RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY MINNA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY MINNA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

 

ABSTRACT

 

This study examined the relationship between stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of Federal University of Technology Minna Niger State, Nigeria. Six objectives, six research questions, and six hypotheses guided the study. The study which was correlational research design, had a population of ten thousand five hundred and two (10,502) students of Federal University of Technology, out of which a sample of three hundred and seventy eight (378) respondents were randomly selected through proportional stratified sampling technique. An instrument „Academic stress inventory for students at University and colleges, it had a 5- point likert scale. The six research questions and hypothesis were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of SPSS version 16.0. The result of the analyses show significant relationship between academic stress and academic achievement (r = -0.316, p = 0.000), between teachers‟ related stress and academic achievement (r = -0.332, p =0.000), between examination stress and academic achievement (r = - 0.211, p=0.000), between peer academic stress and academic achievement (r = -0.221, p=000). However time management had no significant relationship with academic achievement (r = -0.070, p=0.174), and significant relationship between studying in group stress and academic achievement (r = -0.201, p=0.000). However, null hypothesis 5 was retained. Some recommendations were made based on the finding of this study. Managing stress through reviewing universities policies, goal and objective to meet the need and aspiration of students is recommended. Universities teacher/lecture should acquire the knowledge of stress management techniques in order to advise stressful situations appropriately. There should be adequate planning of academic work such that there would be enough intervals between the periods of continuous assessment test and examinations.

 

	TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page		i
Declaration		ii
Certification		iii
Dedication		iv
Acknowledgements		v
Abstract		vii
Table of Contents		viii
List of Table		xi
List of Appendices		xii
Operational Definition of Terms		xiii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1	Background to the Study	1
1.2	Statement of the Problem	3
1.3	Objectives of the Study	4
1.4	Research Questions	5
1.5	Research Hypotheses	6
1.6	Basic Assumption	6
1.7	Significance of the Study	7
1.8	Scope and Delimitation of the Study	8
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1	Introduction	9
2.2.1	Concept of Stress	9
2.2.2	Concept of Academic Achievement	11
2.3	Theoretical Framework	13
2.3.1	Transactional theory of Stress	13
2.3.2	Person- Environment Fit Theory (P-E)	14
2.3.3	Theory of Psychological Stress	16
2.3.4	Weiner Attribution Theory for Success or Failure	17
2.4	Sources of Stress	20
	8

 

2.5	Study Habits and Academic Achievement	26
2.6	Effect of Stress on Academic Achievement	30
2.7	Stress and Academic Achievement	31
2.8	Influence of Stress on Academic Self-Concept	34
2.9	Negative Influence of Stress	36
2.10	Manifestation of Stress	38
2.11	Measurement of Academic Achievement	41
2.12	Academic Performance of University Students	42
2.13	Empirical Studies	44
2.14	Summary	48
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLGY
3.1	Introduction	51
3.2	Research Design	51
3.3	Population of the Study	51
3.4	Sample Size and Sampling Technique	52
3.5	Instrumentation	53
3.5.1	Validity of the Instrument	54
3.5.2	Pilot Testing	54
3.5.3	Reliability of the Instrument	54
3.5.4	Scoring of the Instrument	55
3.6	Procedure for Data Collection	55
3.7	Procedures for data Analysis	56
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1	Introduction	57
4.2	Analysis of Bio Data of Respondents	57
4.3	Test of Null Hypotheses	60
4.4	Summary of Findings	64
4.5	Discussion of Findings	65

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHATER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 

5.1	Introduction	69
5.2	Summary	69
5.3	Contribution to Knowledge	71
5.4	Conclusion	71
5.5	Recommendations	72
5.6	Suggestion for Further Studies	74
5.7	Limitation of the Studies	74
	References	76
	Appendices	85

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

INTRODUCTION

 

1.1         Background to the study

 

Stress is a response of an individual to a perceived or encountered threat or demand, which is beyond his/her ability to handle. That is to say, it is a condition where by an individual interprets an event as a threat or demand and swiftly response to it. Stress could cause unpleasant emotional and physiological changes in a person, thus resulting into mental and physical illness. However, stress is not entirely negative, in a way that it demoralizes and reduces the performance of a person, to the extent that he/she becomes depressed and aggressive, rather, it has a positive impart to him/her, where it alert him/her on a dangerous situation he/she finds himself/herself, thus prepares him/her to face it squarely. Stress is cause by inevitable events within the environment that are called stressors. These stressors are found in every aspect of human life such as homes, schools, working places, hospitals, and prisons.

