Effects of Stress on the Academic Performance of Students Using the Faculty of Education of the University of Benin Students as a Case-study
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the effect of stress on academic performance of student
- To ascertain the common causes of stress for the University of Benin students
- To ascertain the effect of stress on the health of the University of Benin students
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
Stress is the process by which an individual or a person react when opened to external or internal problems and challenges. “the organism processes numerous systems to coordinate such adaptive responses both at systematic and cellular levels “by this, stress has direct effect on the brain and the whole anatomy of the body as such failure to adapt to a stressful condition can result in brain malfunction, physiological problem and also many areas of psychological challenge’s in the form of depression, anxiety, pain and burnout. Physiologically, stress-related diseases in the form reproduction, cardiovascular, metabolism and gastrointestinal diseases are determined by great areas of genetic and developmental factors which are different from a person to a person but also symptoms of this disease may be similar sometimes among individuals (Hellhammer & Hellhammer 2008. vii). According to (Wheeler 2007,2), stress is physics word which refers to the amount of force used on an object and it relates in real life as to how certain issues that carry force applied to human life. Examples financial difficulties, health challenge issues, conflicts with friends, all carry force or pressure on person’s body -mind and spirit. Some of the pressure or force originate from the environment but most often comes from within a person’s head in the form of worry, anxiousness, regret, discouragement and low confidence. Therefore, stress is basically force applied to a person and may result in a strain which is as a result of an unmanaged stress that is when a person is not able to handle a challenge or problem encountered strain result. To some people, the effect is minimal which means they are able to endure pressure whiles in others the effect is enormous and have an adverse effect. Stress is explained by (Pargman 2006, 5) as “An uncertain reaction to external and internal factors” that means a negative or positive reaction to environmental stimuli.
Aspect of stress
Anxiety
In May’s book “The meaning of anxiety” (2015), anxiety is explained as the manner in which a person reacts or response to stress, accept and interpret. In this view, stress Burnout Fear Worry Distress Anxiety stress is seen as a journey to anxiety thus anxiety is an outcome of stress and it how an individual handles stress. A good handler of stress is likely to experience or no form of anxiety. Whereas those without effective management skills is prune to a high level of anxiety.
Burnout
Burnout, also refer to as soulless situation is where a person loses the eagerness and motivation in continuing to a particular kind of studies or activity as a result of both external and internal factors. The skills and expertise is still active but the desire and the wellness to perform is dead in the person as such activity or studies become huge responsibility without any joy. Burnout destroys a person’s motivation and may kill the initiative’s at studies or school. Service providers like teachers, counsellors and other officers experience these issue much and make them at times to be hostile to the people that they dedicated to serving. It normally affects people whose studies are interaction with people like team leaders, managers, etc. Also, people whose studies are time band that is adhering to strict time schedule’s also experienced burnout. In a situation where an activity or studies required much details and explanations burnout is likely to result in the people who are taking such activities.’ The following are symptoms of burnout:
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to effects of stress on the academic performance of students using the faculty of education of the University of Benin as a case study
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
Primary source and Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain effects of stress on the academic performance of students using the faculty of education of the university of Benin as a case student
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of stress on the academic performance of students
Summary
This study was on effects of stress on the academic performance of students using the faculty of education of the university of Benin as a case student. Three objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the effect of stress on academic performance of student, to ascertain the common causes of stress for the university of Benin students, to ascertain the effect of stress on the health of the University of Benin students. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 students of University of Benin. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up final year students, year four students, year three students and year two students were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
Due to the negative impact of stress on student’s life, such as ineffective studies, poor academic performance and the general health status, putting effective measures in place is pertinent to their academic success and general life. This is done by identifying the main causes of stress which includes changes in lifestyle, increased workload, new responsibilities, and interpersonal relationships and finding the appropriate remedy. A lot of research have been done on stress and it management and pragmatic solutions given and we hope that, based on the analysis made, this thesis will be of great help in helping students to have an excellent academic life.
Recommendation
- Management of the school should make room for stress management courses in the school curriculum and also organising stress management forum and campaign to help address stress among students.
- The student union in collaboration with the sport council and management should organised games and social programmes for students. 3. There should be frequent interaction between academic staffs and students on how best to schedule intensive courses in the cause of the semester work
- Guidance and counselling unit should be part of the school management system so that students can come there to discuss issues affecting them.
- Good eating habit should be priority of students in relation to stress management
- Enough sleep and exercise is an important remedy to stress management. 7. Creative games should be organised during lectures that have longer hours from 3-6 hours in order to some extent relief stress from students and refresh their mind and make them active
References
- American College Health Association. (2011). American College Health Association – National College Health Assessment 2011 NYU Data. Hanover: MD.
- Bernstein, D.A, Penner, L.A, Stewart, A.C & Roy, E.J. (2008). Psychology. 8thed.. Boston – New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
- Centre, K. C. (2010). Stress and Stress Management. London: Press books.
- Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. USA: Sage publication Inc.
- Davidson, J. (2001). Stress Management. Macmillan USA: A Person Education Company. Dictionary.com. (2016). [Retrieved from Dictionary.com]. http://www.dictionary.com
- Dusselier, L., Dunn, B., Yongyi W., Shelley II, M., & Whalen, D. (2005). Personal, health, academic, and environmental predictors of stress in residence halls. Jour-nal of American College Health, 54(1), 15–24.
- Fears and phobias. (2016). [Retrieved on 20 March 2016]. Available at: http://kidshearth.org
- Hellhammer D. & Hellhammer, J. (2008). Stress (the brain body connection). Karger.
- Hiriyappa, B. (2012). Stress Management. Bloomington: Booktango.
- Hoover, E. (2003, December 5). More help for troubled students. 75
- Layton, J. (2016). How fear works. [Retrieved 20 March, 2016]. Available at: http://science.howstuffworks.com
- May, R. (2015). The meaning of anxiety. New York: w.w. Norton & company Ltd.
- MtvU, Jed Foundation, & The Associated Press. (2009).
- mtvU AP 2009 Economy College Stress and Mental Health Poll [Retrieved on 12 April 2017]. Available at: http://www.halfofus.com/_media/_pr/may09_exec.pdf New services try to strengthen campus mental health programs and prevent suicide. The Chronicle of Higher Education.