LEVEL OF STRESS DURING TEACHING PRACTICE : AN

INVESTIGATION OF TRAINEE TEACHERS AT THE INSTITUTE OF

TEACHER EDUCATION ILMU KHAS CAMPUS

Syed Ismail Syed Mustapa, PhD

Head of Department
Department of Research and Innovation of Teaching Professionalism, IPG KIK
syed_Ismail@ipgkik.edu.my

Lye Guet Poh

English Language Studies Department, IPG KIK
guet_poh@ipgkik.edu.my

ABSTRAK

Kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk meninjau tahap stres siswa pendidik Institut Pendidikan Guru
Kampus Ilmu Khas, Kuala Lumpur semasa mereka menjalani praktikum Fasa III, 2015. Kajian ini telah
ditadbir ke atas 93 orang siswa pendidik Ambilan Januari 2012 yang mengikuti program pengkhususan
Pendidikan Khas Masalah Pendengaran, Pendidikan Khas Masalah Penglihatan, Pendidikan Muzik dan
Bahasa Inggeris. Kajian ini dijalankan dengan menggunakan pendekatan mixed method dengan data
kuantitatif melalui instrumen soal selidik sebagai rujukan utama manakala data kualitatif digunakan untuk
menyokong dapatan kajian. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa tahap stres siswa pendidik IPG
Kampus Ilmu Khas semasa mereka menjalani Praktikum Fasa III pada tahun 2015 berada pada tahap
sederhana tinggi dengan catatan min 3.02 (sp=.90). Kajian juga mendapati kesemua bidang
pengkhususan mencatatkan stres pada tahap sederhana tinggi iaitu dengan min antara 2.66 hingga
3.56. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa aspek perancangan pengajaran merupakan stres tertinggi
kepada siswa pendidik IPG Kampus Ilmu Khas dengan catatan min 3.31 (sp=.99). Seterusnya dapatan
kajian menunjukkan juga bahawa antara faktor lain yang menjadi penyumbang kepada stres dalam
kalangan siswa pendidik semasa mereka menjalani praktikum adalah dalam aspek pengurusan bilik
darjah dan tingkah laku murid serta kehadiran pensyarah penyelia atau guru pembimbing ke dalam kelas
semasa mereka sedang mengajar. Sehubungan dengan itu siswa pendidik sendiri perlulah mengatasi
stres dengan memberi fokus kepada item yang terdapat dalam aspek kajian ini. Sementara itu semua
pihak yang terlibat dalam program praktikum perlu berusaha untuk mengurangkan stres dalam kalangan
siswa pendidik semasa mereka menjalani praktikum.

Kata Kunci : Stres, Praktikum, Bimbingan Praktikum

1
 ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to determine the level of stress among student teachers of Institute of Teacher
Education Ilmu Khas Campus, Kuala Lumpur during their Phase III Practicum in 2015. The study was
administered to 93 Semester 7, 2012 January intake student teachers from Special Education
Department (Hearing impaired and visually impaired), Music Department and English Studies
Department. The study was conducted using a mixed method approach with quantitative data collection
through questionnaires as the main reference, and qualitative data was used to support the findings. The
overall results showed that the level of stress among student teachers from the Institute of Teacher
Education Ilmu Khas Campus is moderately high, with a mean of 3.02 (sd=0.9) during their teaching
practice Phase III in 2015. The results also showed a moderately high level of stress, with a mean of 2.66
to 3.56 for all the student teachers from all the three departments. Lesson planning was found to be the
major cause for the highest stress for the student teachers, with a mean of 3.31 (sd=0.99). Furthermore,
this study also revealed some other factors that contributed the stress among student teachers during
their teaching practice. They are classroom management, handling of pupils’ behavior and the presence
of supervisors or cooperating teachers in their classrooms while they are teaching. In relation to that, the
student teachers need to overcome the stress by focusing on the proposed constructs in this study. All
stakeholders involved should strive to reduce stress among student teachers during their teaching
practice.

Key Words: Stress, Practicum, Practicum guidance

2
Introduction

The teaching profession is a challenging profession and is verified through the demand
on teachers’ persistence and physical and mental strength. It also involves the upholding of a
good representation of a teacher image. According to Sufean Hussin (2004), the success in the
teaching profession is closely related to the ability and the tenacious efforts of teachers to
fulfill the responsibility towards the stakeholders such as the students, school and community.
In fact, the teachers have the capacity to face challenges and ability to solve the day-to-
day problems in the classroom. Some teachers successfully overcome such challenges
effectively, however, some teachers fail to do so. Hence, tension and stress arises within
themselves. According to Fontana and Abouserie (1993) stress is something that is
commonly found in professional services that concerns human beings. The teaching
profession is definitely one of the top most profession which deals with human beings,
specifically with pupils in schools. Therefore, stress is undoubtedly one main element that is in
existence in the teaching professsion. Since the teacher faces many pupils each and everyday,
there is a high tendency of experiencing stress.

