Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

“Academic stress is a mental distress with respect to some anticipated frustration

associated with academic failure or even awareness of the possibility of such
failure”. (Gupta and Khan, 1987). “Academic stress pervades the life of students,
and tends to impact adversely their mental and physical health, and their ability to
perform schoolwork effectively”. (Clark & Rieker, 1986; Felsten & Wilcox, 1992).
Stress has been seen tightening its grip on the students, as they have to compete at
every step of their academic career in this fast moving world. This shadow of
academic stress all the more darkens for the students of high and intermediate
schools as they have to enter into the world of competition for choosing their
respective careers.

Academic stress does not necessarily begin in college. The nervous breakdowns,
panic attacks, burnouts and depressions are also common among many young
students. The situation does not remain the same for everybody, and everyone do
not experience the same feelings or gloomy thoughts when they are under stress.
At this point of time, a part from dealing with the physical and socio- emotional
changes, the adolescents have to fulfill the expectation their of parents, build their
career and complete school, in which they might fail and thereby have a negative
impact on himself. Family is considered to be the first school for the child and is a
source of expectations whereby the parents’ play a vital role in their children’s
academic achievements.

1.1Theories of Stress:

Canon (1914) and Selye (1965) were the earliest theorists to offer physiological
bases for stress. Their model suggests that our SNS and hypothalamus coordinate a
physiological stress response that involves the pituitary and adrenal glands and the
secretion of catecholamines and corticosteroids. Later stress researchers expanded
and modified the early ideas. For example, in contrast to Selye’s theory of general
adaptation, Mason (1971) argued that stress responses are based on the type of
stressor that we are dealing with. In all of these three theories, psychological
aspects did not play major roles. Cannon suggested that organisms had threshold
levels and that if stressors were below these limits, the fight-or-flight response did
not activate. He also discussed emotional stressors, suggesting that mental
processes played some role. Likewise, both cannon and Seyle believed that events
had to be recognized as threatening to activate the response. However, neither
scientist explained how this happened.

Richard Lazarus (1966) argued that the role of stress differed significantly across
individuals, depending on how they interpreted the event and outcome of a specific
sequence of thinking patterns called appraisals. He suggested two major types of
appraisals when one face any potentially stressful event. During primary appraisal,
one ascertain whether the event is positive, negative, or neutral, and if negative, if
it is harmful, threatening, or challenging. A harm (or harm-loss) appraisal is made
when one expect to lose or actually lose something of great personal significance.
For example, when one break up a close relationship one, lose confidence. After
one make primary appraisal, one assesses whether or not one has the necessary
resources to cope with the event. During secondary appraisal one essentially
determines whether one can deal with the event and how one can cope.
 1.1 Main Stages of Lazarus’ Cognitive Appraisal Model

Event

Primary appraisal
Harm (damage)
Threat (future damage)
Challenge (slight positive)

Secondary appraisal
Are my resources sufficient?

Yes NO

No/ Low stress High Stress

1.2 Causes of academic stress:

1.2.1 Academic Track: The students belonging to either Central and State board
schools, learn all the basic subjects i.e. mathematics, natural sciences (physics,
chemistry, biology), social sciences (history, geography, civics, economics), and
languages. The result of 10th grade is considered to be an important one as it helps
the students to decide their academic streams (science, commerce and arts) which
they pursue in 11th and 12th grade. Thus the exposure to new and difficult
concepts during the intermediate period exposes them to academic stress.

1.2.2 College Admissions: The students have a strong desire to get through the
renowned professional educational institutes as they provide career in variety of
fields such as such engineering, medicine, computer science, law, and recently,
other related fields. Hence getting admissions into these well known colleges poses
a lot of stress.
1.2.3 Students forced to change schools: The tracking and weeding out processes
described above likely contribute to greater levels of academic stress, because
there is the stress of adjusting to a new environment for those students who have to
change schools (in a state where most schools run from kindergarten through 12th
grade), and an especially demanding academic environment awaits those who stay
in the same school.

1.2.4 Board Exams: The board exams are conducted once a year for a period of
two weeks in the month of March. It is mandatory for the students to appear for
each subject examination for here hours and is required to answer the questions in
great detail. If a student does not earn passing marks in all the exams, the chances
of getting admission in good colleges become uncertain.

