Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

Stress and Coping Strategies among Distance Education Students at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Year 2017, Volume: 18 Issue: 3, 120 - 134, 01.07.2017
https://doi.org/10.17718/tojde.328942

Abstract

This study was designed to identify the causes of stress and coping strategies adopted among distance education students at the College of Distance Education in the University of Cape Coast. A total of 332 diploma and post-diploma final year students in 2014/2015 academic year were selected from two study centers using random sampling procedure to respond to self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire which was adapted to suit the study context was pre-tested to ensure that it elicited valid response. The results of the study showed that ‘academic workload’, ‘high frequency of examinations’, ‘financial problems’, family/marriage problems’ were the major causes of stress among the students. The study also found some statistical significant differences between married and unmarried students with married students feeling more stressed with ‘financial problems’ and ‘family/marriage problems’ than unmarried students. Students used multiple strategies, mainly praying/meditating, self-distracting activities such as watching TV and listening to music to cope with stress. Other important stress coping strategies were emotional and instrumental support from family, friends and lecturers. The study recommended among others that the need for the counseling unit at College of Distance Education of UCC to organize frequent stress management programs for students and assign academic counselors to students.

References

  • Abdullah, N. A. & Dan Mohd, S. (2011). A study of stress level among part-time students in a higher institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Journal of Global Management, 3(1), 1–34. Adu-Yeboah, C. (2011). Constructing higher education experiences through narratives: Selected cases of mature underground women students in Ghana. University of Sussex. Agyemang, B. K. (2010). Providing information communication technology support to distance education students: A case of the University of Ghana, Legon. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Distance Education, 11(3), 129–146. 132 Akhlaq, M., Amjad, B. M., & Mehmood, K. (2010). An evaluation of the effects of stress on the job performance of secondary school teachers. Journal of Law and Psychology, 43– 55. Al-Sowygh, Z. H. (2013). Academic distress, perceived stress and coping strategies among dental students in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Dental Journal, 25(3), 97–105. doi:10.1016/j.sdentj.2013.05.002 Al-Sowygh, Z. H., Alfadley, A. a., Al-Saif, M. I., & Al-Wadei, S. H. (2013). Perceived causes of stress among Saudi dental students. King Saud University Journal of Dental Sciences, 4(1), 7–15. doi:10.1016/j.ksujds.2012.11.002 Chao, R. C. (2012). Research Managing Perceived Stress Among College Students: The Roles of Social Support and Dysfunctional Coping. Journal of College Counseling, 15, 5–22. Cohen, S. Kamarch, T. & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behaior, 24, 385–396. Dusselier, L., Dunn, B., Wang, Y., Shelley, M., & Whalen, D. (2010). Personal, health, academic and environmental predictors of stress for residence hall students. Journal of American College Health, 54(1), 15–24. doi:10.3200/JACH.54.1.15-24 Elias, H., Ping, W. S., & Abdullah, M. C. (2011). Stress and Academic Achievement among Undergraduate Students in Universiti Putra Malaysia. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 29, 646–655. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.11.288 Esia-donkoh, K. (2014). Stress coping strategies of 2012/2013 final year sandwich students of the department of basic education, university of education, winneba (UEW), Ghana. International Journal of Education Learning and Development, 2(1), 54–67. Esia-donkoh, K., Yelkpieri, D., & Esia-donkoh, K. (2011). Coping With Stress : Strategies Adopted by Students at the Winneba Campus of University of Education. US-China Education Review, 2, 290–299. Gallagher, C. T., Mehta, A. N. V, Selvan, R., Mirza, I. B., Radia, P., Bharadia, N. S., & Hitch, G. (2014). Perceived stress levels among undergraduate pharmacy students in the UK. