Teacher self-care as a moderator of the relationship between counseling interventions and work related stress among public senior school teachers in Nakuru East Sub County, Kenya

Abstract

Work-related stress among public senior school teachers in Kenya has become an educational challenge, with role overload and inadequate social support exacerbating stress. This study examined the moderating role of teacher self-care on the relationship between counseling interventions and work-related stress among public senior school teachers in Nakuru East Sub-County. It was grounded on the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (TMSC) and Social Support Theory (SST), and employed a quantitative cross‑sectional survey design. With a structured questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument, 178 teachers from 19 public senior schools completed the survey. The questionnaire assessed counseling interventions (individual, group, and psychoeducation) as the independent variable and work‑related stress as the dependent variable, measured through the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). The moderating role of teacher self‑care practices was determined via the selected Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) inventory. Analysis was conducted using multiple regression with HC3 robust standard errors. Results showed that teacher self‑care significantly moderated the relationship between individual counseling and work‑related stress (B = –0.240, p = .042). Individual counseling was more effective in reducing stress among teachers with higher self‑care. No significant moderation was found for group counseling or psychoeducation. Self‑care functions enhance the benefits of individual counseling while leaving group‑based and educational interventions unaffected. Local public senior schools should integrate self‑care promotion within individual counseling services to maximize stress reduction outcomes among troubled teachers.