study. Reliability was determined by internal consistency method in which coefficient alpha of = 0.777 was obtained. Pearson product moment correlation was used to analyse quantitative data with the aid of SPSS version 22. A statistical significant relationship r = .17, p ≤ .05 was established between learner involvement and academic performance. The study recommended that teachers and school counselors should inculcate target setting skills on learners and that school counsellors should enhance peer tutoring to help students adjust to learning environment.