 

Stress has become an important topic in academic circles as well as in the society. Some scholars in the field of behavioural sciences have carried out extensive research on stress and its outcomes and concluded that the topic needed more attention. Stress can come in different ways in an individual‟s daily life (Agolla, 2008). When there is a change in life, we adjust ourselves to fit in the new condition. For a student, stress may be caused by failure in academic, financial and health problems or loss of a family member as well as close associates. Events that bring stress are called stressors. A sudden change in life or stressors may affect a person‟s life style or even his/her physical and mental health. The impact a stressor leaves on a person depends on how the person takes the tension. If the person takes the event positively by accepting it as a part of challenge in life and finds ways to deal with it, the stress will fade away and he/she gets over it.

Conversely, the consequence may leave the person a prolonged emotional disturbance. University provides students‟ tertiary education and psychosocial development. Besides, pursuing knowledge in University, a student also gets to socialized with different kinds of people and undergoes psychological development. Studies show that entering University may bring strain or stress (Gall, Evans, & Bellerose, 2000). This is because University students face changing education system, lifestyle, and social environment. University students need to reach certain levels of academic achievement to graduate.

 

The academic achievement is determined by their performance during classroom activities, assignments, presentations and examinations. This means that they are evaluated throughout the semester. Besides, most students have moved out from home and they have to be wise in managing their time and activities. They now meet people of different ages and backgrounds, thus interpersonal skills are needed to socialize with the people around them. This does not only affect the social relations within or outside the University, but goes to affect the individual person‟s life in terms of commitment to achieving the goals. Knowing the causes of students stress will make the University administrator know how to monitor and control the stress factors that are responsible for the students stress. Stress in academic institutions can have both positive and negative consequences if not well managed (Smith, 2002; Tweed 2004; Stevenson & Harper, 2006). Academic institutions have different work settings compared to the non- academic and therefore one would expect the difference in symptoms, causes, and consequences. Transition of students from home to University environment could cause a psychological, social and academic shock to them; the students will face new methods of teaching, new academic requirements, new type of relations between students and faculties and even new relations among students themselves.

 

Achievement of student in the classroom and University take a central role in the academic development of the student. Teacher and school administrator alike take cognizance of the academic well-being of the student. Yardstick is set by the school authority to measure performance, the standard set by the university will determine whether a student is performing well or not in the assessment of performance. Ongori (2007) argued that achievement is the behaviour of an individual that can be directly observed by another individual therefore academic achievement has been seen as a term used for student based on how well they are doing in studies and classes. This definition tends to see academic achievement as the culmination of all the activities of the school. Academic achievement for University student is also seen as the extent to which a student has achieved his educational goals. This means the student academic performance is measured by the extent to which he has reached the educational goal has set for himself/herself. The University measures academic achievement in several ways which include continuous assessment test (C.A.T) and a number of standardized test and examination. By this method, area of strength and weakness in a student academic performance determined and evaluated in order to improve on the learning process of the student (Ongori 2007).

