NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS
Vol. I No. 2 September 1990
Editor-In-Chief
Professor AA. Adeyinka
Head,
Department of Educational Foundations
University of Ilorin
Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria
Contents
Notes on Contributors………………………………………
General Information and Notes to contributors…………….
The development of teacher education programmes in Kwara
state, 1974-1988
A. A. Adeyinka………………………………………………
Indigenous moral education of the Yorubas
S. S. Obidi……………………………………………………
Attitude scale construction
Feyisara Daramola……………………………………...……
Teachers' personality variables and students' academic
achievement: a study of Ifesowapo Local Government
Grammar School, Ondo State
S.A. Adeniran……………………………………………….
The guidance needs of Nigerian adolescents
T.O. Owuamanam…………………………………..………
Citizenship education through social studies: implication for
school management
M.O. Awoyemi………………………………………….…
Differential ratings of teachers' strategies for maintaining
classroom discipline
E. A. Abe…………………………………………………..
The role of guidance and counselling in the 3-3 secondary
education system in Nigeria
Olaniyi Bojuwoye……………………………………….…
The contribution of interpretive sociology to research
methodology in sociology of education
A.A. Mordi………………………………………………..
Calming the storm: stressors and relationship to physical
and mental health of Nigerian school administrators
D.O. Durosaro…………………………………………….
Observation questions: a route to inquiry in traditional
science classrooms
N. Nkpa…………………………………………………..
An empirical verification of Ziller's index of tendency to
guess on multiple-choice achievement tests
M.F. Alonge……………………………………………….
vii
ix
1
29
45
59
69
75
83
91
105
113
127
137
World trends in science and technology education: perceptible
impact on Nigeria
U. O. Egbugara…………………………………..………… 147
Calming the storm: stressors and relationship to
physical and mental health of Nigerian school
administrators
Dr. D. O. Durosaro
Abstract
Owing to the prevailing economic depression in the country, it seems the
working life of our teachers and school administrators is characterised by
storms and stresses resulting into conflicts, anxieties, frustrations,
aggressions, angers, fears, hostilities and job insecurity.
This paper tried to find answers to some questions concerning the
major stressors, the major physical and mental health problems of Nigerian
school administrators and the relationship between the frequency of
stressors and the frequency of the health problems of a group of school
administrators randomly selected from seven states of the federation. The
major thrust of the paper lies in shedding more light on the major stress
factors and then- effects on contemporary Nigerian school administrators.
Introduction
The current economic crisis is world-wide, but it seems that in no
other setting has it become very stubborn to manage than in the educational
system of the developing nations: In most third world nations, the
educational systems have always seemed to be tied to a life of crisis
occasioned by shortage of funds, teachers, classrooms, teaching materials
and shortage of virtually everything except students. Given this situation,
principals, as the administrators of secondary schools, are always involved
in crisis management and the crises of management. Hence, among the
groups of administrators in Nigeria, school principals could be identified as
the ones most susceptible to stress. In recent times in Nigeria, the working
life of teachers and school administrators seem characterised by conflicts,
anxieties, frustrations, aggressions, angers, fears, hostilities and job
insecurity. All these lead to tension.
A look at the records of some of our health clinics revealed that
many school administrators have been treated for various physical and
mental health problems. Others were reported to have died suddenly as a
result of such illnesses. Hence, there is the need for a study of this nature to
help find out the major stressors and their effect on the health of Nigerian
school administrators with a view to making some possible suggestions for
reducing the stresses and helping people to cope with their jobs.
NIJEF 1 (2) September, 1990: D.O. Durosaro
114
Medical researches have shown that there were no better explanations of why heart disease strikes millions of people, why hypertension
takes such a great toll or why arthritis and rheumatic fever wreck devastation other than as a result of stress (Ratcliff, 1962, Stevenson, 1962 and
Walter 1962). Therefore, this study attempts, niter alia, to investigate the
major stressors on Nigerian school administrators with a view to raising
the level of awareness about the potential dangers of stress and the various
techniques of coping with and reducing stresses.
Conceptual Framework
Stress is used to describe the phenomenon associated with anxiety,
frustration, strain, conflict and tension or in pressure situations, nervousness, personal demands and other unpleasant encounters (Gmelch, 1988).
Stress may be pleasant or even positive. Stress could lead to reactions.
