Gender Differences in Learned Helplessness and Academic Disidentification on Academic Achievement among Form Three Secondary Students in Kilifi County, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/jep.3663Keywords:
Academic Achievement, Academic Disidentification, Learned HelplessnessAbstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of gender on the prediction of academic achievement from learned helplessness and academic disidentification among a sample of 421 form three students from 28 secondary schools in Kilifi County, Kenya.
Methodology: An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed.
Findings: The results revealed a weak, negative, but significant correlations between learned helplessness (r (419) = -.30, p.01) and academic disidentification (r (419) = -.02, p.01) on academic accomplishment. There were no significant gender differences (t(419) = 0.56, p >.05) in learned helplessness and academic disidentification. The qualitative results confirmed the quantitative findings.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: The findings may contribute to theory by modelling a new motivational paradigm that addresses how gender-differentiated dynamics attenuate the combined influence of students' learned helplessness and academic disidentification in a diversity of educational contexts. Policymakers can use this data to develop counselling and guiding interventions to reduce test anxiety and increase academic identification, as well as policies that encourage optimism and confidence. The Ministry of Education, through Curriculum Development Institutes, may improve teacher training in student-centered approaches to safeguard students against psychological barriers and low self-worth.
Downloads
References
Bamidele, A. (2019). Causes and Effects of Poor Academic Performance of Primary School Pupils in Mathematics in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo state. Academia.
Basic Educational Statistics (2020), https://www.education.go.ke/sites/default/files/Docs/The%20Basic%20Education%20Statistical%20Booklet%202020%20(1).pdf
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Caparello, C., Castellani, L., Loperfido, F. F., Filippello, P., & Sorrenti, L. (2025). Achievement Goals as Mediators in Parental Practices and School Success Relationships. European Journal of Education, 60(2), e70100.
Ciżkowicz, B. (2021). Validation of the Short School Helplessness Scale (SBS-S). Przegląd Badań Edukacyjnych (Educational Studies Review), 1(32), 251-270.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Mixed Methods Procedures. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed M methods Approaches, 31(3), 75-77.
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2023). Revisiting Mixed Methods Research Designs Twenty Years Later. Handbook of Mixed Methods Research Designs, 1(1), 21-36.
He, W., & Shi, D. (2025). Influence of Perceived Parental Views of Failure on Academic Resilience Among Middle School Students: A Moderated Mediation Model. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1532332.
Hussey, I., Alsalti, T., Bosco, F., Elson, M., & Arslan, R. (2025). An aberrant abundance of Cronbach’s alpha values at. 70. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 8(1), 25152459241287123.
Jehart, D., Fekonja, U., & Komidar, L. (2023). Odnos med depresivnostjo, naučeno nemočjo, spolom in šolskim uspehom pri mladostnicah in mladostnikih. Psihološka obzorja, 32(1), 23-31.
Kolber, M. (2023). Learned Helplessness of Secondary-School Students Learning English During Covid-19 Distance Education: a Research Report. Multidisciplinary Journal of School Education, 12(2 (24)), 105-123.
Major, B., & Schmader, T. (1998). Coping with Stigma through Psychological Disengagement. In Prejudice (pp. 219-241). Academic Press.
Martinot, D., Beaton, A., Tougas, F., Redersdorff, S., & Rinfret, N. (2020). Links Between Psychological Disengagement from School and different Forms of Self-Esteem in the Crucial Period of Early and Mid-adolescence. Social Psychology of Education, 23, 1539-1564.
Matschke, C., de Vreeze, J., & Cress, U. (2022). Social Identities and the Achievement Gap: Incompatibility Between Social Class Background and Student Identity Increases Student Disidentification, which Decreases Performance and Leads to Higher Dropout Rates. British Journal of Social Psychology, 8(5); 56-90.
Ngogoyo, E. W., Omondi, A., & Ireri, N. (2025). Predictive Factors of Poor Academic Performance among Form Three Students in Selected Public Secondary Schools in Langata Sub-County, Nairobi, Kenya. Journal of Sociology, Psychology and Religious, 5(4), 1-16.
Odabaşı, B., & Kolburan, G. (2013). Employment of Active Learning in Classroom Management and its Effect on Students’ Academic Success. The International Journal of Research in Teacher Education, 4(1), 23-29.
Ogbu, J. U. (1992). Understanding Cultural Diversity and Learning. Educational Researcher, 21(8), 5-14.
Ogoma, S. O. (2019). Parenting Style and Learned Helplessness in Mathematics: Do Gender and Region Matter? International Journal of Innovation and Research in Educational Sciences,6, (3), 391-401.
Okonkwo, I. G., Ekweoba, C. C., & Okemmiri, P. C. (2023). Influence of Self-Esteem and Learned Helplessness on the Academic Achievement of Chemistry Students in Awka Education Zone. Unizik Journal of Education Graduate, 8(1).
Otanga, H. (2019). Influence of Performance Attributions on Discounting and Devaluing Among High School Students: Does Academic Self-esteem Mediate? Order, 9(2).
Oyaro, M. S., Mwaura, P., Mwangi, C. N., & Ireri, A. (2024). Predictive Relationship between Achievement Goals, Perceived Teacher Support, Academic Disidentification and Mathematics Achievement. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 8(10), 343-352.
Patrick, A. O. (2024). Determine Robust Procedure for Testing Variance Equality Using Type l Error Rate and Power.
Patterson, C. (2024). Articulating Teacher Thinking to Build Collectively Efficacious Practice: a
Population Council Kenya. (2022). Adolescent Education, Health, and Sellbeing status in Kilifi County: Two years into the COVID-19 Pandemic [Policy brief]. UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
Putri, R. D., Farida, I. A., Masfufah, U., Widiatno, A., & Rahmawati, Y. M. (2023). The Role of Resilience in Minimizing Conditions of Learned Helplessness in Undergraduate Students at the State University of Malang. Jurnal Sains Psikologi, 12(2), 284-293.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1967). The disruptive effects of unpredictable shock. University of Pennsylvania.
Steele, T. R. (1992). The Psychological Role of the Father: A theoretical Dissertation. Pacifica Graduate Institute.
Tłuściak-Deliowska, A. (2022). Sense of Self-Efficacy and Helplessness among Students of Higher Grades of Primary School During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The New Educational Review, 69, 107-118.
Twaweza East Africa. (2024). Annual Report 2024. Our 2024 – 2027 Strategic Plan in a Nutshell. https://twaweza.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Annual-Report-2024-Final.pdf
Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). Expectancy–Value Theory of Achievement Motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 68-81.
Women, U. N. (2025). The Gender Snapshot 2025.
Ziegler, A., Bedenlier, S., Gläser-Zikuda, M., Kopp, B., & Händel, M. (2021). Helplessness among University Students: an Empirical Study Based on a Modified Framework of Implicit Personality Theories. Education Sciences, 11(10), 630.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mackenzie Dennis Muthoka
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
