Academic Stress Predictors in Science Students of Akwa ... UPLOADS/VOL. 6... · of significance...

Journal of Science, Education & Humanities (JOSEH) Vol. 6(1), 2016

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Academic Stress Predictors in Science Students of Akwa Ibom State

College of Education, Afaha Nsit

Comfort H. Ekanem

Department of Physics

College of Education, Afaha Nsit

Akwa Ibom State

&

Theresa F. Ekanem

Department of Primary Education College of Education, Afaha Nsit

Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

The paper investigated factors construed to contribute to academic stress in students of Nigerian tertiary

institutions using the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) students of the School of Science, Akwa

Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit (AKSCOEAN) as a case study. A descriptive survey design

in the ex-post-facto was adopted for the study of 250 students drawn randomly from 3 out of 7 academic

departments in the School. Data collected through questionnaires administered to the subjects as well as

the semester examination results from their respective departments were utilized to study the levels of

perceived academic stress among the subjects. Five hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 levels

of significance using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test statistics. The results revealed

significant effects of various forms of stressors ranging from departmental placement on admission/year

of study, learning environment/conditions, students‟ study habits, academic work-load, examination

conditions as well as gender on the academic achievements of NCE science students. Recommendation

made, among others, was that effective strategies in managing stress should be developed and these

stressors be modified to increase the coping behaviour of the students in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

Keywords: stress, stressor, coping behaviour, transfer of learning, science

concepts

1 Introduction

Many concerns have been expressed in the recent past over the increasingly poor academic

achievements of students in Nigeria‟s institutions of learning. This has often been blamed on

many factors including nature of academic programmes by academic planners/curriculum

developers of our educational system, dwindling interest/lack of commitment on the job on the

part of the teachers, government‟s inability to provide basic learning facilities and incentives to

make the teaching profession an interesting one, and the ineffective methods used in presenting

certain concepts and principles in our schools (Dada, 1991; Ibritam, 1997; Ekanem, 2000a;

Ekanem, 2000b; Bamigbola, 2009).


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In particular, there has been public outcry over the deplorable levels of academic

achievements of students and, indeed, performance at work of NCE graduates of Nigerian

tertiary institutions (Ibritam, 1997; Ekanem, 2000a).The presumptions are that these students are

not learning as much as they should and as fast as expected. Experience even shows that some of

them who were admitted into the Colleges cannot cope with the demands of the various

programmes, and out of frustration usually drop out of school without completing their studies. It

is also generally very embarrassing to observe that many NCE graduates who struggle through

the programmes cannot communicate effectively or even perform basic skills learnt in the

College to a reasonable degree of proficiency. For example, Ibritam (1997) and Ekanem (2000b)

corroborate that the NCE science and technology curricular and most teaching methods used in

Nigerian schools have made students fail to see the inter-dependent relationship that exists

between academic contents of science and technology courses offered while in school and their

real life applications. In other words, there is low transfer of what is learnt in the school to the

real world. And this is not in line with the goals of Science Education which is aimed at

equipping the individual learner with such knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable him

live a meaningful and fulfilled life and contribute positively to the development of the society

from which he couldderive maximum social, economic and cultural benefits (Federal Republic

of Nigeria (FRN), 2013).

Unfortunately, the many studies on factors that have led to academic failures of students in

our tertiary institutions have often ignored „other‟ important variables such as thesocio-

environmentaland many other personal issues the students themselves have to grapple with in the

course of their schooling which undeniably compete for their attention making it hard for most of

them to concentrate on studies and eventually leading to academic stress among the students

(Beard, Elmore & Lange, 1982; Ekanem, 2013). Yet if one is in school, one has to beat all

obstacles which may hinder one‟s progress from one academic year to another and eventually

graduate.

