Examining the Influence of Strengths Development on Psychological Capital: The Case of Public Secondary School Teachers in Wakiso District, Uganda, East Africa
Nabirye Robinah Walube
Nkumba University, Uganda
Email; rwalube@nkumbauniversity.ac.ug
Abstract: This study investigated the predictive role of Strength Development on the Psychological Capital of public secondary school teachers in Wakiso District, Uganda, East Africa. Guided by Strengths-Based Development Theory (SBDT) by Clifton (2000). The study explored how the three dimensions’ skills development, talent development, and knowledge development influence psychological capital. A cross-sectional survey design was deployed to collect quantitative data from a randomly selected sample of 169 teachers. Structured questionnaires were validated via expert review, and data were analyzed using SPSS. Exploratory Factor Analysis confirmed sample adequacy with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of .737 and a highly significant Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (1123.538), df = 351, p < .0.05). EFA resolved into three distinct factors: skill development explaining 14.503% of the variance, knowledge development at 12.209% of the variance, and talent development explained 8.687% of the variance, of strength development. The empirical findings offer vital implications for educational policymakers and administrators, demonstrating that strategic investment in teachers’ strength development fosters a thrivinginstitutional culture and actively cultivates psychological capital within Sub-Saharan African contexts. Theoretically, this paper extends the empirical boundaries of SBDT positioning the multidimensional construct of strength development as a primary antecedent to psychological capital. It provides rare empirical evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa, offering a contextualized understanding of how structured skill, talent and knowledge development processes drive positive psychologicalcapital in secondary the educational systems.