1.2.5 Entrance Exams: Entrance exams for getting admission in engineering,

medical and other such fields are held only once a year usually in May or June on
the scheduled date and time. These exams are conducted by a consortium of
institutions (such as theater, or the All India Engineering Entrance Examination),
or by individual institutions. Excellence in these exams provide career
opportunities to the students and therefore getting through these entrance exams
leads to great academic pressure on the students.

1.2.6 Tuitions and Coaching Classes: In order to score good marks in board or
any type of entrance exams the children join after school classes named tutorials.
The goal of most tutorials is for the students to score well in the board or entrance
exams and to gain admission to prestigious institutions. As a consequence students
are bound to devote extra time to attend coaching classes which further increase
the academic burden.
1.2.7 Social Comparison: It is a very common trend among the Indian parents to
compare their child’s academic ability with their own older children or with their
wards’ peers. Although the comparisons may begin in younger years, it intensifies
in the high school and college admission years. This issue causes anxiety among
the students to worry about their academic progress report. (Rao A. S., 2008).

1.2.8 Exam Stress: Exams are a source of tension, stress and anxiety for many
students as they are highly pressurized by their parents and teachers to perform
well in the exams. This situation of extreme anxiety often leads them to score less
and thereby have a negative impact on their academic performance.

1.2.9 Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE):The CCE system was

formulated by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal
(2010).This system adopts grading method for analyzing students’ overall
performances. The students are assigned grades on the basis of projects, curricular
and extra-curricular evaluations along with academics. Thus getting good grades
become a major task for the students throughout the academic year.

1.2.10 Teachers’ expectations: Teachers want work to be completed by the

specified deadline. The students have to work very hard to complete their
assignments, project work etc. as not being able to submit their work not time leads
to failure and thereby this stressful schedule causes a lot of academic pressure.
Even well-prepared students will experience stress, especially if they spend a lot of
time on assignments but do not receive the grade they expected.

1.2.11 Over scheduling: These days many parents are getting their children
enrolled into too many extra co-curricular activities such as drawing, painting,
music, dance etc. As the children progresses into higher classes it really becomes
difficult for them to manage their studies along with these activities. They are often
unable to shoulder the two tasks simultaneously and hence ending in failure.

1.2.12 Parents’ expectations: Parents expect their wards to come out with flying
colours ignoring the individual differences in the ability to perform well in
academics. Their high expectations from their children regarding high scores,
clearing competitive exams and being admitted to renowned institutions drives the
students towards academic strains. Tatar (1995) found that “parents’ choice for
high grades and desire to pursue higher education as major actual or potential
source of stress among their adolescents”.

Students not only go through academic stress but also other major stressors such as
environmental, personal and social stressors. Stressors that are found in students’
surroundings are called environmental stressors. Everyday life is full of
environmental stressors that cause minor irritations such as loud noise, extreme
temperatures etc. can lead to discomfort.

Personal stress can come from success and achievement as well as personal
setbacks and failures. Trauma such as an injury or illness, being assaulted or
robbed or minor violations of the law, personal loss, self-examination, anxiety,
depression and illness destroy peace of mind and affect relationships with oneself
and other people.

Social stress is the stress that seems from one’s relationship with others and from
the social environment in general such as conflicts within family, ragging, rivalry
among siblings and strained relationship etc. This can lead to emotional, behavioral
and physiological changes that can put one under greater risk for developing a
mental disorder and mental illness.
Most of the adolescents are unwilling to discuss their problems with their parents
and as a consequence they are overwhelmed with stress, are unable to cope and
finally they end up as failures. Stress causes emotional disturbance which in turn
affects the students’ general performance and disrupts their healthy relationships
with their parents. It also leads to lack of concentration and forgetfulness and
thereby the adolescents find it difficult to recollect what they have learnt and pen it
down on the examination sheets. This leads to depression and disorganized
behaviour, risky disorders, spells, anxiety attacks, tension, insomnia, nervousness
and muscle cramps and other chronic health problems.

