Perceived Sources of Stress among faculty members of COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan

Abstract

The present study aims at exploring the perceived sources of stress among the faculty members of COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan by examining the stress coping methods used by faculty members for devising proposed stress management practices to faculty members. Two self-administered questionnaires were distributed among 150 randomly selected teachers from five campuses of (CIIT), Pakistan. The 1^st questionnaire comprised 20-items regarding five teacher’s stressors while the second questionnaire contained 10-itmes about the individual stress copying techniques. Scores for items on stressors & stress copying techniques were computed by adding weights assigned and then an Exploratory Factor analysis was run for extracting stress contributing factors. The total teacher’s stress score ranged from 25 to 100 in which female, 25-30 years age group & single teacher had high stress scores. Total 18 items were loaded high (0.60+) on the five factors of stress after factor analysis. Majority of teachers (64%) practiced behavioral self-control, exercise and relaxation techniques for coping stress. This study does not investigate casual link between stress and stress contributing sources among teachers. The results of the study are useful both to academic world and to educational policy makers. This study is an addition to existing knowledge on university teachers’ stress in Pakistan. The awareness about stress contributing factors is vital to the university teachers in Pakistan because the problem of teachers’ stress if left unchecked can have devastating effects both on teachers as well on students.