Reactions to stress are governed mainly by three tiny glands the pituitary,
which is situated under the brain, and two adrenals which bestride the
kidneys. The hormones from these glands help to combat stress and fight
off any threat to the welfare of the human body. They succeed for a while
but in the end the defence mechanism would break down. The
phenomenon of stress could be better understood using the conceptual
framework shown on the stress cycle in figure 1
The conceptual framework shown in figure 1 depicts the form in
which the phenomenon of stress occurs in a typical school administrator in
Nigeria. The apparent stressors on the school administrators include
inability to fulfill social expectations, shortage of fund, increasing pressure
of work, greater personal problems of need disposition, job insecurity,
delayed progress and family problems. These stressors generate various
responses from the school administrator. The responses could be in the
form of physical exertion, intellectual strain, personal need denial, social
adjustment, managerial changes, attitudinal changes, a combination of
some or all of these. But whenever these stressful conditions become too
unbearable to the health of the school administrator .break-down in both
mental and physical health of the person may result. The break-down in
mental health may manifest itself in form of neurosis, psychosis,
schizophrenia, mental incapacitation, alcoholism and drug addiction while
the break-down in physical health may manifest itself in the form of
hypertension, arthritis, Rheumatism and fever.
Calming the storm: stressors and relationship to physical and mental
health of Nigerian school administrators
115
STRESSORS
RESPONSES
Social Expectations
Shortage of Fund
Physical
Exertion
Pressure of work
Personal Problems Strain
Job insecurity
Delayed Progress denial
Family Problems
Intellectual
RECEPTOR
Personal need
Social
adjustment
Management
Changes
Attitudinal
Changes
EFFECTS
MENTAL
BREAKDOWN
- Psychosis
- Neurosis
- Schizophrenia
- Incapacitation
- Alcoholism
- Drug Addiction
PHYSICAL
BREAKDOWN
- Hypertension
- Arthritis
- Rheumatism
- Fever.
Fig. 1: Adapted from Gmelch, W. H. Coping in a world of tension:
The effective Educator, in Studies in Educ. Adm. Australia, No. 48 May,
1988, p.6.
Review of Literature
Not much of the researches on stress had been conducted using school
administrators. Anderson and Iwanicki (1984) examined stress as the
perceived state of emotional exhaustion of school principals, leading to
cynical attitudes towards the staff and students as well as the tendency for
negative self- evaluation. Also, Walsh (1979) identified a few conditions
that could result in the principals as a result of stress. These include:
physical diseases resulting from certain reaction of the nervous system to
stress, disruption in personal or professional life, as well as loss of concern
and detachment from work. He also identified harassment by superiors,
assaults by students and colleagues, work pressure, anger, fear and
frustration as some of the factors that may lead to stress among school
principals.
NIJEF 1 (2) September, 1990: D.O. Durosaro
116
Blase (1982) designed a job stress cycle and used the same to
study a group of principals. He discovered that the effort of individual
principals frequently fail to overcome job-related stressors sufficiently and
this results in some degree of job strain and ineffectiveness. The degree of
ineffectiveness is based on the perceived degree of discrepancy between
the principal's effort and the outcome of such effort. In their related studies,
Metz (1979) and Begley (1983) examined stress in relation to motivation
among different groups of Educators. The educators were interviewed on
major sources-of job stress and the findings revealed, among other things,
that over-bureaucratization, administrative incompetence, denial of
freedom of action and discipline problems were the major sources of stress
.among the subjects while freedom and responsibility to plan and create
administrative support and good communications were found to be their
major sources of motivation.
Gmelch (1988) focused oh the coping techniques in a world of
tension and the effective educator. He identified various stressors on the
educators. The stressors included expectations, lack of time, salary, work
load, job personal progress, interruptions and meetings. He designed a
four-stage stress cycle which included items on stressors, perceptions,
response and consequences. He suggested knowing one's limitations,
establishing and updating one's life goals, developing the ability to relax
and developing holistic .approach toward life as some techniques for
coping with stress.
