Academic Stress and Academic Performance of Grade 11 Students in San Pablo City Science High School: Basis for Stress Management Guidance Initiatives

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

One growing area of concern among mental health professionals is the stress that students experience in schools. Students are bombarded with stressors primarily stemming out of school work. This prompted the researcher to investigate the level of academic stress that students experience, its sources, and its relation to their academic performance. If not properly addressed, chronic stress can lead to an array of mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, personality changes, problem behaviors, and cognitive problems.

METHODS

A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was used in this study. It is a two-phase mixed methods design where qualitative data help explain initial quantitative results. A total of 232 students participated in the quantitative phase and 15 students selected through stratified random sampling with equal allocation participated in the focus group discussion. An adapted formof Perception on Academic Stress Scale (PASS) was used to measure academic stress levels, while the general average at the end of the semester was used as an indicator of academic performance. The data were correlated using the Pearson product moment correlation method. The qualitative data were content-analyzed through interpretative phenomenological analysis.

RESULTS

Students experienced moderately high to high academic stress levels during the 1st semester of S.Y. 2017-2018. There was a strong positive relationship between their academic stress and academic performance with r=.744 at 0.01 level of significance. Their top stressors were teachers' critical comments, unrealistic deadlines, and amount of course requirements. Content analysis of their experiences with these stressors revealed five themes: overwhelming requirements with simultaneous deadlines, insufficient time to comply with requirements, pressures to perform, lack of time for self and family, and impacts of sleep deprivation on cognition.

DISCUSSIONS

Despite performing exceptionally well in school, Grade 11 students from San Pablo City Science High School were academically stressed. Results showed that their most dominant stressors were teacher-related factors. This implies that teachers have a huge role in how students experience academic stress since they deliver content, give course requirements, and set deadlines of submissions. The negative experiences students revealed in the focus group discussion emphasized the need for the development and implementation of stress management initiatives at the classroom level.