1.1 Introduction
Stress is a common element in any kind of job and persons have to face it in almost every aspect of life. Stress has been defined in different ways over the years. Stress is a major source of problems that students face during their university education when they are struggling to achieve academic outcomes for their future life (Lee & Graham, 2001). Academic pressure is one of the factors that causes students to fail. Sharma, Parasar and Mahto (2017) define stress as the mental response and action by hormonal signaling, the perception of danger triggers an automatic response system, known as response to fight or flee.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Over the years, tertiary institutions all over the world are places where learning is sought at its maximum level and it is the center for academic pursuits. It is necessary to remind ourselves of the objectives of a university because for a proper chart of the university course, it is paramount to state the mission of universities.
Stress can have both positive and negative consequences for the individual. Optimal stress can lead to maximum efficiency; create satisfaction, a feeling of well-being and accomplishment, and another reward for success (Mensah, Fosu, & Oteng, 2017). On the other hand, excessive stress at school can lead to loss of appetite for reading, poor performance and reduced mental and physical health. Stress is caused by certain factors (stressors) that exist inside and outside the school environment (Zautra, 2006). These stressors can be identified as intra-individual, inter-individual, institutional and extra- institutional stressors.
According to Awe (2000), the problem of Nigerian universities as it affects undergraduate students have increased over the years with increasing enrolment and poor funding. The Faculty of Education in the University of Benin is not left out of these inadequacies. The lack of basic infrastructural facilities and parents economic status would in turn directly affect teaching and learning for the students and this would reflect on their grade level in school. The lack of these necessities can be a source of stress to the students. For effective learning to take place, the right conditions that would be favourable to this memory needs to be set in places.
Selye defined stress as the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it. Each demand made on the body is unique in that there is a definite response. When we are cold, we shiver; when we are hot, we perspire; a great muscular effort increases the demand upon the heat and vascular system. However, whatever the specific response, there is also activated non-specific response which is independent of the cause. For example, the woman who is told that her husband suddenly died, suffers a terrible mental shock if sometime later, he walks into the room alive and well, she experience extreme joy. The specific results of the stress are opposite, but the non-specific effects are the same.
Stressors abound in our everyday life as would condition and unsatisfactory living continues to be a problem especially in a challenging academic environment like our Nigerian universities. With all the multiplied blessings of civilized westernized, urbanized living comes stress and almost everyone suffers from it at some time. Basically, stress is the result of an internal or external disturbance, which threatens the homeostasis of the human system. Knowing all these as a fundamental to a favourable academic performance of university students, who are important to our economic development, one way to protect our investment is to help them stay healthy; hence the study of the effects of stress on the academic performance of students.
Therefore, in Akwa Ibom State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Perceived Effects of Stress on Students Academic Performance in the University of Uyo.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that tertiary institution students have many obstacles to overcome in order to achieve optimal academic performance. A number of researches have been done looking at the correlation of many stress factors that tertiary institution students experience and the effects of stress on their GPA. However, a review of literature indicates that not much have been prioritized on the stress-related research. Moreover, a majority of the investigation has taken place in the United States of America and the emphasis was placed more on the students in the medical field. However, there is not much research conducted to examine these particular findings in our local universities and Nigerian tertiary institution particularly in the University of Uyo.
Therefore, it is timely to conduct research to examine this particular issue as findings from the present study would benefit various parties in the tertiary institution especially the students and the Academic Affair Department in planning and conducting necessary programmes for the students so that stress-related factors could be reduced and better academic performance could be achieved by the students.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to examine the Perceived Effects of Stress on Students Academic Performance in the University of Uyo. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To determine whether stress affect the health of the University of Uyo students;
- To find out if stress affect academic performance of students in University of Uyo;
- To investigate the common causes of stress for the University of Uyo students; and
- To determine correlation between stress, academic performance and the health of students.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Are the University of Uyo students under stress?
- Does stress affect academic performance of students?
- How does stress affect the health of the University of Uyo students?
- What are the common causes of stress for the University of Uyo students?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: There is no significant factor instigating academic stress among University of Uyo students
- H1: There is a significant factor instigating academic stress among University of Uyo students
1.7 Significance of Study
The finding of this study, after it has well been disseminated will create an awareness on what stress is, its causes and its effect on academic performance of students.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Perceived Effects of Stress on Students Academic Performance in the University of Uyo.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this establishment to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
Stress: Stress is a condition or a feeling felt when a person perceives that the demands exceed the personal and social resources that the individual can mobilize to manage the condition.
Stress Management: Refers to a series of measures taken by an individual or an institution to reduce the possible negative effects of stress (Smith et al, 2010).
Academic Performance: Refers to how the student obtains a score in a given exercise in class, homework or exams. It is measured by the grades they get and also their participation in class (Nana & Gowtham, 2014).
Stressors: These are chemical or biological agent, environmental condition, external stimulus or an event that causes stress to an organism.
