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1 – 10 of over 42000Luqman Oyekunle Oyewobi, Gbolahan Bolarin, Naomi Temitope Oladosu and Richard Ajayi Jimoh
This study examined the causes of academic stress amongst undergraduate students in the Department of Quantity Surveying to ascertain whether stress has an influence on…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examined the causes of academic stress amongst undergraduate students in the Department of Quantity Surveying to ascertain whether stress has an influence on their academic performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This research explores the relationships between these constructs: academic stress, non-academic stress, coping strategies and academic performance, using a survey questionnaire to collect data from 190 undergraduate students in the Quantity Survey department. Descriptive statistics have been used to analyse the data and a path analytical approach has been adopted to evaluate the relationship between the constructs discussed in the paper.
Findings
Significant linear associations have been established between all the proposed paths and the outcome factor (p < 0.00). Coping strategies were an important mediator (p = 0.000), as they explained 32.9% of the association between academic stress and non-academic stress. However, the findings have shown that the stress faced by students is an optimal degree of stress that improves learning capabilities.
Practical implications
Explanation and clarification of the effects of academic and non-academic stress and coping mechanisms on the academic performance of university undergraduate students could help to reduce the risk of suicide amongst the teeming youths. It will also afford the university administration the opportunity to engender stress-free environment that is conducive for learning through the formulation of appropriate policies that promote “balanced learning” for the students. The outcome of this study may provide a launch pad for researchers who are interested in knowing how the possible causes of stress may impact on the health of university students.
Originality/value
The findings will be of great importance to the academic advisers and university administration in developing a flexible academic calendar and adopt policies that will eliminate academic stress and promote strategies to cope with non-academic stress. The study is the first attempt to examine academic stress, non-academic stress, coping strategies and academic performance in a single research in the Nigerian context due to limited literature found. This study has pedagogical implications to education practice by offering tertiary institutions the opportunity to appraise and device a means of managing students' stress by identifying their needs and increase students' coping skills based on prevailing modalities that give students' opportunities to strengthen the strategies of coping.
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Joshua Oluwasuji Dada, Solomon Olusola Babatunde and Racheal Oluwatoyin Adeleye
Stress has become an important topic in the academic environment. However, studies on academic stress among built environment students have received little attention. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Stress has become an important topic in the academic environment. However, studies on academic stress among built environment students have received little attention. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to assess the causes of academic stress, and its coping strategies among built environment undergraduate students in public higher education institution (HEI) in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive literature review was conducted to identify the causes of academic stress and its coping strategies among the students in HEIs, using quantity surveying students as a case. Primary data were elicited through questionnaire survey administered on 189 quantity surveying students in Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. A total of 169 copies of the questionnaire were returned and suitable for analysis. The data obtained were analyzed using the mean score and t-test.
Findings
The study identified 27 causes of students’ academic stress, and the analysis of the total ranking revealed that 8 out of 27 causes of academic stress were considered important. The results of t-test indicated that except for 5 out of 27 identified causes of student academic stress, there is no statistically significant difference in the perceptions of male and female students. The study further identified 30 coping strategies employed by students in dealing with academic stress, out of which six identified coping strategies were considered important. In addition, the results of t-test revealed that except for 11 out of 30 identified coping strategies, there is no statistically significant difference in the perceptions of male and female students surveyed.
Practical implications
The identification of the important causes of academic stress and its coping strategies among the students in the public higher education will be useful for the university management to formulate policies toward providing a well-balanced academic environment that is conducive to better learning. In addition, policy recommendations are proposed.
Originality/value
The findings will help the academic staff and university management to design and implement policies toward refining the teaching procedures in higher education. Also, this study would be of great value to academic staff and university administrators to develop a framework for incorporating stress coping strategies in the higher education curriculum. This study is important as not many empirical studies relating to academic stress and its coping strategies have been conducted in the built environment disciplines.
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Sibnath Deb, Esben Strodl and Jiandong Sun
The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of academic stress and exam anxiety among private secondary school students in India as well as the associations…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of academic stress and exam anxiety among private secondary school students in India as well as the associations with socio-economic and study-related factors.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants were 400 adolescent students (52 percent male) from five private secondary schools in Kolkata who were studying in grades 10 and 12. Participants were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique and were assessed using a study-specific questionnaire.
