The study investigated teachers’ perfectionist attitude to learning and Students struggling with self-stigmatization in private secondary schools in Delta State. Three (3) research questions were raised and answered while three (3) null hypotheses were formulated and tested in the study. The variables in the study were reviewed from relevant literature. This research is a correlational study of ex-post facto design. The population comprise all registered private secondary schools in Delta State. The population of the study is 15,951 comprising of 1177 proprietors/principals and 14,774 teachers in private secondary schools in Delta State in the twenty five (25) Local Government Areas of Delta State. The sample for this study comprised 1533 respondents made up of 588 proprietors/principals and 945 teachers in Delta State private secondary schools selected from 12 Local Government Areas. Proprietors/principals represented 50% while teachers represent 10% of the population. A self developed questionnaire titled “Teachers’ Perfectionist Attitude to Learning and Students struggling Self-stigmatization Questionnaire’ (TPALSSSQ)”, validated and its reliability equally determined via a pilot study using test re-test reliability technique with a coefficient index of 0.86 was used. The researcher administered a total of 1,533 questionnaire to randomly selected respondents from the selected private secondary schools in the study area. The research questions raised were answered using simple percentage, Mean score and Standard Deviation while Pearson Product Moment Statistics was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that teachers’ perfectionist attitude to learning influence Students struggling with self-stigmatization. Students may feel that they are not good enough or that they will never meet the teacher’s expectations. It was therefore recommended that teachers should foster a growth mindset and emphasize effort over ability, encourage self-compassion and self-awareness, provide positive role models and representation and promote diversity and inclusion.
Keywords: Nigeria, perfectionist attitude, self-stigmatization
