Principals’ Perception of Stress and Stress Management Strategies by the Junior Secondary School Principals in Abia State

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the principals’ perception of stress and stress management strategies in junior secondary schools in Abia State. The study, more specifically sought to determine the quality and teacher-student ratio in private secondary schools in Abia State. The study employed descriptive survey. Mean scores and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using ANOVA. The study involved a sample of 986 private secondary school teachers. The teachers’ sample was selected by stratified random sampling technique using a table of random numbers from the teachers’ population of 1088 in the 356 private schools in Abia state. Data was collected using the researchers’ self constructed questionnaire titled principals’ perception of stress and stress management strategies questionnaire (PPSSMSQ) to obtain information from the respondents in the 3 educational zones of Abia, Umuahia and Ohafia. The study revealed factors that constituted stress, symptoms of stress, and stress management practices adopted by the principals. Principals’ gender, qualification and experience do not significantly influence principals stress perception while gender, qualification and experience significantly influence stress management practices of principals. The major findings revealed that some factors that constituted stress to a High Extent (HE) were students’ indiscipline, excess work load, inadequate teaching facilities, and large classes. The study recommended that government should provide adequate facilities in schools and improve principals’ conditions of service to motivate them to perform better.

DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n6p139