Stress Management and Teachers’ Job Performance in Public Secondary Schools of Akoko North-East Local Government, Ondo State, Nigeria

Teachers’ instructional responsibilities are increasingly demanding, often compounded by inadequacies in instructional resources and management practices that overstretch teachers’ capacities and possibly undermine the quality of job performance. This study investigated the factors that cause stress among secondary school teachers, the strategies employed for stress management, and the level of teachers’ job performance. Three research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted. The sample consisted of 160 teachers randomly selected and 48 school administrators (principals, vice principals, and heads of departments) purposively selected from eight randomly sampled public secondary schools in Akoko North-East Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. Data were collected using the Stress Management Questionnaire (SMQ) and the Teachers’ Job Performance Questionnaire (TJPQ). Findings revealed that the major sources of stress were shortage of instructional materials, large class sizes, and excessive marking of scripts, all of which exerted pressure on teachers’ job performance. The overall level of stress management was moderate (Mean = 3.07), with the most effective strategies identified as equitable workload distribution, teamwork, and the use of lesson note guides. Teachers’ job performance was also moderate (Mean = 3.12), with the strongest performance recorded in lesson note preparation and delivery, classroom management, and record keeping. The result further indicated a significant relationship between stress management and teachers’ job performance [r = 0.973, p < 0.05]. The study concluded that effective stress management is a strong predictor of teachers’ job performance while congested classrooms, inadequate instructional materials and excess workloads exacerbate teacher stress in their job performance. It was recommended that the State Government through the Teaching Service Commission should employ more qualified teachers to reduce workloads to manageable levels; the Ministry of Education should provide adequate instructional materials, and organise periodic seminars and workshops to strengthen teachers’ and administrators’ capacities in stress management; and school principals should minimize job-related stress by ensuring equitable workload distribution, prioritizing instructional planning time, and fostering supportive teacher teams to enhance job performance.

Stress management, teachers’ job performance, public secondary schools, instructional resources, workload distribution

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