Traditionally, the word stress came into use from physical sciences which consider it as a

temporary or permanent deformation, distortion or change of object or system from its original

structure when subjected to pressure (force or load). Kim and Dauda (2003) use the term stress to

mean the general response which the human body makes to any demand on it. Akinboye,

Akinboye and Adeyome (2002) define stress as a worry which is physical, psychological,

physiological and sociological as a result of not meeting with certain demands from the work

place. These authors further describe stress as a host of potentially unpleasant events that include

unavoidable pain and excessive fatigue under strenuous work conditions. It may be regarded as a

force which pushes a physical object or psychological factor beyond its range of stability to a

“yield point” thereby producing strain within the individual.

Stress is always present in human existence and occurs in a wide variety of situations and

settings including school, home, work and social environments and affects everyone regardless

of age, gender, race, religion or social status (Bamigbola, 2009). It could be acute or chronic as

well as more routine life changes. Stress is not a single variable but rubric consisting of many

variables and processes. Stressors are events, people, thoughts, situations, things or any stimulus


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that cause or induce stress. Whenever one is under excessive stressful condition, one cannot

function properly because of the stimulation that takes place within the body system. Obviously,

stress is an important psychological concept that can affect health, well-being and

work/academic performance negatively. Stress is therefore a condition that touches on well-

being and could be categorized into different levels (Tryphena & Ceceha, 2011) depending on

how an individual copes with the given situation. Thus, mild or moderate amount of stress can be

stimulating or motivating to some people, while it presents as physical and emotional toll on

most other people. However, while stress remains an inevitable part of one‟s day-to-day life, one

can work under pressure and still achieve goals without destroying oneself, provided positive

coping mechanisms are put in place.

Students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria who invariably are the focus of this research work

are considered to be one of the leading groups of persons that undergo a variety of stress in the

course of their studies. A stressed student may therefore be considered as one suffering from any

condition/ailment which can cause academic work-related in-sufficiency in the educational

sector. Evidence that the students are stressed may be found in a typical Nigeria educational

system which has shown how difficult and un-conducive the atmosphere is for optimal

educational achievement including teaching and learning (Bamigbola, 2009).

Bamigbola (2009) and Tryphena and Ceceha (2011) identify stress as one of the significant

causes of poor academic achievements of students in tertiary institutions. Beard, Elmore and

Lange (1982) define students‟ stress as uncomfortable experiences in the course of their study

which may cause students‟ fear, discomfort, anger, depression, tension, worry, anxiety,

frustration, increased heart-beat, sleeplessness, strains, etc., and remark that if these conditions

persist, they may generate actions and reactions that may affect students‟ well-being and

interfere with their academic and social development. Bamigbola (2009) further discovers that

both male and female students undergo stress in the course of their studies.

However, the present study presumes that whenever a student finds it difficult to adjust to the

academic/social demands of school life/environment perhaps due to personality or sociological

factors academic stress may be eminent. Similarly, the students‟ inability to meet up with their

personal needs and being bothered by these inadequacies can be justifiable reasons for students‟

academic stress in the study area. Other key performance indicators of impending academic

stress in students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria may include but not limited to: inadequate

school infrastructures, non-availability of good study materials, lack of comfortable

accommodation, un-conducive school environment for serious academic work, etc.

Generally, when students are faced with poor learning conditions or are subjected to study in

poor and un-conducive environment such as that without ventilation, good tables and seats, or

when a facility meant for a class of 40 to 50 is occupied by about over four hundred (400)

students these may lead to their academic stress. Any student erroneously placed in any given

academic department or subjected to excessively high academic work-load/study pressure may

be heading to academic stress. Any student who does not organize some aspects of his study life

appropriately, or exhibits poor attitude to studies may eventually undergo academic stress. When

students complain of study pressure perhaps due to their poor attitude to study (poor study


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habits) they are bound to be academically stressed. Any student limited by life necessities,

sexually harassed, faced with low self-esteem or personality concept, or whose rights are

wrongfully denied, etc. may eventually find it difficult to cope with his studies, let alone

excelling in his semester examinations. And once a student experiences failure in one or more

courses, he has the tendency of losing interest in studies/learning, feeling frustrated and thereby

absenting himself more from classes/lectures which result in a vicious cycle of more failures or

what the present study refers to as academic stress. Thus, this unwholesome or perpetual poor

academic performance or academic failures of the students is therefore referred to as academic

stress in this study.

