An investigation into the management of junior high school female teachers’ stress-a case study of Ahenkro circuit of the Afigya Kwabre North district of the Ashanti region

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify and explore the stressors that affect junior high school female teachers in Ahenkro Circuit and to identify the coping behaviours that the female teachers use in managing these stressors. The sample for the study consisted of 60 female teachers. Questionnaire in the form of likert format ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4) was used to collect data. The reliability of the instrument used was 0.79. The methodological inquiry was quantitative research approach using descriptive cross-sectional design was used which included the following statistical analyses: mean and standard deviation percentages were employed to answer the research questions of the study. Findings indicated that majority of female teachers who participated in the study agreed that home – work interface, specifically marital responsibilities was their main source of stress, majority of female teachers in the study area experienced moderate level of stress. Finally, female teachers tried to analyze the problem in order to understand it better. Based on these findings it was recommended that, female teachers should be made to be conversant with what goes on in marriage, coupled with marital responsibilities and effective ways of handling their husbands. In addition, female teachers should be well trained on effective ways of coping with stress and lastly, more theoretical research should be done in this field in order to develop a comprehensive model specifically designed for female teachers. This model should include stress management programmes for couples.