STRESS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY, AWKA, ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

This study identifies the effects of stress on the academic performance of undergraduates in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Four research questions were posed as a guide for the study while a descriptive survey design was adopted. The population consist of 29,976 students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka out of which a sample of 300 was used. A questionnaire of 19 items designed with a fourscale response options was used as Instrument for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts and a reliability co-efficient of 0.82 was obtained indicating a high reliability index. Copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the respondents on a direct contact for to aid easy retrieval and arithmetic mean was used for data analysis. The findings of the study indicated that there are factors that poses stress on students in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, because students experience stress as a result of; the distance from the school to hostel, examination time table that are not spaced out for students to have time to prepare well, high school fees, long lecture periods and Poor eating habit. It was also revealed that Stress affects academic performance of students in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, because; students who are free from stress are likely to perform well academically, stress leads to poor performance, students that are faced with financial problem tend to perform poor academically and emotional stress affects academic performance. The following recommendations were made by the researchers; those in education sectors should do their best to remove or control those stressors. Government and school administrators should organize seminars and workshops where students will be educated on how to control those stressors