 

1.2         Statement of the Problem

 

It is observed that Stress can become a way of life to University students. Different types of stress are experienced by students which may affect their mental health, social health and academic achievement. Most a times, University students‟ stress leads to a terrible effect that can change their lives completely. It is observed that University lecturers often emphasized the acquisition of knowledge, so they often neglect the emotional feelings of students during the teaching process, which may cause emotional stress and learning problem for students. In addition, students of Universities and Colleges reported that, prospect of having to sit for examination is stressful because of the pressure to review all the learned materials within a giving period of time which leads students to feel unfamiliar situations like nervousness, frustration, abasement, depression. Time management skill is stressful because most of the University students find it difficult to achieve a balance between continuous assessment test and examination. The instability of these emotions easily initiates unusual behaviours which may affect their learning ability and academic achievement. It is also observed that outcomes associated with high level of peer academic stress such as suicide, violence, drug abuse, feeling of inferior to others, not being able to think properly, worrying too much, feeling that life is not worth living, feeling anxious without any apparent reason have been witnessed in the institutions often and are worth paying attention to. It is also observed that stress management technique are very poor and ineffective in the University, it is based on this that the study intends to examined the relationship between stress and academic achievement among the undergraduate students of FUT, Minna.

 

1.3         Objectives of the Study

 

The following objectives of the study: to find out

 

1. Relationship between stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

2. Relationship between teacher-related stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

3. Relationship between examination stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

4. Relationship between peer group stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

5. Relationship between time management stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna

 

6. Relationship between studying in groups stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

1.4        Research Questions

 

For the purpose of this study, the following research question guided the study:

 

1. What is the relationship between stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna?

 

2. What is the relationship between teacher-related stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna?

 

3. What is the relationship between examination stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna?

 

4. What is the relationship between peer stress and academic achievement of undergraduate Students of FUT, Minna?

 

5. What is the relationship between time management stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna?

 

6. What is the relationship between studying in group stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna?

 

1.5         Research Hypotheses

 

For the purpose of this research work, the following null hypotheses were tested.

 

1. There is no significant relationship between stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

2. There is no significant relationship between teacher-related stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

3. There is no significant relationship between examination stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

4. There is no significant relationship between peer stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

5. There is not significant relationship between time management stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

6. There is not significant relationship between studying in group stress and academic achievement of the undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

1.6         Basic Assumptions

 

The following assumptions was made about the study

 

1. That positive relationship may exist between stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

2. That positive relationship may exist between teacher-related stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

3. That positive relationship may exist between examination stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

4. That positive relationship may exist between peer stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

5. That positive relationship may exist between time management stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

6. That positive relationship may exist between studying in groups stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students of FUT Minna.

 

1.7 Significance of the Study

 

It is hoped that, the outcome of this study would enlighten college students to understand the meaning of stress and identify its possible causes. However, University students would understand the various stress factors responsible for academic success and failure. The study would also help the university communities to be aware of the danger posed by different stress factors to the individuals, however university communities would understand outcome associated with high level of stress such as suicide, violence, drug abuses, not being able to think properly, worrying too much, feeling anxious without any apparent reason. The study would help society and University administrators to teach stress situation and to provide appropriate and adequate stress management techniques for effective teaching and learning in order to achieve educational goal and objective.

 

The study would guide counselors, teachers, and psychologists to advice stressed individuals appropriately and make recommendations and encourage appropriate stress management behaviors for college students who are prone to severe stress. For those wish to carry similar research, the findings would provide them with valuable information, guide and knowledge especially that involve academic stress and academic achievement. The finding would assist decision-makers in their deliberation over very sensitive issues concerning academic stress that lead to academic failure. The study would add more dimension to the work already done in the field of academic stress and academic achievement, thereby opening up new area of research.

 

1.8         Scope and Delimitation of the Study

 

This study was limited to 100, 200 and 300 level of seven schools of undergraduate students of Federal University of Technology, Minna. Male and female, young and old are considered, and this research was not considering 400 and 500 level due to time constraints and insufficient resources. Various stress factors have been the focus in this study such as teacher related stress, examination stress, peer academic stress, time management stress, studying in group stress, and relationship with academic achievement. Hence, students may likely experience any of the stress that is responsible for academic success or failure. Student affairs division and examination officer of various departments of Federal University of Technology, Minna were consulted and the study need for it to be time-bound. In addition stress level of academic and no-academic staff is not considered in this study.

 

 

 

 

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY MINNA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

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