EFFECT OF THE SCHOOLS’ SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT IN MANAGING MENOPAUSE CRISES AMONG FEMALE TEACHERS

Abstract

Menopause crisis is not regarded as a major issue in most organizations and therefore is not considered at workplace. Among female teachers, it may be worsened by an unfavourable social working environment but the significance of these factors is not yet known. This study investigated the influence of schools’ social environment on menopause crisis for female teachers of public primary schools. The study utilized ex post facto research design because it was not possible or acceptable to influence the characteristics of respondents. The study was based on the Person-Environment-Occupation Theory of Occupational Performance. The researcher used stratified sampling, two stage clustered sampling, random sampling, and purposive sampling techniques. The sample of the study was 289 participants. The research instrument of the study was a structured questionnaire, Focus Group Discussion, and a key informant interview schedule. The results revealed that social environment has a statistically significant influence on menopause crisis with a Linear Regression analysis where (r 2 =0.645; p-value of 0.03). From the findings of the study, it can be concluded that, social environment influence menopause crisis. School administrators should provide working environments that are conducive to female teachers. Findings from the study provided insight that it is helpful to school managers to identify some of the social environment related gaps in their schools that need to be addressed in order to make their working environment more conducive to menopausal women. Policy makers will gain insight into initiatives that could ensure women teachers undergoing menopause are least affected socially.