Stress at higher intensities can raise blood pressure, suppress the immune system,
increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility and speed up the
aging process. If it is not properly managed it can lead to anxiety, withdrawal,
aggression, physical illness etc. Students having poor coping skills easily become
prone to drug and alcohol use. They begin spending their time in doing
unacceptable activities such as reading junk e-mails, answering personal phone
calls, text messaging etc. A student under stress may initially scoreless, but finally
it develops into failed projects and low grades, can also develop common
behavioral problems such as depression, deliberate self-harm, substance abuse,
suicidal attempts, alcohol addiction, personality disorders, anti-social behavior and
eating disorders. Ultimately it ruins student’s life and future. Hence it is necessary
to learn how to deal with it before it turns terrible.

1.3 Management of academic stress

Management of academic stress is a crucial task as it requires major contributions

of not only the students but also of their parents and counselors. Their respective
roles are discussed below:
1.3.1 Role of students

1.3.1.1 Set realistic goals: Students must analyze their own strengths and
weaknesses and accept these in a positive way and carry out their goals
accordingly as this will help them in having realistic approach towards their goals.

1.3.1.2 Manage academic work effectively: It is necessary for the students to plan
schedule for their everyday work as they have to complete a lot of course by the
end of their sessions. This planning and management will help them to reduce
stress and thereby complete work on the given time.

1.3.1.3 Positive thinking: Students must develop a positive attitude towards their
lives as this will help them to perform well in every field without much fear and
stress.

1.3.1.4 Attend classes regularly: Important tips, easy and short-cuts methods of
dealing with certain lessons, highlighting of the important points can be only learnt
by attending classes regularly. These tricks not only make the students learn
lessons easily but in turn help in reducing the burden of mugging up things.

1.3.1.5 Discussing problems: Students face many problems such as related to their
academics, personal and social lives, so it is highly important that they find out
solutions to these problems by discussing them with their parents, teachers or peers
friends.

1.3.1.6 Get help from peer tutor: In a class there may be some students who are
highly intelligent in certain subjects and possess the quality of explaining difficult
concepts and terms and thereby asking for help from such intellectual students can
prove to be beneficial.
1.3.1.7 Visualizations: Students must visualize themselves performing well in a
particular task which they find difficult to perform. This will surely help them to
release stress.

1.3.1.8 Sleep: Students usually sleep very late in night as they believe in
completing their task at the cost of their sleep and health. Proper sleep for at least
eight hours is very essential for being mentally and physically healthy.

1.3.1.9 Eat right: Having nutritious food is in itself a stress buster as it helps in
proper functioning of all the body organs including brain.

1.3.1.10 Exercise: Regular exercises like yoga, going for walk, breathing and
muscular exercises provide relaxation to the students.

1.3.1.11 Music: It helps the students to be in calm and relaxed state as it provides
relief from all the anxieties and troublesome events.

1.3.1.12 Take help of a counselor: In most of the schools there is a counseling

cell which is competent enough in dealing with the several academic, personal and
social issues of students’ lives. This means that whenever the student faces such
kind of problems which they feel that they unable to resolve through their own
efforts, so in such a situation they are free to approach counselors.

1.3.2 Role of parents

1.3.2.1 Being Supportive: Parents’ constant support and motivation not only help
their wards in achieving their goals but also prove to be vital source of reliving
stress throughout their academic career. Encouraging parents are always able to
help their children in facing challenges of their lives and thereby leading to a bright
academic career.
1.3.2.2 Realistic expectations: Parents should understand their children potentials
which include their strengths and weaknesses. This analysis will surly help parents
in deciding what they wish their children to be in the near future and will have
realistic expectations from their wards. On the other hand parents’ unrealistic
expectations will only lead to conflicts and uncertainty of academic career.

1.3.2.3 Healthy communication: It has been noticed a several of times that due to
the busy schedule the parents are hardly able to take out time for their children,
which in turn leads to the development of communication gap between the two of
them. Therefore, the parents must fix a certain time during the day or during the
weekends to spend a quality time with their children during which they will be able
to sort out many of their children problems and hence provide a sigh of relieve to
them.

1.3.2.4 Teaching relaxation strategies: Parents must encourage their children to

engage themselves in various relaxation activities such as yoga, meditation,
listening to music, exercises, etc. as these strategies will help children to remain
physically and mentally and fit.

