scholarly journals Occupational Stress: Associated Factors, Related Symptoms, and Coping Strategies Among Secondary School-heads

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-553
Author(s):  
Qaiser Suleman ◽  
Alam Zeb Khattak ◽  
Ishtiaq Hussain

This study examined occupational stress, its related symptoms, associated factors, and coping strategies among heads of secondary schools in Kohat Division, Pakistan. A sample of 101 secondary school-heads was taken using a multistage sampling technique. Occupational Stress Index (Shrivastava & Singh, 1981) followed by four open-ended questions was used to investigate the study variables. Findings revealed that heads of secondary schools were occupationally stressed in their workplace. The most associated factors causing occupational stress were poor compensation, work overload, lack of effective advancement and promotion policy, poor implementation of education policy, lack of basic facilities, political interference, and under-participation. Several symptoms such as headaches, alterations in blood pressure, and digestive problems, were found to be associated with an increased risk of occupational stress. Furthermore, various related perceived physiological, psychological, and behavioral consequences were found to be caused by stress at work. Findings suggest that a comprehensive strategy promoted by the education department should be recommended for reducing stress among secondary school-heads and improving their wellbeing and other health-related conditions at the workplace.

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishtiaq Hussain ◽  
Nabi Bux Jumani ◽  
Qaiser Suleman

<p><em>The purpose of the study was to examine and compare the occupational stress of male and female secondary-school-heads in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. All the male and female secondary school heads working in pubic secondary schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa constituted the population of the study. A total of 402 secondary school heads were selected as sample through multistage sampling technique in which 260 were males and 142 were females. Descriptive and quantitative survey research design was used. To seek the responses from the participants, a standardized tool i.e., “Occupational Stress Index (OSI)” was used. For statistical analysis, proper descriptive statistics i.e., mean, standard deviation and inferential statistics i.e., independent samples t-test were employed through SPSS. The findings revealed that both male and female secondary school heads were found occupationally stressful with respect to role overload, role conflict, strenuous working condition, unreasonable group &amp; political pressure, under participation, and unprofitability. Comparatively, there was no significant difference between the overall occupational stress of male and female secondary school heads. Based on findings, it was recommended that Elementary &amp; Secondary Education Department should have a collaboration with policymakers to develop comprehensive strategies for stress reduction for secondary school heads so that they may perform their duties effectively.</em></p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> comparative study, gender based study, occupational stress, secondary school heads</p><p><em><br /></em></p>


2018 ◽  
Vol III (II) ◽  
pp. 237-272
Author(s):  
Qaiser Suleman ◽  
Ishtiaq Hussain ◽  
Saib Shehzad

This paper examines the relationship between occupational stress and job satisfaction among secondary-school-heads in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A sample of only 402 secondary-school-heads (Male n = 260, Female n = 142) was selected with the help of multistage sampling technique. A descriptive and correlative design was employed. Two standardized tools were employed i.e., "Occupational Stress Index (OSI)" and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) for seeking the responses. Pearson's correlation and linear regression were employed to analyze data statistically. The findings exposed a strong inverse relation between occupational stress and job satisfaction. Furthermore, a substantial negative correlation between all the subscales of occupational stress and overall job satisfaction is also present. Eight subscales of occupational stress, i.e., role ambiguity, responsibility for persons, under participation, unreasonable group and political pressure, low status, strenuous working conditions, peer group relations, and unprofitability were found significant predictors and have negative effect on job satisfaction. So, the researchers recommend focusing reduction in the level of occupational stress among secondary-school-heads. Elementary and Secondary Education Department should have collaboration with policy makers to formulate rewarding and effective strategies for stress reduction for secondary school heads to have high spirit for yielding good outcomes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 137-147
Author(s):  
Constance Iyore

The study examined stressors, effects and coping strategies among teachers in secondary schools in Esan Central Senatorial District, Edo State, Nigeria. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The proportionate random sampling technique was used to select a total of three hundred and eight (308) teachers representing 50% of the teachers from the entire population of all the six hundred and sixteen (616) public senior secondary school teachers in Esan Central Senatorial Edo State. The research instrument used was a 30–item questionnaire developed by the researcher and titled Stress Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) for teachers. The content validity of this instrument was ensured by experts in Measurement and Evaluation, Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma. The test-retest method was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. Descriptive statistics such as mean (X) and standard deviation (S.D) was used to analyze the data collected. The result showed that stress is a cankerworm that emanates from work overload, crowded class conditions, poor working conditions, lack of social support and lack of teaching accessories among others. Based on findings, was concluded that stress lessens teachers’ quality of instructional delivery, lowers teachers’ morale, job satisfaction, job performance and increases attrition among teachers. Hence, it was recommended that teachers in Edo State should always endeavour to manage stress by getting emotional support from others such as more experience teachers who could give them directives on how to manage the current challenges they are facing at school.