In consideration, therefore, of the potential effect of these stressors on the academic

achievement of our students as well as the incomprehensive nature of the previous studies with

respect to factors which influence students‟ academic achievements, there is need to carry out the

present study to effectively determine how some of the enumerated school environmental

stressors would affect the students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria using NCE science students

of Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit (AKSCOEAN) as a case study. The

choice of this group of learners for the current research is informed by the obvious importance of

science in most fields of modern life and technology as well as other human endeavour as that

which provides a basis for creative work in these fields and competence in effectively relating

what is learnt in school to real life situations (outside of school) (Ibritam, 1997; Dada, 1991;

FGN, 2013).

There is need also to monitor closely the effects the various identified stressors may have on

academic achievement of these students in order to develop effective strategies in managing

stress in our learners in tertiary institutions.

The purpose of this study, therefore, is to identify the influence of some demographic factors

on stress perceptions of students in Nigeria and to specifically determine the effects of various

forms of stressors on students‟ achievements in NCE science courses in AKSCOE, Afaha Nsit.

Knowing the influence of stress and its relationship with academic achievement as well as

the importance of managing stress would make the finding of this study of immense benefit to all

students in tertiary institutions; as it would enable them acquire the necessary skills to combat

stress and to imbibe stress coping strategies. It would also help them identifying, so as to jettison,

those stressors that can negatively affect their academic performance and to uphold those ones

that are constructive and help enhance their academic achievements. The study would also assist

the school administrators to appreciate the importance of providing enabling environment for

effective study in our tertiary institutions. It would also pave way for more extensive study on

stress coping strategies both in school and at work.

2 Research Hypotheses

In this study, five null hypotheses were formulated and tested for significance at 0.05 error

margin:

H01: There is no significant effect of stress on the academic achievements of NCE science

students of AKSCOE, Afaha Nsit admitted into the different academic departments.


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H02: There is no significant difference in the levels of academic stress experienced by the NCE

science students on the basis of the academic programme of the College.

H03: Students‟ academic work-load does not contribute in any significant measure to the

academic stress of the NCE science students;

H04: The study strategies/habits of NCE science students of AKSCOE, Afaha Nsit cannot

predict the differences in their levels of academic stress.

H05: There is no significant difference between the degree of academic stress experienced by

male students and their female counterparts.

3 Research Design and Methodology

A descriptive survey design in the ex-post-facto was adopted for the study. All NCE science

students of Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit, Nigeria admitted into the

different academic departments between 2010/2011 and 2012/2013 academic sessions formed

the study population. Stratified random sampling technique across gender (90 males; 160

females) and year of study (105 students from 100 level, 85 from 200 level and 60 from 300

level) was used to select 250 students of the school drawn randomly from 3 out of 7 academic

departments in the school, namely, Physics (50 students), Chemistry (75students), Biology (125

students). Data were collected through a 36 items Likert-Scale type questionnaire tagged

“Academic Stress Assessment Questionnaire for Science Students (ASAQSS)” administered to

the subjects, as well as students‟ semester/NCE final results. The questionnaire contained items

measuring the subjects‟ study behaviours as well as the symptoms of physical, psychological,

social and mental stress.The instrument was reliably validated, yielding a coefficient alpha of

0.86 at a 0.05 level of significance. Five hypotheses were formulated and also tested at 0.05

levels of significance using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test statistical

analyses.

4 Data Analysis and Results

H01: There is no significant effect of stress on the academic achievements of NCE science

students of AKSCOE, Afaha Nsit admitted into the different academic departments.

This hypothesis was put to test using a one-way analysis of variance based on items

measuring signs and symptoms of study and mental stress resulting from the subjects‟

departmental placement, year of study as well as the results of their mean sessional tests. The

results of these tests are summarized in tables 1and 2.