Also, Awokoya (1978) discussed "the crisis child of our time". He
stated clearly that the stresses on Nigerian educators today is likely to
come from unruly children, an irate parent or a tenacious colleague, all of
whom require the careful handling. He added that the Nigerian child of our
time is born in the midst of crisis and the crisis is further aggravated by the
problems associated with the growth of population, food, housing, health,
clothing, transportation, communication, power and energy, books and
journals, crimes, social welfare, leisure, religion, politics, industrialisation,
regional and international relations. The present study gained inspiration
from Professor Awokoya and stemmed from the need to find out the
effects of stress on both physical and mental health of Nigerian school
administrators.
Lawal (1989) studied the relationship between motivation and job
stress among principals of post-primary schools in Kwara State of Nigeria,
using Maslow's motivational need model to focus on the need deficiencies
of principals and job stress. He sampled two hundred principals for the
study and collected the data required for the study with the use of a
questionnaire. His findings revealed, among other things, that there is a
significant correlation between the principals' need deficiency and job
stress.
Calming the storm: stressors and relationship to physical and mental
health of Nigerian school administrators
117
Ratcliff (1962) reported that we live in a "hurry-up" world and we
are subjecting ourselves to too many stresses. We hurry constantly and
hurry incessantly and our glands attempt to adjust to the constant demands
of stress. They pour excess hormones to keep the body going. But in the
end we break down. Arteries deteriorate, blood pressure rises, heart disease
develops, arthritis strikes. Apart from physical break-down, mental breakdown may result. Cottroll (1950) defined mental -break-down as the
breakdown in one's ability to live up to a high level of one's capacities in
accordance with the reality of the situation, as viewed by others, to meet
ordinary stress of life without developing limiting symptoms, and to make
decisions and assume responsibilities appropriate to one's age. Murchison
(1984) also opined that the mentally healthy person is one who treats
others as individuals; who is flexible Under internal or external stress, who
obtains pleasure from many sources, who sees and accepts self limitations
to fulfill personal needs in doing productive tasks.
According" to the theoretical model of the present study,
breakdown in mental health could manifest itself in various forms such as
Neurosis, Psychosis, Schizophrenia, alcoholism and drug addiction.
McMahon and McMahon (1983) stated that Neurosis, psychosis and
Schizophrenia relate to behavioural disorder since they dispossess the
individual of the capacity to relate effectively and function efficiently physically, mentally and socially - and the individual may be described as
functionally maladjusted as well as maladaptive. This view is in agreement
with those of Shaprio (1971), Coleman (1972) and Sperling (1984).
Alcoholism refers to the act of excessive, consumption of alcohol
leading to perpetual state of drunkenness and impaired mental capacity
(Cooper, and Marshall, 1976). Drug addiction is a similar syndrome
leading to excessive use of drug for self- stimulation or anxiety depression
in a habitual fashion. This may have similar effect as drunkenness in some
individuals.
Purpose of study
From the foregoing review, one could see the strong relationship that
previous researchers have tried to establish between stress and both mental
and physical health. It is the aim of this paper to extend the frontiers of
knowledge by relating the stressors to mental and physical health of
Nigerian school administrators with a view to finding out the possible
effects and prefer possible solutions to the problems.
NIJEF 1 (2) September, 1990: D.O. Durosaro
118
Research Questions
The following research questions were raised to guide the study:
(i)
What are the major stressors on the Nigerian school
administrators?
(ii)
What are the major effects of these stressors on the physical
health of Nigerian school administrators?
(iii)
What are the major effects of these stressors on the mental
Health of Nigerian school administrators?
(iv)
Is there any significant correlation between frequency of
occurrence of stressors and mental health problems of Nigerian
school administrators?
(v)
Is there any significant correlation between the frequency of
occurrence of stressors and physical health problems of
Nigerian school administrators?
Methodology
The population for this study was made up of all secondary school
principals in Kaduna, Niger, Bendel, Kwara, Oyo, Anambra and Lagos
states These states were randomly selected from the 21 states of Nigeria.
The list of secondary schools in each state was obtained and a sample of
twenty schools was drawn from each state, based on age of schools,
starting with the oldest on the list. In all, 104 principals were sampled. The
principals were reached by post except those in Kwara and Oyo states who
were visited by this investigator.
A questionnaire styled Stressors Effects and Coping Techniques
of school Administrators Questionnaire (SECTSAQ) was used in collecting the required data for the study. The questionnaire was given construst
validity by relating the contents to each of the variables of the study h was
also given adequate reliability testing through pilot testing on a few nearby
principals not included in the sample for this study. A test-retest reliability
coefficient of 0.74 was obtained.