2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-54
Author(s):  
Fr. Thomas PJ ◽  
G. Visvanathan

Leadership is the ability to inspire confidence and support individuals who need to achieve administrative goals. Leading is the major role of the Head of an institution. Leadership is expected to deal with change, inspiration, motivation, and influence. Task and relational behaviours of the Heads of higher secondary schools should equally be embedded for effective administration. Therefore an attempt has been made to ascertain the leadership behaviour of the Heads of higher secondary schools in Kerala. The investigators used simple random sampling technique for selecting the sample of 1500 higher secondary school teachers to study the leadership behaviour of the Heads. The main objective of the study is to find out whether there is any significant difference in respect of leadership behaviour of Heads of higher secondary schools with respect to gender, locality and type of management. This study revealed that there is significant difference between male and female Heads of higher secondary schools with respect to their leadership behaviour and no significant difference is found between rural and urban Heads, government and private higher secondary school Heads with respect to the leadership behaviour. It is found that male heads of higher secondary schools have higher leadership behaviour. Therefore female heads of higher secondary schools should be suitably trained for effective leadership behaviour


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 467
Author(s):  
Diah Merdekawati ◽  
Dasuki Dasuki

<p><em>Pre-school age is particularly vulnerable to the effects of stress and fear during hospitalization. Children under the age of 6 are less able to think about an event as a whole, have not been able to determine behavior that can overcome the fear based on experience ever experienced and coping strategies ever done. The aims of this research to know correlation family support with child anxious response during infusion. This study was a quantitative with correlation study using cross sectional method. There were 51 respondents participated in this research. Data were collected through observation with purposive sampling technique. Then, data were analysed through univariate and bivariate. The result of univariate statistic test revealed that as much as 64.7% had good family support and 56.9% experienced an anxious response during infusion. The result of  bivariate statistic test showed that there was a positive correlation with moderate strength between family support and child's anxious response during infusion. This riset showed that families should provide support when children experience fear, anxiety and pain during infusion.</em></p><p><em><br /></em></p><p>Usia pra sekolah sangat rentan terhadap efek stress dan ketakutan selama rawat inap. Anak- anak dibawah usia 6 tahun kurang mampu berpikir tentang suatu peristiwa secara keseluruhan, belum bisa menentukan perilaku yang dapat mengatasi ketakutan berdasarkan pengalaman yang pernah dialami dan strategi koping yang pernah dilakukan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui korelasi dukungan keluarga dengan respon cemas anak saat pemasangan infus. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kuantitatif studi korelatif dengan metode <em>cross secsional</em>. Sebanyak 51 responden terlibat dalam penelitian ini. Pengumpulan data melalui observasi. Pengambilan sampel dilakukan secara <em>purposive sampling. </em>Analisis data dilakukan secara <em>univariat </em>dan<em> bivariat. </em>Dari hasil uji statistik univariat diketahui sebanyak 64,7% memiliki dukungan keluarga baik dan 56,9% mengalami respon cemas saat pemasangan infus. Hasil uji statistik bivariat menunjukkan ada korelasi positif dengan kekuatan sedang antara dukungan keluarga dengan respon cemas anak saat pemasangan infus. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa keluarga sebaiknya memberikan dukungannya pada saat anak mengalami ketakutan, kecemasan dan rasa nyeri pada saat pemasangan infus.</p><p><em><br /></em></p>


Author(s):  
Jeger P. Paragas

This is a descriptive study which determined and analyzed the quality management practices of public secondary school heads. The study included the school heads and teachers in all Schools Division in Pangasinan. The identified quality management practicesare based on the parameters of APPES Manual. Kendall’s tau correlation coefficient was utilized to identify the significant relationship in the quality management practices of public secondary school heads to the performance of their respective schools. The researcher used questionnaire, interview and google form to gather the needed data. Same set of questionnaire was utilized for the teachers and school heads as respondents of this study. Findings of the study revealed that stakeholders were truly a great agent in improving the public secondary schools. Therefore, school heads must be eager to do this to have a strong partnership and participation of the stakeholders in the school. They contribute a lot for the direction leading to greater learning outcomes. Also, it was found out that weak correlation was hardly related to the quality management practices of the school heads with regard to the performance of their respective schools. Further, a proposed plan of action with regard to the indicators that were found out moderate would be presented to public secondary schools for them to better identify the risk and opportunities so to attain and maintain quality management practices of school heads and school perfomance in the Department of Education.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
TK Nagabharana ◽  
Shama Joseph ◽  
Azeez Rizwana ◽  
Murali Krishna ◽  
Mary Barker ◽  
...  