1.3.2.5 Paying attention to the wards’ needs: Parents must pay attention towards
their wards’ eating and sleeping habits. They should make it a point to provide
healthy food to their children and should also forbid them to have junk food and
include fruits and vegetables in their diets. Parents must also see to it that their
wards sleep for at least eight hours daily.

1.3.2.6 Showing positive attitude: Parents should develop a positive attitude

towards their children by praising them even for their smallest achievement as this
appreciation will surly motivate their wards in excelling in difficult academic
phase of their lives.
1.3.2.7 Teaching children to overcome obstacles: Parents must train children to
tackle obstacles such as lack of fluency in language, health problems, financial
instability, family problems or unhealthy friendship. They should make sure that
their wards are aware of these major problems and deal with them effectively.

1.3.3 Role of counselors

High and intermediate school is the final transition into the world of work as
students begin separating from parents and exploring and defining their
independence. During this period adolescents face increase pressures regarding
academics as they face high-stakes testing, the challenges of college admissions,
the scholarship and financial aid application process and entrance into a
competitive job market. This is where the role of school counselors kicks in.

School counselors advise students regarding college majors, selection of subjects,

admission requirements, entrance exams, financial aid, trade or technical schools,
and apprenticeship programs. They help students develop job search skills, such as
resume writing and interviewing techniques. They also help students to understand
and deal with social, behavioral, and personal problems. These counselors
emphasize on preventive and developmental counseling to enhance students'
personal, social, and academic growth and to provide students with the life skills
needed to deal with problems before they worsen.

1.4 Parents’ involvement and their academic stress

“Parent involvement is the participation of parents in every facet of children’s

education and development from birth to adulthood, recognizing that parents are
the primary influence in children’s lives”. (PTA, Connecticut, 2008). There are
three major areas that are crucial to parent-adolescent relationship-connection,
monitoring and psychological autonomy. First a sense of connection between
teenager and parent provides a backdrop against which all other interaction takes
place. In addition to the sense of connection between parent and teenager, the
monitoring process is crucial to successful parenting. Finally, parents need to
encourage the development of psychological autonomy in their teenage children.
The combination of connection, monitoring and psychological autonomy may
sound simple, but the simplicity of the directions can be frustrating to navigators
when they are lost.

Parent involvement also refers to several different forms of participation in

learning process and related school activities. Parents can help their children by
attending school programs and active involvement in the organizations like the
Parents Teachers Association (PTA). It helps their children to improve their
learning, develop study habits, etc.

1.4.1 Factors affecting parental involvement

There are several factors that affect the frequency and way in which parents
become involved in their child’s education at home and at school and collaborate
with schools.

1.4.1 Child characteristics and development: Child characteristics can influence

the magnitude and nature of parent involvement. During the time of adolescence,
often both the parents and the school personnel are unable to understand the
adolescents’ desire for independency which acts as a developmental barrier to
family involvement. High school students still want their families involved and
believe that they can do better at school when they know that their families are
interested in their schoolwork and expect them to succeed, thus challenging the
prevalent view that adolescents do not want their parents involved at all.
1.4.2 Beliefs and expectations: A positive, welcoming school climate, and
consistent invitations to parents with ways to become involved in their children’s
education at home and school, positively predisposes parents about the school’s
efforts. Parents’ positive perception highly influences their children’s perception of
school, which, in turn, positively contributes to students’ academic, social, and
emotional learning. Parent and teacher expectations regarding the academic, social,
and emotional development of children have been shown to be among the best
predictors of school success.

1.4.3 Time and life demands: Time seems to be a major barrier impeding parents
from participating in school activities or assisting their children with schoolwork at
home. With the increasing number of working parents, it really becomes a tough
task for them to help their children in their homework, spend time talking with
them regarding their daily hassles and show any active participation in their school
activities.

1.4.4 Child care responsibilities: It influences the parents’ capacity to participate

in their child’s education. Many families do not have child care resources or a live-
in caregiver. This imposes a big obstacle for their participation in school activities.
Alternative child care and after-school programs offered by community
organizations can offer parents a helping hand so they can attend school events.