Findings
Findings revealed that 35 and 37 percent reported high or very high levels of academic stress and exam anxiety respectively. All students reported high levels of academic stress, but those who had lower grades reported higher levels of stress than those with higher grades. Students who engaged in extra-curricula activities were more likely to report exam anxiety than those who did not engage in extra-curricula activities.
Practical implications
Private high school students in India report high levels of academic stress and exam anxiety. As such there is a need to develop effective interventions to help these students better manage their stress and anxiety.
Originality/value
This is the first study the authors are aware of that explores the academic stress levels of private secondary school students in India. The study identifies factors that may be associated with the experience of high levels of stress that need to be explored further in future research.
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Aleksandra Pop‐Vasileva, Kevin Baird and Bill Blair
The purpose of this paper is to examine the work‐related attitudes (job satisfaction, job stress and the propensity to remain) of Australian academics and their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the work‐related attitudes (job satisfaction, job stress and the propensity to remain) of Australian academics and their association with organisational, institutional and demographic factors.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by distributing a survey questionnaire to 750 academics, from 37 Australian universities.
Findings
The results indicate a moderately low level of job satisfaction, moderately high level of job stress, and high propensity to remain. The findings reveal that the organisational factors (management style, perceived organisational support, and the characteristics of the performance management system) exhibited the most significant association with academic work‐related attitudes, with the only significant institutional factor, the declining ability of students, negatively impacting on job satisfaction and job stress. The findings revealed that work‐related attitudes differ, based on discipline, with science academics found to be more stressed and less satisfied than accounting academics. Different organisational and institutional factors were associated with the work‐related attitudes of academics from these two disciplines.
Practical implications
The findings will make university management aware of the work‐related attitudes of staff, and the factors that are associated with such attitudes, thereby assisting management in developing management policies, and taking appropriate action to address the concerns of staff.
Originality/value
The study provides an initial comparison of the work‐related attitudes (job satisfaction, job stress, and propensity to remain) of Australian academics across the accounting and science disciplines. The study also provides an important insight into the association between specific organisational and institutional factors, with the work‐related attitudes of Australian academics across both disciplines.
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Attempts to identify some important variables that contribute to occupational and academic stress and to estimate their direct and indirect effects on various outcome…
Abstract
Attempts to identify some important variables that contribute to occupational and academic stress and to estimate their direct and indirect effects on various outcome measures (such as mental health, physical health, job satisfaction and scholastic grade point average). Based on previous research, proposes and tests a model of academic and occupational stress, using data collected from 247 individuals employed in diverse organizations in the Orange County and Los Angeles areas, who were enrolled in either undergraduate or graduate courses at a major university in the southern California region. Claims that the results of the analysis support the proposed model of stress. Outlines the implications of the findings for research and practice in education and management.
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Sook Cheng Lau, Hon Jie Chow, Siew Chin Wong and Chui Seong Lim
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between perfectionism, self-efficacy, coping strategies and academic burnout among Malaysian undergraduates in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between perfectionism, self-efficacy, coping strategies and academic burnout among Malaysian undergraduates in higher education institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 251 respondents who were public and private university undergraduates. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to investigate the influences of coping strategies, perfectionism and self-efficacy on academic burnout among undergraduates.
Findings
The results showed that all independent variables, namely coping strategies, perfectionism and self-efficacy are statistically correlated to academic burnout.
Research limitations/implications
This article provides an empirical framework for explaining the academic burnout of undergraduates’ based on the review of related career works of literature.
Practical implications
To provide insights in order to improve understanding of existing stress models and provide practical implications for local higher education institutions and undergraduates to reduce academic burnout.
Social implications
The study seeks to enhance awareness and destigmatise the mental health issues of undergraduates, which is important to help them to maintain a healthy lifestyle and well-being.
Originality/value
This paper offers new insight to identify the predictors of academic burnout among undergraduates from Malaysian higher education institutions.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore stress among reference library staff in academic and public libraries in one of the European countries. The study has been…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore stress among reference library staff in academic and public libraries in one of the European countries. The study has been conducted to ascertain whether members of the reference staff undergo stress, whether they consider the reference work stressful, how often they are exposed to stress, which situations are most stressful and how they cope with stress in the workplace and in their private lives.
Design/methodology/approach
A semi-structured interview is applied as a data collection technique so that interviewees are able to express their opinions on stress and to describe stress as an individual experience. A convenience sample of members of the reference library staff in ten academic and ten public libraries is prepared.
