THE IMPACT OF STRESS ON TERTIARY STUDENT’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY OF THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study: Universities around the world are centres for academic pursuits and places where learning is sought at its highest level. It is vital to remind ourselves of the aims of a university since stating the purpose of universities is critical for a correct chart of the university course. According to Madeline (2018), universities are intended to serve the following purposes: to create locations for pure culture and study for the sake of learning.

1. To undertake study and advance knowledge through outlets such as workshops, conferences, publications, and so on.

2. To act as professional training schools.

3. To produce trained leaders in all walks of life.

4. To serve as a connector between so-called "intellectual guys" and "good solid practical men" in the pursuit of harmonizing theory and practise, and

5. To be the defender of intellectual freedom, liberty, and the unrestricted pursuit of truth.

These functions demonstrate the weighty obligations that colleges have. To achieve such aims, a university must be appropriately prepared and dedicated to carry out such obligations.

Regrettably, Nigerian institutions, particularly the University of Benin, have fallen short of these principles, and they are plagued by a slew of issues that jeopardize their proper functioning and, in particular, the student. These issues include: i.provision of essential infrastructure such as housing, power, water, and transportation.

ii.University funding, which includes the payment of lecturers' salaries, the provision of part-time jobs for students and scholarships, inflation, deflation, and graduate unemployment after graduation.

iii.Parents' economic position and income as it influences students

According to Felsten and Wilcox (2021), the problem of Nigerian institutions as it pertains to undergraduate students has grown over time due to growing enrollment and inadequate finance. The University of Benin's Faculty of Education is not immune to these shortcomings. The lack of basic infrastructure and parents' economic position would have a direct impact on teaching and learning for pupils, which would reflect on their grade level in school. Students may experience stress as a result of a lack of these essentials. For successful learning to occur, the appropriate conditions that are favourable to this memory must be created. Stress can have an impact on learning and memory. Although an optimal level of stress can improve learning ability (Kaplan and Sadock, 2000), excessive stress can lead to physical and mental health problems, lower students' self-esteem (Niemi and Vainiomaki 2019), and negatively impact academic achievement.

Stress, according to a high school psychology textbook, is a specific pattern of distressing psychological and physiological reaction that occurs when an environmental event threatens important motives and tests one's ability to cope.

Stress, according to the Medical Review Board, is the body's reaction to change that necessitates a physical, mental, or emotional adjustment or response.

Han Selye created the term "stress." Hans was born in Vienna in 1901. In his second year of medical school (1926), he began developing his now-famous hypothesis on the impact of stress on people's ability to cope with and adapt to injury and illness stressors. He noticed that individuals suffering from a range of conditions displayed many identical symptoms, which he eventually ascribed to their bodies' efforts to adapt to the stress of illness. He referred to this group of symptoms as a different stress disorder, stress syndrome, or the general adaptation syndrome (GAS). Selye described stress as the body's non-specific response to any strain placed on it. Each demand placed on the body is distinct in that it elicits a distinct reaction. When we are chilly, we shiver; when we are hot, we perspire; and a significant muscular exertion raises the demand on the heat and vascular systems. However, regardless of the specific reaction, a non-specific response is generated that is independent of the reason. For example, a lady who is told that her husband has died unexpectedly feels a horrible emotional shock; nevertheless, if he walks into the room alive and well afterwards, she experiences immense delight. The particular consequences of stress are diametrically opposed, yet the non-specific effects are the same.

Professor Hans Selye, a pioneer in stress research, has collected tens of thousands of pieces of medical research that detail the body's reaction to nearly every imaginable sort of stress. He defines this nervous energy bank account as follows: It's as if each person was born with a certain amount of adaptability energy. His genetic background determines the severity of this. There's only so much of it, and we need to budget wisely (The stress of life, page 15). According to Schaffer (2016)., stress is what a person feels when he is under pressure and unable to deal. Personal aspirations might be linked to stress. A stressful era of life, such as balancing college demands with the responsibilities of a job, a family, or both, has an influence on an individual's academic progress. Stressors abound in our daily lives, as do living conditions, and uncomfortable living remains a concern, particularly in a demanding academic setting like our Nigerian institutions.

With all of the numerous benefits of civilized westernized, urbanized existence comes stress, and virtually everyone experiences it at some point (A guide to family Health, page 24). Stress is essentially the outcome of an internal or external disruption that affects the human system's balance. All humans, whether at work or outside of work, experience stress when their lives or well-being are endangered or when they are confronted with unpleasant elements such as generated severe heat, cold, pain, biotic stress vectors, and so on (Gherman, 1981). Many things have been highlighted as stressors in the university setting. Among these are:

1.Aiming for higher academic standing

2.Examination Nervosity

3.Inadequate rest or sleep

4.Inadequate dietary habits

5.Overscheduling stress as a result of inadequate time management.

Knowing all of this as a prerequisite for positive academic performance of university students, who are critical to our economic growth, one approach to safeguard our investment is to help them stay healthy; hence, the study of the effects of stress on student academic performance.

1.2 Statement of Problem

University 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 university 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 university particularly in the University of Benin.

Therefore, it is timely to conduct research to examine this particular issue as findings from the present study would benefit various parties in the university 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.

Research Questions

1. Are the University of Benin students under stress?

2. Does stress affect academic performance of students?

3. What are the common causes of stress for the university of Benin students

4. How does stress affect the health of the University of Benin students?

Purpose of the Study

The study attempts to find out the effects of stress on the academic performance of students of the University of Benin.  Also, if there is a correlation between stress, academic performance and the health of students.

Significance of the 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.

Delimitation

This study is delimited to the University of Benin undergraduate students only.  The respondents would be randomly selected with questionnaire for the students.

Limitation

There are some number of factors that might affect the findings of this research.  Some of which are:

1. Students may not be honest with response to questionnaire.

2. Students are currently on vacation and that would result to limited response.

3. Difficulties in sourcing relevant materials.

4. Low level of enlightenment on subject area on the part of the respondent which may result to low quality response.

Definition of Terms

For the purpose of clarity, the following terms are used in this essay are defined as follows:

1. Stressors: These are chemical or biological agent, environmental condition, external stimulus or an event that causes stress to an organism.

2. Mental Health:  According to WHO, it is not just the absence of mental disorder.  It is defined as a state of well-being, in which every individual realizes his or her own potentials, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make contribution to his or her community.

3. Stress Syndrome:  These are groups of symptoms or characteristic of stress.  It could be a psychological disorder or an abnormal condition.

4. Academic Performance:  It refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope or accomplish different task given them by their teachers.