1.4.5 Lack of Knowledge: Parents have a strong desire to know what their
children are learning in the school and how are they performing in day today class
activities. Parents believe that these information should be given to them on the
daily basis by the school as they think that they would be able to become an active
parent only if they had the information regarding their child’s progress.
1.4.6 The school environment: Children may experience adverse conditions in a
variety of settings such as poverty and lack of resources in the family, school, or
the community. In addition, parents of such children often have limited education
themselves and negative personal experiences with the educational system lead
them to mistrust and often fear the school environment. Such perceptions pose a
serious obstacle in parent involvement and may influence the children’s attitudes
and their school performance adversely.

In the contemporary society overall academic pressure is increasing on the children

and vice-versa it is affecting their parents thereby leading them to face academic
stress. Parental academic stress is the stress faced by the parents regarding the
academic orientations of their wards. This includes anxiety related to the academic
performance, study related problems, overburden of studies, unable to follow
proper study schedule, school adjustment problems, line of education and career of
their wards. The parents also worry about the CCE pattern and other teaching
methods and administrative polices used in the schools. Therefore, it has become a
common practice and need of society due to an increase in the quality of education
as well as rise in the competition level there is tremendous pressure on the parents
that they should opt a proper institution which they feel is competent enough in
dealing with education and career problems related of their wards.

1.5 Need and craze of coaching centers

Coaching was an unheard phenomenon and was generally considered for those
who were weak in their studies. But now days it is a very common practice
undertaken by the majority of students belonging to different classes. It is
aggressively promoted by the teachers and to some extent by the parents also. But
does coaching really help in scoring good marks in school or in competitive
examinations? Is it advisable for the school students to opt for coaching centers?
When is the right time to join coaching institute? Does it take away time of self-
study and make student dependent on coaching center? Or does it give students’
career the right boost and direction?

These are some of the questions which every student and their parents face. The
craze for coaching has let to opening of coaching centers in every by lane selling
dreams of guaranteed success. Many experts believe that education is a natural
process of learning. For the regular and attentive students coaching is not really
required till class twelfth.

However for professional courses like entrance examinations of CPMT and IIT
professional guidance is required in today’s competitive world. According to Singh
(2005), “Educational experts unanimously agree that the present structure of board
and competitive examination needs to be replaced with a system friendly to
students”. The students have no background and idea of the examination
which they are appearing and this causes a lot stress. Blaine (1963), “Stress can be
particularly acute for students because of their stage of development. It has also
been found that adolescents are more vulnerable to stress than adults and younger
children. Ordinary stresses can be monumental at this stage of development”.

Hence, adolescents need proper study material and guidelines on the important
topics, exam patterns, and short-cut methods of solving numerical and analytical
questions. It is here when the coaching centers play an important role in helping
students. They plan each topic methodically and time schedules to complete the
modules. The students feel that the coaching teachers know what important and
less important topics are.
1.5.1 Motivating factors for parents and their wards in coaching selection
Firstly, parents cannot help their children in completing their homework due to
lack of time and their own limitations such as limited educational qualification and
tiresome schedule. Secondly, crowd mentality: both the parents and their wards are
easily influenced by their neighbors, friends and classmates so the students feel
that getting admitted to a particular coaching institute can easily help them out in a
better way. Thirdly, coaching centers focus on practice problems, provide study
materials and guidelines on important topics, teach short-cut methods, solving of
guess questions and conducts mock examinations that assist children in becoming
expert in the already selected streams. Fourthly, tutorials conduct tests on regular
basis which help students in preparing their course in a systematic manner. Fifthly,
coaching teachers also prepare students for competitive examinations which help
them in clearing entrance exams such as IIT and CPMT. Lastly, colourful ads and
souvenirs published by the coaching centers depicting the statistics of their success
compared to other coaching centers also drives the parents to get their children
admitted into the best coaching center to be ahead of other students.

There are other factors that need to be taken into consideration before selecting a
coaching center. The quality, experience and expertise of the teachers should be
the top priority. The standard of coaching can best be analyzed by the success rate
and academic performance of the students studying there.

1.5.2 Advantages and disadvantages

The some of the advantages of the coaching centers are as follows:

 Coaching classes use different methods of learning apart from those utilized in
the classroom. This includes short cut methods, important tips and alternative
 approaches which helps the child to complete the task effectively within limited
period of time.

