Influence of pupil-teacher attachment patterns on emotional well-being of primary school pupils in rivers state

This study investigates the influence of pupil-teacher attachment patterns on emotional well-being of primary school pupils in Rivers State. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the conduct of the study. The population comprised all primary six pupils in Rivers State. The research design adopted for the study is ex-post facto research design. The sample is made up of 1,000 pupils selected through multi-stage sampling technique. The instruments for data collection were Pupil-Teacher Attachment Pattern Questionnaire (PTAPQ) and Emotional Wellness Scale (EWS). The reliability of PTAPQ and EWS were determined through Cronbach Alpha method of estimating reliability. The reliability coefficient of PTAPQ is 0.84, while the reliability coefficient of emotional well-being (EWS) is 082 respectively. The validity of the instruments were determined by experts in measurement and evaluation. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while two-way Anova was employed to test the hypotheses. The result indicated that, there is a significant influence of pupil-teacher attachment patterns on pupils’ emotional well-being, there is no significant influence of pupil-teacher attachment patterns on pupils’ emotional well-being based on gender and there is no significant interaction effect of pupil-teacher attachment patterns and gender on pupils’ emotional well-being. Based on the findings, the paper recommended amongst others that teachers should establish secure pupil-teacher attachment pattern with all pupils irrespective of gender.