STRESS AS THE LEADING CAUSE OF ACADEMIC FAILURE IN STUDENTS

Ms. L Jyoti Reddy 

Assistant Professor 

Faculty of Psychology Kalinga University, 

Naya Raipur (C.G.) –INDIA 

ljyoti.reddy@kalingauniversity.ac.in

Numerous recurring pressures connected to academic obligations are experienced by students in secondary and higher education settings. Previous studies have shown that academic stress can affect academic performance, motivation, and risk of dropping out of school. The longer-term effects cost governments billions of dollars per year and include a decreased possibility of sustaining employment. This article summarizes the most recent findings on the effects of academic stress on students’ ability to study and academic achievement, as well as on mental health issues like melancholy and anxiety, sleep disorders, and drug abuse.

 KEYWORDS: Academic, Adolescent health, Education, Mental health and wellbeing, Stress. 

One of the worries that most students have as they begin their academic journey is that they would be ineffective learners. However, when they develop the skill set necessary for effectively managing their schoolwork, the majority of kids find that this dread is very controllable. However, some children do not acquire the necessary abilities, which causes them to do poorly on exams and subsequently see a sharp decline in their reading levels. Although a variety of unfavorable conditions, such as a poor socioeconomic background, language barriers, and developmental health issues, can lead to academic failure, many students tend to fail as a result of extremely high levels of stress. In addition to not being able to attend classes or take tests on time, the issue mentioned also refers to a more widespread issue with scheduling tasks. 

When taking into account the records of students inside the higher education system, the causeand-effect relationship between stress levels and poor academic performance, in particular, the risk of academic failure, becomes more clear. In particular, research indicates that the number of dropouts rises in tandem with student stress levels as a result of the volume of material they must master and the variety of quality standards they must satisfy. As a result, one of the main causes of stress continues to be the increase in workload and requirements for the caliber of students’ talents. The study demonstrates that the rise in stress levels will ultimately fail because it is fueled by competitiveness and the desire to live up to one’s own view of oneself as a great learner. 

The pressure of expectations, socioeconomic factors, and the perception that success at all costs is necessary in order to gain financial leverage in the future to pursue better career opportunities must all be taken into account when analyzing the effects of stress on students’ performance. The mentioned element may have an impact on younger pupils even if it is naturally more common among older learners, particularly middle and high school students. In particular, the observed phenomena causes a substantial increase in stress levels and, as a result, results in a student’s failure when backed by the existence of significant pressure from parents. 

One should think about closer parent-teacher collaboration as a solution to the challenge mentioned above. Specifically, teachers must teach parents how to assist their children as they advance academically without placing undue stress on them. The suggested remedy might help learners feel less stressed and encourage them to learn the necessary skills by fostering a relaxed environment. 

Although there are broad guidelines for creating a more welcoming environment for students, it is also important to consider each learner’s distinct needs. For this reason, it is crucial to communicate with parents in order to learn about each student’s specific requirements. Therefore, one of the potential strategies for alleviating the severe consequences that elevated levels of stress have on pupils must be the encouragement of an open dialogue between educators and parents. 

However, it is important to keep in mind that the proposed framework is most likely to have an impact on young learners, who still depend on their relatives for help with schoolwork. An altogether different stress-reduction strategy will be required for older students who complete their work alone. While teachers will still need to reevaluate the classroom environment in order to increase the level of students’ performance, the issue of student stress will need to be addressed by taking into account the internal stress factors unique to each learner. 

These may include a lack of independence and confidence, a failure to establish the tempo necessary for quickly learning vital skills, and an inability to handle the enormous amount of material learned during sessions. The latter should be seen as the primary barrier and handled as such by encouraging students to reevaluate their priorities, promote creative time management strategies, and spend more time learning rather than engaging in leisure activities. Numerous students fall short of the objectives they set for their academic performance and the requirements for passing the tests they are required to take as a result of poor time management skills. The inability to plan one’s calendar in a way that will allow them to grow and train the necessary abilities can be seen as the true problem with time management, which goes well beyond the idea of missing the deadline for a certain test. 

Last but not least, the change from competition to collaboration in the classroom will assist students reduce a sizable amount of their stress, enabling them to adapt to the learning environment and learn at the pace that they feel most comfortable with. The addition of peer learning and peer assessment will also make students feel more at ease, which will enable them to focus on the job at hand. Thus, by enhancing the function of support from teachers and peers alike as well as by gradually modifying the classroom atmosphere to provide a calming impact, learners’ academic performance can be improved to a certain amount. 

Conclusion 

The problem of academic stress has spread to all nations, cultures, and racial/ethnic groupings. The current study revealed that academic stress is still a serious issue that negatively impacts students’ mental health and general wellbeing. Also revealed were disparities in how stress was felt across different streams. Thus, it becomes essential to manage the situation on all levels— personal, social, and institutional. It has been discovered that methods including biofeedback, yoga, life-skills instruction, mindfulness meditation, and psychotherapy are beneficial at lowering stress in pupils. Professionals in the sector will be able to customize interventions for pupils by combining the most effective techniques once they have a better understanding of the sources from the many spheres. It would eventually be beneficial for the student’s entire wellbeing as well as the institution’s overall productivity to improve their holistic wellbeing.