 Coaching classes caters to the needs of the students which mean that it brushes
their abilities and skills thereby making them highly effective and competent in
undertaking the various study tasks.

 Coaching classes can be provided specifically for certain entrance exams. This
gives child a head start in the admissions process, placing them above
candidates that have not had coaching classes. Therefore they are more likely to
gain a place.

On the other hand, coaching classes do have a number of disadvantages:

 They are, in most cases, unsubsidized and very expensive.

 They can pile pressure onto child, who is likely to already feel nervous about
upcoming exams. Child may worry that even after the coaching classes they
might not pass, which will leave them feeling stupid and unmotivated to learn.

 Coaching classes could artificially boost child's performance. This may not be
in their best interest as they could be placed in a school not suited to their
abilities.

1.6 Need of guidance and counseling: Young people frequently report a range of
problems such as perfectionism, in competitiveness, unrealistic appraisal of their
gifts, rejection from peers, confusion due to mixed messages about their talents and
parental and social pressures to achieve, as well as problems with unchallenging
school problems or increased expectations. Some encounter difficulties in finding a
course of study and eventually a career. The developmental issues that all
adolescents encounter are further complicated by special needs. Issues related to
their career are asked frequently. They want to know their capabilities, intelligence
and interests. Once the counselors are aware of these obstacles, they seem better in
understanding and supporting adolescents.

The educational consultants focuses on the developmental stages of students’

growth including the needs tasks and the interest of the students related to those
stages. They mainly attend to the needs of the students and take care that these
needs are met in three basic domains i.e. academic development, career
development and personal and social development. They provide large group
guidance units and lessons on post-secondary For e.g. helps students prepare for
post-secondary education and / or training options (e.g. college trade, school trade)
by engaging students in finding accurate and meaningful information on entrance
requirements, financial aid, recommendation letters, test-preparation and so forth.

Counselors spend much of their time helping students monitor their progress
toward graduation and being adequately prepared for post-secondary options. They
help students make decisions that affect their personal and academic development
by identifying, collecting and providing appropriate information about the students
and help to make informed decisions about careers and other major issues. They
work with students to address confidence self-assurance, self-worth and positive
attitudes. They assist students to increase their decision making skills and their
ability to generalize problem-solving skills to multiple challenges. They also assist
them in improving the interview skills, admission assurance, career guidance and a
lot more. One of the most important roles that these career consultants and
guidance cells perform is to help students with all the pre-admission / post-
admission procedures so that they can concentrate on their career without having to
worry about the future.
Counseling not only solves the current problems of the students but also of their
parents whenever they are in need. It helps parents in solving academic, career
related problems of their adolescents and enhancing their own parenting skills.
Parents learn various tips to provide constant support and motivation which helps
the students to face the challenges in their lives. They are also taught how to deal
with their children during the struggling period, how to become friendly and give
attention when they face many hassles. Counseling also helps parents in making
right decisions, proper selection of schools, coaching institutes and other
professional courses for their stressed adolescents who are in great need of help so
as to overcome their current problems and also to eliminate their future problems.

1.7 Justification

“Academic stress is a significant source of stress for many students (Hashim,2003),

covering not only examinations but also other academically related stressors such
as fear of lagging behind in homework, writing assignments, working on individual
group projects, time pressure, lack of financial support, concern about academic
ability, scheduling classes and required motivation to study (Tyrrel,1992).“For
many students, the pursuit of high and intermediate schooling is marked by a set of
academic demands. If the student is unable to meet these demands, then serious
social – emotional health consequences may result.” (Scott, 2008).

“At this point of time parent academic involvement is often operationalized as

volunteering at school, parent and teacher contact or communication involvement
in academic related activities at home, and quality of parent child relationships. For
high and intermediate school students’ discussion among parents, teachers, school
administrators discussing schooling and future plans with adolescents have the
strongest relations with academic outcomes”. (Hill Taylor, 2004; Epstein and
Sanders, 2002; Yonezawa, 2000). It is essential to focus on parent academic
involvement as it may improve school performance by reducing stress and
behavioral problems that may influence with learning. It also helps parents to
establish healthy relationships with their wards which further increase their
abilities to shape their adolescents’ attitude toward themselves and others.

