Factors Contributing to Stress among Secondary School Administrators,A case of Ol'kalou Division of Nyandarua District Kenya

Abstract

Stress significantly affects the rate of perfonnance and service delivery of workers. Given the important role that education plays in the society, there has been increased social pressure on the educational system and particularly on the school administrators. This normally influences the level of stress among school administrators. This study sought to investigate the factors that contribute to stress among school administrators in Ol Kalou division of Nyandarua district. This study adopted an ex post facto research‘ design. The target population included 336 secondary school administrators (28 head teachers, 28 deputy head teachers and 280 heads of departments) in the 28 secondary schools in the study area. A random sample of 134 administrators (18 head teachers, 18 deputy head teachers and 98 heads of departments) from 18 secondary schools was used. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire with the selected respondents. The collected data was then processed and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) version 11.5. The study established the following major fmdings: each administrative level in a school has its owmsontribution to the levels of stress among school administrators; it is the level of expenditure and not the salary scale that influences the level of stress among school administrators; and each size of the school has got its own influence on the level of stress among school administrators. Based on the study findings, three key recommendations are made. These included: there is need for stress management among school administrators regardless of their administrative level; there is need for the school administrators to harmonize their levels of expenditure with their salary scale in order to minimize their levels of stress; and there is need for all schools, regardless of the size, to develop stress management techniques and strategies among its administrators.