EFFECTS OF STRESS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS USING THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN STUDENTS AS A CASE-STUDY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Universities all over the world are places where learning is sought at its maximum level and it is the center for academic pursuits. It is necessary to remind ourselves of the objectives of a university because for a proper chart of the university course, it is paramount to state the mission of universities. According to Henderson (1969), re-echoed by Omoregbe (1973), universities are meant to fulfill the following functions: To provide places for pure culture and learning for learning sake. To conduct research and advance the boundaries of knowledge through outlet like workshops, conferences, publications, etc. To serve as training schools for the professions. To turn out trained leaders for every walk of life. To act as liaison between the so-called “academic men” and the “good solid practical men” acquisition of balancing theory and practice, and To be the custodian of intellectual freedom, safe guarding liberty and the unfettered search for truth. These functions indicate the onerous responsibilities resting on the universities’ shoulders. For a university to attain such goals, it has to be properly equipped and focused to carry out such responsibilities. Regrettably, Nigerian universities especially the University of Benin have fallen short of what these ideals are and they are beset by numerous problems which are affecting their proper functioning and the student in particular. These problems include: Provision of basic infrastructural facilities such as accommodation, power, water and transportation. Funding of university which include payment of lecturers’ salaries, allocation of part-time jobs for students and scholarship, inflation, deflation and unemployment of graduate after graduation. Parents’ economic status, income of parents as it aects students.

According to Awe (2000), the problem of Nigerian universities as it aects undergraduate students have increased over the years with increasing enrolment and poor funding. The Faculty of Education in the University of Benin is not le out of these inadequacies. The lack of basic infrastructural facilities and parents economic status would in turn directly affect teaching and learning for the students and this would reflect on their grade level in school. The lack of these necessities can be a source of stress to the students. For effective learning to take place, the right conditions that would be favourable to this memory needs to be set in places. Learning and memory can be ffaected by stress. Although an optimal level of stress can enhance learning ability (Kaplan and Sadock, 2000), too much stress can cause physical and mental health problems (Niemo and Vainiomaki, 1999), reduce students self esteem (Lenn and Zeppa, 1984; Silver and Glicken, 1990) and may aect academic achievement. According to high school psychology textbook, stress is a particular pattern of disturbing psychological and physiological reaction that occurs when an environment event threatens important motives and taxes one’s ability to cope. The Medical Review Board, also defined stress as the body’s reaction to change that requires a physical, mental or emotional adjustment or response. The term stress was coined by Han Selye. Hans was born in Vienna in 1901, Early on, in his second year of medical school (1926), he began developing his now famous theory on the influence of stress on people’s ability to cope with and adapt with pressures of injury and diseases. He discovered that patients with a variety of ailments manifested many similar symptoms, which he ultimately attributed to their bodies efforts to respond to stress of being ill. He called this collection of symptoms, this separate stress disease, stress syndrome, or the general adaptation syndrome (GAS).

Selye defined stress as the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it. Each demand made on the body is unique in that there is a definite response. When we are cold, we shiver; when we are hot, we perspire; a great muscular eort increases the demand upon the heat and vascular system. However, whatever the specific response, there is also activated non-specific response which is independent of the cause. For example, the woman who is told that her husband suddenly died, suffers a terrible mental shock if sometime later, he walks into the room alive and well, she experience extreme joy. The specific results of the stress are opposite, but the non-specific effects are the same. This pioneer in stress research, Professor Hans Selye has gathered together tens of thousands of pieces of medical study which describe the body’s reaction to just about every conceivable type of stress. He describes this bank account of nervous energy thus: It is as though at birth, each individual inherited a certain amount of adaptation energy. The magnitude of which is determine by his genetic background. There is just so much of it and we must budget accordingly (The stress of life, page 15). Agunlana (1990) has said, that stress is that which man experience when is under pressure and feel unable to cope. Stress can be associated with personal goals. Stressful period of life such as judging the demand of college with the responsibility of job, a family or both has impact on an individual’s academic achievement.