The teaching profession was perceived as an easy job because teachers work only half
day and they have long holidays. Apparently, some people think that the teaching profession is
an easy job and is readily available. However, Savoy (1990) found that the level of stress
among teachers is very high and this proved that the teaching profession is a stressful
profession as compared with other professions. Stress is subjective and the effect is dangerous.
Mohd Nor Jaafar and Ismail Mat Ludin (2007), state that stress can lead to psychosomatic
disease. Suppressed and prolonged stress may cause mental disturbances and lead to
psychological problems. This may ultimately lead to severe malfunction of the mind.

Teaching practice is an important component of pre-service teacher training curriculum

and is guided by the aspirations and goals of the National Education Philosophy and Philosophy
of Teacher Education. The Teaching Practice allows the students to experience the actual
situation of the classroom as a teacher. During the teaching practice, the student teachers are
required to comply with the norm in schools and carry out non-teaching duties other than
teaching in the classroom. Additionally, the student teacher are also required to apply the
educational theories they have learned at the Institute of Teacher Education (ITE) into their
teaching practices. This would strengthen the student teachers' capability and confidence to
become competent and quality teacher in future.

However, student teachers undergoing teaching practice experience stress which were
caused by various factors. Firstly, the student teachers need to adapt to a new school
environment that is quite different from the environment in the Institute of Teacher Education.
They had to learn to face new problems in schools. The new environment, responsibilities, daily
routines and new social environment can cause stress among the students. In addition, demand
and the necessities of life, curriculum requirements, financial difficulties and personal problems
can increase the level of stress among student teachers during teaching practice. They become
more depressed when they are not able to handle the situation, and this will affect them
mentally and physically.

3
Literature Review

Teaching Practice is compulsory for all students pursuing their Bachelor degree at the
Institute of Teacher Education (ITE), as stipulated by the Ministry of Education (MOE) of
Malaysia. In relation to that, the ITE take on a mission to adopt a system to ensure the
production of world-class teachers who are always competent in fulfilling the aspirations of the
Ministry of Education (MOE) of Malaysia. In order to achieve this mission, the ITE has planned
and implemented various pre-service courses. The three main focus are the curriculum, co-
curricular and teaching practice (Teacher Education Division, 2005). The teaching practice is
one of the most important component of teacher training and must be undertaken by all student
teachers. Every student teacher must undergo internship before they enter into the the field of
the teaching profession.

According to Jamaluddin et. al. (2006), teaching practice is a series of systematic practical
experience which is school-based with the goal of helping student teachers become
professional teachers. During the teaching practice, the student teachers are placed in schools
to practise the theories and their teaching skills acquired at the institute. These include the use
of resources and skills about instructional technology, the use of teaching methods, creating an
effective learning environment, and applying good classroom management. According to
Halimah (2006), through the teaching practice, the student teachers will be able to demonstrate
and practise the methodology for effective teaching and learning. Schaffner and Schiefele
(2007) supported that the teaching practice programme implemented has great potential and
many positive features for teacher training. One of the main feature is that the teaching practice
provided good opportunity for students to experience and learn about the world of educators in
general.

Student teachers from the Bachelor of Education (PISMP) in ITE are required to undergo
practicum phase III for twelve weeks in the school. When they are in schools, the student
teachers experience a different lifestyle and routine as compared to college. They need to play
the role of teachers in accordance to the demand of the school and the institute. They need to
keep up with the expectation of their supervisors and cooperating teachers to do their level
best, as well as the clerical work. In this new context of life at school, s t u d e n t teachers are
also expected to change their attitude, style and routine, and to adopt and adapt to the
culture of the school, especially when they interact with the principal, teachers and pupils. The
condition that the student teachers experience at school i s indeed a real challenge which
will test their strength, persistence, patience, effort and endurance power as student
teachers. These challenges may constitute great problem and affect them emotionally, and
would cause the student teachers to be demotivated, and adopt the negative attitude during
their teaching practice. According to Cohn (1981), student teachers’ role changes during the
teaching practice since they are accountable for two institutions, namely the ITE and the
school they were posted to. Both educational institution have different goals and objectives
and at times, can be contradictory and the student teachers may encounter difficulty.

4
 ITE aims to provide practical training and focussed on the professional development of
the student teachers, on the other hand, the schools’ goals is to educate children. Hence, the
student teachers need to learn to cater to both the demands in order to achieve the aims in
accordance to the goals of the institutions. Therefore, it is not surprising that student teachers
are often inflicted with anxiety, restlessness and tension during teaching practice.