The data collected were first analysed descriptively and later
analysed using the Pearson's Product Movement correlation to find the
relationship between frequencies of the stressors and the mental and
physical health problems of the subjects.
Calming the storm: stressors and relationship to physical and mental
health of Nigerian school administrators
119
Findings and Discussions
For the sake of clarity, the research questions were taken one after
the other to guide the presentation of findings and their discussions.
Research Question 1:
What are the major stressors on Nigerian school administrators?
The relevant data for answering this question are presented in Table
Table 1
Stressors and Percentage frequency among School
Administrators Sampled for the Study.
Stressors
Shortage of Fund
Family problems
Pressure of work
Unfulfilled Social Expectations
Job Insecurity
Delayed Progress
Personal Problems
Percentage frequency
96
72
68
61
45
30
15
A summary of the respondents' ranking of the stressors in terms of
frequency of experiencing them shows clearly that the most experienced
stressor on Nigerian school administrators is the stressor relating to
shortage of fund. Ranking second to this is the stressor relating to family
problems. The stressor relating to unfulfilled social expectations was
ranked fourth. The stressor of job insecurity was ranked fifth while delayed
progress and personal problems ranked sixth and seventh respectively.
These findings were not unexpected owing to the current
economic depression and cut-backs in educational expenditure and
financial support for institutions. School administrators are faced with the
task of providing more quality education at lesser expenses. Also, school
administrators as part of the society at large, have to contend with their
family problems of feeding, health, clothing, housing, transportation and
others. Back at work, the staffing situations of most schools still depict
shortages in many areas thereby creating greater pressure of work on
teachers and the principals. This not withstanding, the social expectations
on the schools are very high and the principals must strive hard to live up
to these expectations. Anyone who performs below expectations stands the
risk of being retired or dismissed summarily for declining productivity so,
NIJEF 1 (2) September, 1990: D.O. Durosaro
120
there is no job security. Despite all odds, some school administrators who
were due for promotion experienced delayed progress owing to shortage of
fund. All these factors aside, some principals do experience stressors
relating to personal problems of ill-health, some of these stressors seemed
to have led to a breakdown in health of some school administrators. This
aspect will be examined in the treatment of the next research question.
Research Question 2:
What are the major effects of the stressors on the physical health of School
Administrators?
Table 2 presents the required data for tackling this question.
Table 2
Physical Health Problems and Percentage Frequency Among School
Administrators Sample for the Study
Physical Health Problems
Fever
Hypertension
Rheumatism
Arthritis
Percentage Frequency
95
64
28
12
The table shows clearly that fever was ranked first among the
physical health problems of school administrators. Ninety-five per cent of
the respondents indicated they have been treated for fever very often.
Hypertension was ranked second on the table with, 64% of the sample
having been treated for hypertension very often. Rheumatism was ranked
third, with 28% of the respondents having been treated very often. Arthritis
was ranked fourth with 12% of the sample having been treated for it very
often.
Apparently, the major effect of stress on school administrators
was fever and hypertension. No doubt, the fever may be a symptom of
hypertension which may in turn lead to rheumatic pains. When one is
under great stress that leads to physical break-down, if the stressor is not
checked and the effect not quickly ameliorated, it may cause some mental
break- down too. This aspect is being considered under the next research
question.
Calming the storm: stressors and relationship to physical and mental
health of Nigerian school administrators
121
Research Question 3:
What are the major effects of the stressors on the mental health of school
administrators?
The data obtained are as shown in Table 3.
Table 3
Mental Health Problems and Percentage Frequency
among School Administrators Sampled
Mental Health Problems
Reduced mental capability
Alcoholism
Drug Addiction
Psychosis
Neurosis
Schizophrenia
Percentage Frequency
60
47
33
14
—
—
Reduced mental capacity was ranked first among the mental
health problems of school administrators sampled for the present study.
Sixty per cent of the sample claimed to have been treated or to have
experienced the problem very often. Ranking next to reduced mental
capacity is the problem of alcoholism which 47% of the respondents
claimed they had very often. Drug addiction was ranked third, with 33% of
the sample claiming they had experienced it very often while psychosis
ranked fourth with only 15% of the sample having experienced it very
often. Apparently, as a result of great stresses, some people suffered
reduction in their mental capabilities and to cope with such problem, they
resorted to visiting club houses to drink alcohol to suppress the problem.