Findings
The reference library staff in the academic and public libraries is aware of stress causing damage to one’s health and work performance. The reference staff in the public libraries is more frequently exposed to stress than those in the academic libraries. The users are considered the main stressor owing to their complex reference questions, vague information needs and requests, wanting information and materials immediately, not following the library rules, etc.
Research limitations/implications
The sample is small and not representative, including only two types of libraries. The research may serve as a preliminary study, as it offers insights into the work-related stress among the reference staff in the academic and public libraries.
Originality/value
This is the first research on the stress of the reference library staff in the academic and public libraries in the country. It contributes to the understanding of the work-related stress in the libraries. Identifying stressful situations can help the reference staff and employers take appropriate strategies to cope with stress.
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Walter H. Gmelch and John S. Burns
Seeks to answer the following research questions: What job dimensionsare perceived as stressful by department chairs? To what degree dochairs exhibit stress from their…
Abstract
Seeks to answer the following research questions: What job dimensions are perceived as stressful by department chairs? To what degree do chairs exhibit stress from their dual faculty and administrator roles? What influence does academic discipline have on chair stress? and What influence do personal attributes have on chair stress? Over 800 department chairs, stratified by discipline, were selected from research and doctorate granting institutions and completed the Department Chair Stress Index along with demographic questions. A response rate of 70.2 per cent was achieved. The results of the study indicate that, overall, stress among department chairs appears to be monolithic in its effect. Also chairs expressed high stress both in faculty and in administrative areas of concern.
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Gülden Gümüşburun Ayalp and Tülay Çivici
Presently, there are two main classification of architectural courses in the curriculum: lecture courses and design studios. Owing to the duality between design studios…
Abstract
Purpose
Presently, there are two main classification of architectural courses in the curriculum: lecture courses and design studios. Owing to the duality between design studios and lecture courses, architectural education includes a highly stressful learning environment. In addition to this dualism, architecture students also cope with their lives in universities and different types of stressors similar to all university students. Therefore, this study aims to determine the critical stress factors that affect architecture students studying in Turkey.
Design/methodology/approach
The reasons for a stressful architecture learning environment were examined using a questionnaire distributed among architecture students, and face-to-face surveys were conducted. The obtained data were analysed statistically using SPSS 22 and LISREL 8.7 software. Correlation analysis, exploratory and confirmatory analysis and structural equation modelling of the relationships between the stressors and stress factors and the impacts (perceived stress) were performed, and a structural model was developed.
Findings
A total of 11 critical factors affecting architecture students’ stress levels were determined; academic inadequacy, unusual assessments and evaluation techniques of courses and intensive academic schedule were the most critical stressors. Based on these factors, necessary solutions and recommendations were offered, which are expected to decrease architecture students’ stress levels and encourage other similar studies.
Originality/value
There is limited research that provides insights into the factors that cause stress to architecture students; only literature reviews and surveys are currently available. Unlike these, this study presents a structural equation model for critical stress factors via a confirmatory factor analysis.
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Charlotte Jonasson, Jakob Lauring and David S.A. Guttormsen
A growing number of academics relocate abroad to work as expatriates in the university sector. While this employee group seems to have a highly constructive influence on…
Abstract
Purpose
A growing number of academics relocate abroad to work as expatriates in the university sector. While this employee group seems to have a highly constructive influence on the performance of university organizations, some problems in relation to effective inclusion of these individuals have been noted. In order to further advance the theoretical understanding regarding integration efforts in international university organizations, the purpose of this paper is to explore how two types of inclusive management, empowering management (identity-blind) vs English management communication (identity-conscious), affect local and expatriate academics.
Design/methodology/approach
Using responses generated from a survey of 792 local and 620 expatriate academics, this paper assesses the effects of inclusive management on job engagement and stress among the two groups.
Findings
The results show that one type of inclusive management, empowering management (identity-blind), has a favorable influence on job engagement and stress in both subsamples. The other type, English management communication (identity-conscious), increases stress for local academics but has no effect on the expatriates. These findings are useful for theory development in relation to employee inclusion in international organizations.
Originality/value
The authors have little knowledge about how inclusive management functions in international organizations. Testing the effect of identity-blind and identity-conscious inclusive management practices among two different groups of local and expatriate academics provides new insight to this area. In particular, the use of English management communication provides new knowledge on the integration of majority and minority groups in international organizations.
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