A research conducted by Sayoy (1990) at a higher education center at United Kingdom

found that all reasearch subjects feel stressed when supervised by their supervisors.
78.0 percent stated that they were worried and they worry even before facing their pupils,
while 47.0 percent found the presence of another teacher in their class a disturbance. The
research subjects were very stressed when preparing the lesson plan and teaching aids.
They spend approximately three to six hours to prepare the lesson plan each day and
therefore leave them with little or no time for social activities. According to Isaac Haron
(1985), the main problem faced by student teachers are related to class discipline. Other
than that, student teachers face financial problems and transportation to school. The financial
status worsen because student teachers are required to bear the extra cost incurred for
transport and cost of materials used for making teaching aids for their classes.

The current change and reformation of Education has made the job of a teacher
more challenging. The stress level of teachers in Malaysia has simultaneously increased as
the workload of teacher increases. Teachers are forced to handle the overwhelming workload
and greater responsibility which were considered unreasonable (The Star Malaysia, 19
August 2005). The claim that the teaching profession is the least stressful profession is not
true! Many researches has proven that the teaching profession is one of the highly stressed
profession. The heavy workload which is bestowed on teachers has become the main cause of
unsatisfactoriness and stress among teachers. According to Sufean Husein (2004) the
responsibilities and workload of teachers has been increasing. Teachers not only shoulder the
responsibility as a teacher, but also play the role of office clerk in handling students’ text
books, attending to the welfare of students, students’ discipline, class and society’s accounts,
curriculum and co-curricular activities etc. Students teachers doing their practicum are
required to the same too.

The research conducted by Azhar Muhammad and Shamsiah Abd (2002) on ‘Stress
Among Teachers of the Faculty of Education Universiti Teknologi Malaysia during practicum’ was to
determine the cause of stress among 269 Year 3 and Year 4 student teachers from 14
programmes in the department. This research aims to determine the factors involved which
cause stress and how the student teachers overcome stress. The findings of the study shows
the existence of stress at a moderate level of mean 3.11. The main factor that caused the
stress is the financial aspect indicated by a mean of 3.77. Majority of the student teachers
were able to maintain a good level of stress through taking the workload on a positive
perspective, with a reading of mean 4.34.

Khairul Anwar Abu Bakar (2014) found that most of the student teachers undergoing
teaching practice encounter many problems. From his findings, the major problem is the
attitude of the student teachers. Most of them encounter difficulties in different aspects of
teaching. Other problems include decorating room to make it presentable, dealing with content

5
of subject matter, providing inclusive pedagogy and preparing teaching aids which can provide
guidance for pupils in the learning process. Furthermore, the student teachers revealed their
concern regarding the supervision during practicum. There were negative comments towards
how the practicum supervision were done. It was found that that the student teachers did show
dislike but rather they were not in favour of the way supervision was conducted.Generally, the
problems and obstacles encountered during their teaching practice influenced their attitude
toward the teaching practice.

The research conducted by Abdul Hakim Abdullah, et al. (2014) investigated the perception
of the Islamic Bachelor degree student teachers from University Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA),
Terengganu. The study explored different aspects such as student teachers’ attitude,
professional development, and some current issues in relation to teaching practice. All the
respondents of the study state that the practicum successfully instilled positive attitude and
increased their skills in the teaching profession. The study also showed that the subjects did not
face any problems throughout the practicum. It is recommended that UniSZA continue their
effort in training quality teachers for Islamic Education teachers and to share their expertise
with other teacher training colleges in order to cater to the present educational demands of the
country.

Mohd. Zolkifli Abd. Hamid et. al (2007) presented the preliminary findings of supervision
practices in the practicum conducted at Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
The study found that preparation of various aspects of knowledge and skills for teaching
practice is able to provide trainers with the need to deal with the challenges ahead.
However,the subjects expressed their initial anxiety that supervisors need to be more concerned
and sensitive towards these issues before teaching practice begins. The results of the study
also indicated that the greatest concern of the student teachers is that their supervisors could
help them identify weaknesses in their teaching, inform and suggest strategies and assist them
in solving problems and overcoming their weaknesses. They were apprehensive of the
assessment and awarding of marks by supervisors of a different option with the student
teachers.

There are many studies conducted on stress experienced by the in service teachers.
However, only a few studies were conducted on the level of stress faced by the student
teachers who have to meet the various demands as trained teachers. Therefore, an in-depth
and comprehensive study needs to be conducted on the student teachers who have undergone
teaching practice. Specifically, the study is to determine the stress level among student teachers
during their teaching practice in schools. The main focus of this research is to identify the level
of stress of student teachers from the Special Education Department, Music Department and
English Studies Department during their Phase 3 teaching practice in 2015. A study was
conducted to investigate the level of stress of student teachers for the seven elements which
encompassed personal management, lesson planning, implementation of teaching process,
attitude and personality, school management, supervision by supervisors and cooperating
teachers.