Some may become addicted to alcohol. Others may prefer to stay home
and take sleeping drugs to relax. They may also become addicted. Others
who do not drink alcohol nor take drugs may continue to face up with the
stresses but such people may become touchy and appear psychotic in
nature. It might be useful to employ statistical test on the relationship
between the frequency of stressors and the frequency of mental health
problems. This is taken care of by the next research question.
NIJEF 1 (2) September, 1990: D.O. Durosaro
122
Research Question 4:
Is there any significant correlation between the frequency of occurrence of
stressors and the frequency of mental health problems of school
administrators?
In answering this question, the data collected on the frequencies
of occurrences of both stressors and the mental health problems of school
administrators were treated, using the Likert type scale of very often, often,
rarely, very-rarely and Never with the rating of 4, 3, 2, 1 and 0
respectively. The scores for each respondent were summed up for both
stressors and health problems and these variables were correlated, using the
Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The correlation
coefficient was computed using the Statistical Calculation programme
format. Their calculated value was found to be 0.410. This was not
significant at the conventional 0.5 level. This shows that there was no
significant correlation between the frequency of occurrence of stressors
and the frequency of mental health problems of the school administrators.
The next research question takes up the issue of relationship
between occurrence of the stressors and the occurrence of physical health
problems in the school administrators.
Research Question 5:
Is there any significant correlation between stressors and the physical
health of Nigerian school administrators?
To find answer to this question, a similar process with the one
taken for the last research question was followed. The Pearson Product
Momment Correlation Coefficient of the variables was computed. Their
calculated values was found to be 0.645. This value was found to show
positively significant correlation. Thus, there is a significant correlation
between the frequency of occurrence of the stressors and the frequency of
occurrence of physical health problems of Nigerian school administrators.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In the foregoing analysis and discussion, an attempt has been made to find
answers to questions concerning the major stressors, major physical and
mental health problems of Nigerian school administrators and the
correlation between the frequency of occurrence of the stressors and the
frequency of occurrence of the physical and mental health problems of
Nigerian school administrators. The findings of this study, show that there
are positive relationships between the frequency of occurrence of stresses
and the frequency of the physical and mental health problems of Nigerian
school administrators. Thus, if the laudable programmes such as those
prescribed in the National Policy on Education (1981) are to be achieved,
we require a competent body of teachers and school administrators who are
Calming the storm: stressors and relationship to physical and mental
health of Nigerian school administrators
123
not operating under stresses that are hazardous to their health. However,
stresses and anxieties are said to be essential functions of living just like
hunger and thirst are, especially if one is able to face up to the challenge of
transforming distress into eustress since in a world of tension, stress can be
the spice of life (Stevenson, 1962 and Gmelch, 1988).
However, there is an urgent need for a critical review of the
current Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) by Government in order
to reduce the effect of economic hardship and job tension and, consequently, improve the social life of workers.
Nevertheless, to assist the Nigerian school administrator in coping
with stressful situations, the following propositions are offered:
When the school administrator has something bothering him, he
should not bottle it up. Rather he should try to talk it out by confiding in a
trustworthy person. By so doing, the school administrator could relieve his
mind of strain and find a solution to his problem. Moreover, as collective
decision making ensures collective responsibility in schools, school
administrators should try to involve other teachers in the decision making
process.
Also, when the stress is due to overwork, the school administrator
could re-order the priority and take up the work in their order of
importance and dispose of them one at a time. It is essential to know one's
ability and limitations so that one does not set too ambitious goals for
oneself.
Moreover, whenever a school administrator finds himself in a
stressful situation, he should escape for a while. He could take a walk
around the school, read some papers or go on a short trip. This will relieve
his mind and make him more emotionally stable. He could later return to
his office and solve the problem.
Further, the school administrator should learn to develop the
ability 10 relax. After each day's work, the school administrator should
endeavour to take time out. It is desirable to have a hobby; and there must
be time for recreation and rest.
Finally, the school administrator should be ready at all times to
accept constructive criticisms from his staff.
NIJEF 1 (2) September, 1990: D.O. Durosaro
124
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