STRESS EXPERIENCES DUE TO PROGRAMME STRUCTURE AMONG GRADUATE STUDENTS IN SELECTED CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA
Abstract
Purpose of the study: Stress cuts across all humanity and some scholars view it as a kind of pandemic disease. Students are habitually confronted with academic concerns, financial anxieties, assignments, time management, relationship matters, and fear of the unknown among other issues. Balancing the demands of the learning environment with personal life responsibilities is a major challenge faced by students at the graduate level. The results of this imbalance are evident in many students and are related to stress diseases, mental health problems and withdrawal from studies. This study sought to examine the effects of the programme structure on the perceived stress levels among graduate students in selected Christian universities in Kenya.
Research Methodology: A mixed method approach: quantitative and qualitative was used for the study. A sample of 142 graduate students selected proportionately from four (4) Christian universities in Kenya took part in the study.
Findings: The results of this study showed that programme structure was causing stress among students in selected Christian universities in Kenya by the fact that, the students were worried about the academic workload, examinations, and failing in the examinations. This was manifested by restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, feeling irritable, and sleeplessness which are evident signs of stress. On the external front, students faced financial challenges and work obligations that caused stress in their studies.
Conclusion: The results imply that the graduate students have the responsibility to adapt to graduate level workload, and the universities should help students to adequately understand what is expected of them in graduate studies.
Recommendations: Students should also find ways of balancing their workplace obligations and adequate sources of financing their family and study obligations. The findings of this study will be useful in helping students studying in the in Christian universities benefit by understanding how the learning environment contributes to their stress, and hence finding appropriate ways of coping with it. Secondly, the study informs policy makers at the institutional level of actions to take for reviewing their systems to enhance a conducive environment for graduate students to cope with stress.
Keywords: Stress Experiences, Programme Structure, Graduate Students, Christian Universities, Kenya
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