Table 1: Comparative Analysis of the Relationship among the Mean Sessional Test Scores of the

NCE Science Students of the Sampled Departments

Variable

PHY Test

Score

CHEM Test

Score

BIO Test

Score

N ̅ S ̅ S ̅ S


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100 level 105 54.9 7.6 52.5 6.9 58.7 7.5

200 level 85 52.8 6.1 53.7 6.5 57.9 6.8

300 level 60 58.8 6.8 54.5 6.7 58.7 7.1

*(Group performance of Departmental Placement by year of study)

Table 2. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the Differences in the Mean Scores of NCE Science

Students of the Sampled Departments

Sources of variation SS df MS Fobs Fcrit

Decision at

p <0.05

Between groups

(departmental placement) 846.5 2 282.17 5.03 2.76 Significant

Within group (error) 3143.4 247 46.69

Total 3989.9 249

Key: SS = Sum of Squares, DF = Degree of Freedom, MS = Mean Square

The significant F-factor of 5.03 from this analysis compared to the critical (tabulated) value

of 2.76 at 0.05 level of significance shows that the stressor which resulted in significant

academic stress among students was the students‟ departmental placement and possibly could not

be due to sampling error. And since the result fails to provide support for it, the null hypothesis is

thus rejected in favour of the research hypothesis. It can also be observed that this stressor had

some significant effects on the academic achievement of students at 100, 200, and 300 levels of

study.

H02: Academic programmes of the College do not exert any significant academic stress on the

NCE science students.

Table 3. T-test Analysis of the Difference between the Mean Responses on the Effect of

Academic Programme (stressor) on NCE Science Students

Variable (Academic

programme)

N ̅ SX df t-obs t-crit Decision at

P<0.05

Relevant/Adequate 125 14.37 5.86 248 0.32 1.96

Not

Significant

Irrelevant/Inadequate 125 14.54 5.27

(H02

accepted)

From table 3, the t-observed (0.32) is less than t-critical value (1.96) at 0.05 alpha levels of

significance showing that the respondents did not differ significantly in their opinion on the

nature of academic programme mounted for them. This means that hypothesis two is accepted.

This implies that NCE science students are generally not affected by the type of academic

programme mounted for them.

H03: Students‟ academic work-load does not contribute in any significant measure to the

academic stress of the NCE science students.


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Table 4. T-test Analysis of the Influence of Academic Work-load (stressor) on Academic

Achievement of NCE Science Students

Variable (Work-load) N ̅ SX df t-obs t-crit Decision at

P<0.05

Relevant/Adequate 67 25.5 4.4 248 3.49 1.96

Not

Significant


(H03

rejected)

The mean responses of the respondents on the influence of academic work load reveal this

variable to be a very significant stressor. This is indicated by a higher observed t-value (3.49)

than the critical value of 1.96 at P<0.05 which implies that any student subjected to high/excess

academic work-load may eventually find it difficult coping let alone excelling in his semester

examinations.

H04: The study strategies of NCE science students of AKSCOE, Afaha Nsit cannot predict the

differences in their academic stress.

Table 5. T-test Analysis of the Mean Responses on Effect of Study Habit (stressor) on Academic

Achievement of NCE Science Students

Variable (Study habit) N ̅ SX DF t-obs t-crit Decision at

P<0.05

Relevant/Adequate 78 42.4 9.9 248 4.24 1.96 Significant


(H04

rejected)

The results in table 5 show that the t-observed (4.24) exceeds the critical t-value (1.96) at

0.05 levels of significance. Thus hypothesis four is rejected implying that NCE science students

differ significantly in their level of academic stress depending on their attitude to studies.

H05: There is no significant difference between the level/degree of academic stress

experienced by male students and their female counterparts.

