TEACHERS COMPETENCIES AS CORRELATES OF STRESS MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined Teachers’ Competencies as correlates of Stress Management in Public Secondary Schools in Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a correlational research design. The population of the study consisted of 6915 teachers in 267 Public Secondary schools in Anambra State. The sample size is 509 teachers randomly drawn from the population. The study adopted stratified and simple random sampling techniques.  Instruments for data collection were teachers’ demographic variables and Stress Management Questionnaire (SMQ). The instruments were subjected to face and construct validity by three experts. The reliability of the instruments were established using Cronbach Alpha statistics and the average reliability coefficient showed a value of   0 .88 for Stress Management Questionnaire (SMQ). The questionnaires were administered by direct contact and collected on the spot. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to answer the research questions and also test the hypotheses 0.05 level of significance. After analyzing the data, the following findings were made; The study showed  a moderate positive  relationship between professional competence  and stress management in public secondary schools in Anambra state. The study also showed   a significant relationship between professional competence and Stress Management in Public Secondary Schools in Anambra State. The study indicated a strong positive relationship existing between pedagogical competence and stress management in public secondary schools in Anambra State. The study also showed   a significant relationship between pedagogical competence and Stress Management in Public Secondary Schools in Anambra State. Based on the findings, the study recommended that teachers should embark on professional training to improve on their level of professional competencies  which would help in the development of knowledge and capacity building to foster teachers creativity. Ministry of Education should re-organize teacher programmes to groom the teacher-trainees with adequate pedogeological skill with which they can relate to the contents taught