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 1–5. doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2014.02.004 Gnilka, P. B., Chang, C. Y., & Dew, B. J. (2012). The Relationship Between Supervisee Stress , Coping Resources , the Working Alliance , and the Supervisory Working Alliance. Journal of Counseling & Development, 90, 63–70. Gormathi, Kadayam. Soofia Ahmend, J. S. (2013). Causes of stress and coping strategies adopted by undergraduate health professions students in a university in the United Arab Emirates. Brief Communication, 13(August), 437–441. Hung, C., & Care, C. (2011). Coping strategies of primary school teachers in Taiwan experiencing stress because of teacher surplus. Social Behavior and Personality, 39(666), 1161–1174. 133 Johnson, D. R., Wasserman, T. H., Yildirim, N., & Yonai, B. a. (2013). Examining the Effects of Stress and Campus Climate on the Persistence of Students of Color and White Students: An Application of Bean and Eaton’s Psychological Model of Retention. Research in Higher Education, 55(1), 75–100. doi:10.1007/s11162-013-9304-9 Kaufman, J. A. (2006). Stress and social support among online doctoral psychology students. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 20(3), 79–89. doi:10.1300/J035v20n03 Kumi-yeboah, A. (2010). A Look at the trend of distance and adult education in Ghana. International Forum of Teaching and Studies, 6(1), 19–28. Ministry of Education (MOE). (2013). Education sector performance report. Accra: Ministry of Education. Oteng-Ababio, M. (2011). Door of hope or despair : Students ‘ Perception o f Distance Education At University of Ghana. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Distance Education, 12(3), 241–259. Panchabakesan, S. (2011). Problems and prospective in distance educatin in India in the 21st century. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 30, 113–122. Ramos, J. A. (2011). A comparison of perceived stress levels and coping styles of nontraditional graduate students in distance learning versus on-campus programs. Comtemporary Educational Technology, 2(4), 282–293. Reed, S., Lyons, R., Hendricks, D., & Mead, A. (2011). Sources of stress among gender and classification for African American college students. College Student Journal, 45(4), 749–758. Rourke, M. O., Hammond, S., Flynn, S. O., & Boylan, G. (2010). The medical student stress profile : A tool for stress audit in medical training. Medical Education, 44, 1027– 1037. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2010.03734.x Saklofske, D. H., Austin, E. J., Mastoras, S. M., Beaton, L., & Osborne, S. E. (2012). Relationships of personality, affect, emotional intelligence and coping with student stress and academic success: Different patterns of association for stress and success. Learning and Individual Differences, 22(2), 251–257. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2011.02.010 Shamsuddin, K., Fadzil, F., Ismail, W. S. W., Shah, S. A., Omar, K., Muhammad, N. A., Jaffar, A., Ismail, A., Mahadevan, R. (2013). Correlates of depression, anxiety and stress among Malaysian university students. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 6(4), 318–23. doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2013.01.014 Sideridis, G. D. (2008). The regulation of affect, anxiety, and stressful arousal from adopting mastry-avoidance goal orientations. Stress and Health, 24(1), 55-69. Smith, K. J., Rosenberg, D. L., & Timothy Haight, G. (2014). An Assessment of the Psychometric Properties of the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS10) with Business and Accounting Students. Accounting Perspectives, 13(1), 29–59. doi:10.1111/1911- 3838.12023 134 Soliman, M. (2014). Perception of stress and coping strategies by medical students at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 9(1), 30–35. doi:10.1016/j.jtumed.2013.09.006 Torto, B. A. (2009). Problems of part-time students in Ghana: Implications for distance education. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Distance Education, 10(10), 175–191. University of Cape Coast. (2016). College of Distance Education Admission Brochure. Cape Coast: University of Cape Coast.S William, O., Rebecca, E., & Joseph, M. (2010). The challenges distant students face as they combine studies with work : The experience of teachers pursuing tertiary distance education at The University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Malaysian Journal of Distance Education, 12(1), 13–35.
Year 2017, Volume: 18 Issue: 3, 120 - 134, 01.07.2017
https://doi.org/10.17718/tojde.328942