Table 6. T-test Analysis of the Mean Responses of the Male and Female NCE Science Students

on their Perceived Influence of Stress on their Academic Achievement

Variable (Gender) N ̅ SX DF t-obs t-crit Decision at

P<0.05

Female 160 54.4 6.2 248 2.29 1.96 Significant

Male 90 61.2 8.0

(H05

rejected)

The results in table 6 show that the t-observed (2.29) exceeds the critical t-value (1.96) at

0.05 levels of significance showing that NCE science students differ significantly in their level of

academic stress using gender as a variable of interest. Thus hypothesis five is rejected. The

conclusion on this result is that the degree of stress experienced by the female students is


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significantly different from that of the male counterparts which inevitably also has significant

impact on academic achievement of NCE science students using gender as the basis of

comparison.

The summary of the results of this study is as follows:

(i) Departmental placement and year of study of NCE science students of AKSCOE,

Afaha Nsit pose some significant (p < 0.05) level of academic stress on these students

(and thus affect their academic achievements significantly).

(ii) Academic programmes of the College do not exert any significant academic stress on

the NCE science students.

(iii) Excessively high academic work-load exerts significant academic stress on the

students.

(iv) The study strategies/habits of NCE science students of AKSCOE, Afaha Nsit result in

significant differences in their academic achievement cum levels of academic stress.

(v) Female students‟ levels of academic stress are significantly higher than that of their

male counterparts.


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5 Discussion

The results of testing the hypotheses formulated for this study reveal the effects of various

forms and degree of stressors on academic achievement of NCE science students. In particular,

the mean scores of the subjects with respect to observed academic achievements as well as the

statistical analyses of the mean responses of the subjects on the perceived academic stressors

revealed some significant contributing factors to students‟ academic stress.

The result of testing the first hypothesis shows that NCE science students differ significantly

in their levels of academic stress. The study revealed that returning students are academically

less stressed than fresher ones. For fresher students, the students‟ departmental placement and

acute shortage of accommodation appear to be the most implicated stress variables (stressors) in

this study resulting in significant academic stress among them. This implies that departmental

placement on admission and year of study of the subjects are both significant factors in students‟

achievements in NCE science courses and subsequently in the determination of the level of their

academic stress. This finding appears to support the views of Ekanem (2000a) who blamed the

poor academic achievement of fresher students of AKSCOE, Afaha Nsit on admission policy of

the College; and that of Tryphena and Ceceha (2007) who posited that studying at

college/university is a stressful time for most students especially those who just transit from high

school to college/university. This may be attributed to their inexperience and lack of enough

emotional maturity to withstand advanced school stress. Beard, Elmore and Lange (1982)

explained that this is the time when most new adults are struggling with their new freedom

amidst negotiating developmental tasks and focusing on interpersonal relationships in tandem

with academic concerns.

However, according to this study, the nature of NCE science programme does not contribute

significantly to students‟ academic stress. This assertion was arrived at by testing the second

hypothesis formulated for this study. This result is however at variance with the result of a study

conducted by Ibritam (1997) and Ekanem (2000b) who blamed the in-efficiency or lack of

proficiency of NCE graduates on the curriculum designed for them which placed much emphasis

on pedagogical competencies of the learners rather than on the aptitude/specialty in development

of science process skills and technological expertise.

The results obtain by testing hypotheses three and four are a reflection of the fact that, too

many people look at studying as a necessary task, not an opportunity to learn. Students start

complaining of excess work load when they miss earlier opportunities to pass semester

tests/examinations perhaps due to their poor attitude to study/poor study habits (Ekanem, 2013).

Students easily get entangled with some unhealthy study habits such as procrastination which

results in inability to meet deadlines for submissions of home projects/assignments, getting

easily distracted, peer-pressure (yoking with unlike minds), being bothered with some other life

issues such as relationship issue or an upcoming extra-curricular event, and not being in the right

frame of mind. These and more, such as sexual harassment and inability to meet huge financial

demands of some unreasonable lecturers are significant study detractors and are shown to be

some of the factors that eventually contribute significantly to academic stress of the learners of

tertiary institution in Nigeria. On this, Dada (1991) cautioned that how one approaches an issue


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(the attitude) matters almost as much as what one does. Similarly, the poor socio-economic

background of the students may relate to inability to pay school fees and on time, finishing an

important project or being concerned with where the next meal will be coming from, self-

worth/personality perception were indicated in this study to greatly contribute to increased levels

of academic stress among students.