In the present context, on one hand some parents wish their children to have bright
careers which means attaining good positions with high packages and thereby
leading to a smooth going life with luxurious life style in future and for fulfilling
this dream they want their children to beat tough competitive exams which
provides an opportunity to get admission in famous learning institutes which in
turn ensures full placements in well-known firms and companies of private sector
with high salaries. These ongoing thoughts in the parents’ minds triggers tension
regarding their children academic careers as they do not want to take any risk and
only wish their children to become independent without too much struggle. On the
other hand some parents possess limited knowledge about upcoming courses,
scope of different subjects, new avenues and other career opportunities which
prove to be the prominent source of academic stress for their wards as they are
only aware about the scope of a few subjects. These conflicting thoughts cause the
parents to easily find themselves in a state of dilemma of how to help their
adolescents in becoming successful person in every academic phase. Therefore
they are attracted by colorful and attractive advertisements of coaching centers
promising wonderful career within a certain period of time. The parents are also
highly impressed by the yearly academic record of renowned coaching centers and
are thereby keen to admit their adolescents in these learning centers. Parents also
face problems in selecting appropriate coaching centers and may make a wrong
choice. The students joining coaching/ tuition centers work hard to accomplish
their school and coaching assignments. Are students overburdened by their
studies? But still coaching centers are mushrooming all over the cities, big or small
and also highlighting the growing trend of students opting for tuition classes apart
from the regular curriculum.

Thereby these parents need help of guidance and counseling professionals to find
answers to their various questions such as Does coaching really help in scoring
good marks in school or competitive examinations? Is it advisable for the school
students to opt for coaching? At which standard children should join coaching?
Does it take away time of self-study and make student dependent on coaching
centers? Or does it give adolescents’ career the right boost and direction? How to
be a competent parent? And to what extent parental academic involvement is
essential?

Hence the researcher opted this study to find out better solutions, provide guidance
and plan strategies for parents and children in order to help them cope with
academic stress. In this way the above discussion clarifies itself that there is great
need to study the topic which includes all the above mentioned aspects i.e.
“Academic Stress among Adolescents and Parents: Guidance Needs”.

1.8 Statement of the problem

The statement of the problem is “Academic Stress among Adolescents and

Parents: Guidance Needs”.

1.9 Objectives:

1. To assess the extent and prevalence of academic stress among adolescents

2. To find out the association between demographic variables (class wise, stream
wise, gender wise etc. ) and level of stress among students
3. To examine the level of academic pressure on parents and their overall
academic involvement
4. To find out the relationship between stress levels of parents and adolescents
5. To analyze the need of guidance felt by the parents

1.10 Operational definitions

1.10.1 Adolescents’ Academic stress: Adolescents’ Academic stress refers to the

experience of distress in all spheres of life specifically with the areas related to
academics which causes them to feel overwhelmed, their life become out of control
with too much pressure, fear, panic and concern about how terrible they are feeling
due to exposure to the new educational concepts, adjusting to new social setting,
studying for exams, work overload, the amount of material to learn and the need to
do well, respectively.

1.10.2 Parental Academic Stress: Parental academic stress refers to all those
tensions, anxieties and worries which the parents have related to their wards’
academic performances, school adjustments, selection of streams, career, daily
study schedule and teaching methods used in the schools.

1.10.3 Parental guidance need: It refers to the professional assistance needed by

the adolescents’ parents in order to enhance their own parenting skills, reduce their
academic stress and solve various academic related issues of their wards such as
proper selection of schools, streams, upcoming courses, coaching centers and ways
to reduce stress etc.
1.11 Other definitions

1.11.1 Parental involvement: Parental involvement is the participation of parents

in every facet of children’s education and development from birth to adulthood,
recognizing that parents are the primary influence in children’s lives.

1.11.2 Coaching Institutes/Centers: Coaching institutes refers to those centers

where a group of students are taught specific subjects by the coaching teachers.
These academic classes are run by the coaching teams which have their own
schedule regarding the days and timings and they also charge a lum sum amount
ensuring an academic future to both the students and parents.

1.12 Delimitation

The study was delimited to X, XI and XII standard students of selected seven
schools of Lucknow (U.P.) affiliated to either ICSE/ISC, CBSE and UP boards.