Stress among Home Economics Students in Higher Education : A Case of Colleges of Education in Nigeria

The development in students of the attributes of productivity, creativity, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning is recognized internationally as a common goal of education systems. The field of Home Economics —is no exception to this trend as it is highly relevant to individual, family and societal development. However, academic stress among Home Economics students could threaten their achievement of the aforementioned goals. Hence, the purpose of this study was to determine the academic stressors experienced by the Home Economics students in Colleges of Education in Anambra State of Nigeria. The study, which was based on two research questions and two null hypotheses, adopted the descriptive survey design. Using proportionate random sampling technique, 180 Home Economics students enrolled for three-year Nigerian Certificate on Education (NCE) programme in two Colleges of Education in Anambra State of Nigeria, were used in the study. A researcher-developed questionnaire containing 35 items was used to collect data. Mean ratings and standard deviation were used in answering the research questions while the Analysis of Variance was used in testing the hypotheses at 0.05 significant level. The findings of the study indicated that irrespective of the year of study, the Home Economics Students encountered physical-technical and socio-interpersonal stressors in their academic pursuits. These academic stressors were mostly related to course processes. These findings imply that the students encounter a lot of stress which could have adverse effects on their learning and acquisition of Home Economics skills. The situation may worsen if current physical-technical and socio-interpersonal stressors are not ameliorated. Some recommendations for improvement were given.