Similarly, the result of testing the fifth hypothesis shows that NCE science students differ

significantly in their levels of academic stress by gender. Specifically, the female students‟ levels

of academic stress were found to be significantly higher than that of their male counterparts. This

may be explained by the many complex roles played by the female folks. The result appears to

support the views of Usman (2006) and Bamigbola (2009) who variously found that a significant

difference exists in the levels of transfer of learning cum levels of academic stress experienced

between male and female students; thus, strengthening the assertion that gender is both a

significant stressor of students with respect to the subjects‟ academic achievement in NCE

science courses as well as a factor in the determination of the level of academic stress.


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5 Recommendation and Conclusion

In view of the results of the study, the following recommendations are made:

(i) The psychological environment that characterizes educational institutions needs to be

made stress-minimal; while the students should be helped to understand that stress

affects everyone regardless of age, gender, race, religion or social status but that how

one copes is a skill that must consciously be cultivated through developing positive

attitude towards academic issues.

(ii) Effort should also be made towards making our learners understand that schooling is

not just about passing an examination, as most students look at it as, but an effort to

actually learn things they can find useful later in life, and that being successful in

school requires proper time management and high level of study skill which a student

must first develop, practice and make them a habit and must try not to be bothered with

some other life issues.

(iii) And finally that, success in school and at work is not so much determined by sheer

intelligence as knowing how to study while coping with all the competing life issues

which demands for one‟s attention as a student and one‟s ability to achieve the transfer

of what one learns in school to the real world. Then only can improved academic and

career achievements be realized.

In conclusion, the results of this study has revealed that Departmental placement/year of

study of NCE science students of AKSCOE, Afaha Nsit, as well as excessively high academic

work-load, the students‟ study strategies and gender pose some significant (p < 0.05) levels of

academic stress and thus affect their academic achievements. However, according to this study,

the nature of NCE science programme does not contribute significantly to students‟ academic

stress.

References

Akinboye, J. O., Akinboye, D. O., & D. A. Adeyemo (2002). Coping with stress in life and work place.

Ibadan: Sterling-Holden Publishers (Nig.) Ltd.

Antonovsky, A. (1979). Health, stress and coping. San Francisco: Jersey-Bass.

Bamigbola, J. O. (2009). Effect of stress on academic performance of undergraduate Engineering students

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Beard, S.S., Elmore, R.T., & Lange, S. (1982). Assessment of student‟s areas of stress in the campus

environment. Journal of College Students’ Development , 23, 348-350.

Dada, O. C. (1991). Correlation between attitude and chemistry achievement. Journal of Educational

Psychology, 52(2), 16- 18.

Ekanem, C. H. (2000a). Enrollment determinant in NCE science courses: A case study of Akwa Ibom

State College of Education, Afaha Nsit. Nigerian Educationa l Journal, 3(1&2), 21-27.

Ekanem, C. H. (2000b). Curriculum issues in Nigeria‟s basic education scheme. International Journal of

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Ekanem, C. H. (2013, July). Developing study skills for effective learning, retention and memorization of

physics concepts. A Paper presented at the Inaugural Annual Seminar of the Department of Physics,

College of Education, Afaha Nsit.

Federal Republic of Nigeria (2013). National policy on education. Abuja: National Educational Research

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Ibritam, K. S. (1997). A call for modification of the curriculum of technical teacher education at NCE

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Kim, M. S., & Dauda, J. L. (2003). Coping process: Cognitive appraisals of stress, coping strategies and

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http://www.acu.edu.au/

http://www.acu.edu.au/

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