Abstract

References

  • Abdullah, N. A. & Dan Mohd, S. (2011). A study of stress level among part-time students in a higher institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Journal of Global Management, 3(1), 1–34. Adu-Yeboah, C. (2011). Constructing higher education experiences through narratives: Selected cases of mature underground women students in Ghana. University of Sussex. Agyemang, B. K. (2010). Providing information communication technology support to distance education students: A case of the University of Ghana, Legon. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Distance Education, 11(3), 129–146. 132 Akhlaq, M., Amjad, B. M., & Mehmood, K. (2010). An evaluation of the effects of stress on the job performance of secondary school teachers. Journal of Law and Psychology, 43– 55. Al-Sowygh, Z. H. (2013). Academic distress, perceived stress and coping strategies among dental students in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Dental Journal, 25(3), 97–105. doi:10.1016/j.sdentj.2013.05.002 Al-Sowygh, Z. H., Alfadley, A. a., Al-Saif, M. I., & Al-Wadei, S. H. (2013). Perceived causes of stress among Saudi dental students. King Saud University Journal of Dental Sciences, 4(1), 7–15. doi:10.1016/j.ksujds.2012.11.002 Chao, R. C. (2012). Research Managing Perceived Stress Among College Students: The Roles of Social Support and Dysfunctional Coping. Journal of College Counseling, 15, 5–22. Cohen, S. Kamarch, T. & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behaior, 24, 385–396. Dusselier, L., Dunn, B., Wang, Y., Shelley, M., & Whalen, D. (2010). Personal, health, academic and environmental predictors of stress for residence hall students. Journal of American College Health, 54(1), 15–24. doi:10.3200/JACH.54.1.15-24 Elias, H., Ping, W. S., & Abdullah, M. C. (2011). Stress and Academic Achievement among Undergraduate Students in Universiti Putra Malaysia. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 29, 646–655. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.11.288 Esia-donkoh, K. (2014). Stress coping strategies of 2012/2013 final year sandwich students of the department of basic education, university of education, winneba (UEW), Ghana. International Journal of Education Learning and Development, 2(1), 54–67. Esia-donkoh, K., Yelkpieri, D., & Esia-donkoh, K. (2011). Coping With Stress : Strategies Adopted by Students at the Winneba Campus of University of Education. US-China Education Review, 2, 290–299. Gallagher, C. T., Mehta, A. N. V, Selvan, R., Mirza, I. B., Radia, P., Bharadia, N. S., & Hitch, G. (2014). Perceived stress levels among undergraduate pharmacy students in the UK. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 1–5. doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2014.02.004 Gnilka, P. B., Chang, C. Y., & Dew, B. J. (2012). The Relationship Between Supervisee Stress , Coping Resources , the Working Alliance , and the Supervisory Working Alliance. Journal of Counseling & Development, 90, 63–70. Gormathi, Kadayam. Soofia Ahmend, J. S. (2013). Causes of stress and coping strategies adopted by undergraduate health professions students in a university in the United Arab Emirates. Brief Communication, 13(August), 437–441. Hung, C., & Care, C. (2011). Coping strategies of primary school teachers in Taiwan experiencing stress because of teacher surplus. Social Behavior and Personality, 39(666), 1161–1174. 133 Johnson, D. R., Wasserman, T. H., Yildirim, N., & Yonai, B. a. (2013). Examining the Effects of Stress and Campus Climate on the Persistence of Students of Color and White Students: An Application of Bean and Eaton’s Psychological Model of Retention. Research in Higher Education, 55(1), 75–100. doi:10.1007/s11162-013-9304-9 Kaufman, J. A. (2006). Stress and social support among online doctoral psychology students. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 20(3), 79–89. doi:10.1300/J035v20n03 Kumi-yeboah, A. (2010). A Look at the trend of distance and adult education in Ghana. International Forum of Teaching and Studies, 6(1), 19–28. Ministry of Education (MOE). (2013). Education sector performance report. Accra: Ministry of Education. Oteng-Ababio, M. (2011). Door of hope or despair : Students ‘ Perception o f Distance Education At University of Ghana. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Distance Education, 12(3), 241–259. Panchabakesan, S. (2011). Problems and prospective in distance educatin in India in the 21st century. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 30, 113–122. Ramos, J. A. (2011). A comparison of perceived stress levels and coping styles of nontraditional graduate students in distance learning versus on-campus programs. Comtemporary Educational Technology, 2(4), 282–293. Reed, S., Lyons, R., Hendricks, D., & Mead, A. (2011). Sources of stress among gender and classification for African American college students. College Student Journal, 45(4), 749–758. Rourke, M. O., Hammond, S., Flynn, S. O., & Boylan, G. (2010). The medical student stress profile : A tool for stress audit in medical training. Medical Education, 44, 1027– 1037. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2010.03734.x Saklofske, D. H., Austin, E. J., Mastoras, S. M., Beaton, L., & Osborne, S. E. (2012). Relationships of personality, affect, emotional intelligence and coping with student stress and academic success: Different patterns of association for stress and success. Learning and Individual Differences, 22(2), 251–257. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2011.02.010 Shamsuddin, K., Fadzil, F., Ismail, W. S. W., Shah, S. A., Omar, K., Muhammad, N. A., Jaffar, A., Ismail, A., Mahadevan, R. (2013). Correlates of depression, anxiety and stress among Malaysian university students. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 6(4), 318–23. doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2013.01.014 Sideridis, G. D. (2008). The regulation of affect, anxiety, and stressful arousal from adopting mastry-avoidance goal orientations. Stress and Health, 24(1), 55-69. Smith, K. J., Rosenberg, D. L., & Timothy Haight, G. (2014). An Assessment of the Psychometric Properties of the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS10) with Business and Accounting Students. Accounting Perspectives, 13(1), 29–59. doi:10.1111/1911- 3838.12023 134 Soliman, M. (2014). Perception of stress and coping strategies by medical students at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 9(1), 30–35. doi:10.1016/j.jtumed.2013.09.006 Torto, B. A. (2009). Problems of part-time students in Ghana: Implications for distance education. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Distance Education, 10(10), 175–191. University of Cape Coast. (2016). College of Distance Education Admission Brochure. Cape Coast: University of Cape Coast.S William, O., Rebecca, E., & Joseph, M. (2010). The challenges distant students face as they combine studies with work : The experience of teachers pursuing tertiary distance education at The University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Malaysian Journal of Distance Education, 12(1), 13–35.
There are 1 citations in total.

Details

Journal Section Articles
Authors

Christopher Yaw Kwaah This is me

Gabriel Essılfıe This is me

Publication Date July 1, 2017
Submission Date July 17, 2017
Published in Issue Year 2017 Volume: 18 Issue: 3

Cite

APA Kwaah, C. Y., & Essılfıe, G. (2017). Stress and Coping Strategies among Distance Education Students at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 18(3), 120-134. https://doi.org/10.17718/tojde.328942

Cited By