Background: In India, stress levels are increasing steadily among youth. We aimed to explore the factors that contribute to psychological stress and coping strategies among adolescents in Mysore, India to inform the development of an intervention. Methods: We recruited 16 volunteers in Mysore, India including 6 younger (12-15 years; 3 girls) and 10 older adolescents/ young adults (17-25 years; 5 girls) using a purposive sampling technique. Older adolescents were recruited from ongoing birth cohort study, and the younger adolescents by word-of-mouth from the community. Individual in-depth interviews were carried out based on a semi-structured interview guide comprising open-ended questions. The interviews were analysed to derive themes and emerging constructs related to stress and coping strategies.  Results: Adolescents generally perceived stress in their daily lives. Family conflicts and academic pressures were the main triggers for increased stress. Issues around peer relationships, and social position were also important contributors. Adolescents reported that they had robust coping strategies. These included stress release through rationalising and acceptance of the situation, distraction activities, spirituality, and self-comforting methods. However, they felt the need for further support from their family, and the society in general. In particular they expressed the need for a space to share their concerns and obtain guidance through healthy discussions with adults.      Conclusions: Our study indicates that adolescents in India are exposed to a wide range of stressors in their daily lives. The conflict between ‘traditional’ society’s opinions of what adolescents should do and the new age adolescents’ aspirations for autonomy to find ‘informed’ solutions for their issues may hinder the stress management efforts. Moving forward, we propose to develop a culturally acceptable intervention tool that accommodates adolescents’ perspectives and psychosocial context.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-134
Author(s):  
Abayomi Ambali Alaka ◽  
Salamatu Ishaku ◽  
Sadiq Aderibigbe Idowu

The study examined the influence of environment and gender on career choice among secondary school students in Kaura Local Government of Kaduna State. A descriptive research design was used and 18 secondary schools were clustered into three chiefdoms to draw a sample of 6 secondary schools using purposive sampling technique. Also, a sample of 422 students from a population of 3558 students from the three Chiefdoms was drawn using cluster sampling technique. The study developed and used a questionnaire tagged 'Environment, Gender and Career Choice Questionnaire (EGCCQ)' with correlation coefficient of 0.78. The students' career choice was based on the adoption of Career Interest Survey (CIS) and Vocational Interest Inventory (VII) developed by Bakare (1977). Descriptive statistics of simple percentage was used for the research question generated, while inferential statistics of multiple regression analysis was employed to analyse the null hypotheses developed for the study and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that students had preferences for career choice based on gender and environment. There was a significant composite influence of environment and gender on career choice among secondary school students in Kaura Local Government of Kaduna State, with the influence of environment being relatively than that of gender. It is therefore recommended among others that students should be well counselled in the choice of career process by professional counsellors and they should take into consideration the immediate environment of the students, their gender, interest, ability, skills and personality.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Qaiser Suleman ◽  
Ishtiaq Hussain

The purpose of the current paper was to explore the role of in-service promoted secondary school heads in strengthening secondary education. The objectives of the study were: (a) to investigate the role of in-service promoted secondary school heads in strengthening secondary education; (b) to investigate the weak areas of in-service promoted secondary school heads in strengthening secondary education; and (c) to suggest workable recommendations to improve the administrative performance of in-service promoted secondary school heads. All the teachers and students at secondary school level in Kohat Division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan) constituted the population of the study. The study was delimited to male secondary school heads, teachers and students only. The study was further delimited to 30 secondary schools in each district of Kohat Division i.e., Karak, Kohat and Hangu. In order to ensure adequate representation of the population, 450 teachers and 900 students were selected through simple random sampling technique. The nature of the study was descriptive and questionnaires were used as research instrument. Pilot testing was conducted to eliminate the weaknesses, misconceptions and ambiguities of the questions in the questionnaires. Data was collected through personal visits. Then it was organized, tabulated, analyzed and interpreted. Statistical tools, i.e., percentage and chi square were used for the statistical treatment of the data. After analysis of the data, the researchers arrived at the conclusions that the overall administrative performance of in-service promoted secondary school heads was ineffective and unproductive. They lack the qualities of effective leadership and successful administration. Based on findings of the study, it is strongly recommended that a special professional training programme regarding school administration and management should be institutionalized so that in-service promoted secondary school heads may be equipped with the modern techniques of school management and administration. KEYWORDS: Role, In-service Promoted Secondary School Heads, Strengthening, Secondary Education


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