An Assessment of Stress Management Skills and Teachers’ Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Benin Metropolis

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the level of stress management skills and teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in the Benin metropolis. The dimensions of stress studied included physical stress, mental stress, emotional stress and social stress. The study adopted the cross-sectional survey design using a sample of 171 teachers and school administrators randomly drawn from six secondary schools in Benin City, Edo State Nigeria. The secondary schools were selected from the three local government areas that make up Benin City (Egor, Oredo and Ikpoba-Okha). Using a convenient sampling technique, a self-developed instrument titled: Stress Management Skills and Teachers’ Performance (SMSTP) was used to collect data for the study. The data were analysed using simple percentages. Underpinned by the psychological stress theory of Lazarus, the results showed that public secondary school teachers had a high level of stress and that there are no proper stress management techniques for them in the Benin metropolis. The findings equally revealed that stress has a direct relationship with teachers’ productivity that invariably affects students’ academic performance. Consequently, the study recommended that the same attention given to stress management by corporate organizations which are on the increase should be extended to the education industry.