6
Purpose of the study

The aim of this study was to investigate the level of stress of student teachers of Institute of
Teacher Education Ilmu Khas campus during their teaching practice in 2015. This study aims to
answer the following questions:

1. What is the stress level of student teachers of Institute of Teacher Education

Ilmu Khas campus during their teaching practice in 2015?

2. Which component of the teaching practice contributes the highest stress for the
student teachers of Institute of Teacher Education Ilmu Khas campus during their
teaching practice in 2015?

3. What are the factors that contribute to the stress among student teachers at
Institute of Teacher Education Ilmu Khas campus during their teaching practice in
2015?

Research Methodology

In this study, a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative design was employed. The
researchers has selected this explanatory mixed method because quantitative data collection
methods as the main reference and qualitative data as additional data. This design was most
apppropriate to enable the researchers to determine the student teachers' stress level at
Institute of Teacher Education Ilmu Khas campus during their teaching practice. According to
Sidek (2000), descriptive study is most appropriate if researchers are interested to obtain a
systematic description of a population, especially in this study which aimed to investigate the
level of stress of student teachers when they undergo practicum. The study was administered to
the Semester 7, 2012 January intake student teachers from Special Education Department
(Hearing impaired and visually impaired), Music Department and English Studies Department.

Research Instrument

For this study, a questionnaire that was constructed by the researcher was used to obtain
data on the level of stress of the student teachers during their teaching practice. Some of the
research questions have also been used by the researchers in other studies related to studies in
teaching practice. The questionaire consists of Likert scale questions . The respondents circle
the numbers in the appropriate scale as stated in the following scale of 1 = Very Low; 2 = Low 3
= Poor 4 = High; and 5 = Very High. There are altogether 10 items for each of the seven
constructs of the study. Open ended questions were also given to obtain responses from
student teachers in order to find out the suggestions on supervision with supervisors and the
cooperating teachers, and also to find out the factors which that contributed to their stress
during the practicum for three months.

7
Validity and Reliability

The researchers tested the reliability of items involving perspectives( aspects) on teaching
and learning practices of the lecturers so that the item is appropriate for use by researchers and
tailored to the needs of the study. The researchers conducted a pilot study on the 3rd of August
2015 to test the reliability of the instrument. This instrument was answered by 30 students
teachers and it was found that the reliability of instruments was 0. 897. Hence the items in the
instrument were used for research purposes. After reviewing the questions, the researchers
found that the questionnaire indicated Cronbach's alpha 1.00 and hence this means that all of
these items can be used by researchers to measure each construct in this study.

Analysis of data for this study was carried out using the Statistical Packages for the
Social Science (SPSS) Versi 18.0. The data were analyzed descriptively, to obtain the
frequency and percentage in order to describe student teachers’ data. The mean of each item
in the constructs were analysed to review student teachers' perspectives on the level of stress
experienced during their teaching practice. Additionally, more data were collected through
interviews to obtain additional information on factors that contribute to stress among students
teachers. To assess (mentaksir) the mean score obtained, the researchers adopted the
categorisation of mean scores by Nor Akmar, Siti Aisyah & Norashikin (2008) to interpret mean
in this study as follows:

Table 1
Categorisation of the Level of Stress

No. Mean Level

1
1.00 to 2.33 LOW

MODERATELY
2
2.34 to 3.67 HIGH

3
3.68 to 5.00 HIGH
Source: Nor Akmar, Siti Aisyah & Norashikin (2008)

8
Findings

The data were analyzed descriptively to examine the number of samples involved in this
study. The components of the respondents of this study were plotted as shown in Table 2
below;

Table 2
Respondents of the Study

Gender Total
Department Male Female
N % N % N %
Special Education Department 4 4 .3 10 10.8 14 15.1
(Hearing Impaired)

Special Education Department 1 1.1 10 10.8 11 11.8

( Visually Impaired)

Music Education Department 6 6.5 14 15.1 20 21.5

English Language Studies Department 14 15.1 34 36.6 48 51.6

Total 25 26.9 68 73.2 93 100

With reference to Table 2, the overall number of student teachers involved in this study
comprises of more female student teachers than male student teachers. 73.2% (n=68) are
female student teachers, and only 26.9% (n=25) are male student teachers. The breakdown by
student teachers’ area of specialization showed that most of the respondents are from the
English Studies Department recording 51.6% (n=48) and the least number of respondents are
from the Special Education Department (Visually Impaired) recording only 11.8% (n=11). There
were 21.5% (n=20) of student teachers from the Music Department and 15.1% (n=14) from
Special Education Department (Hearing Impaired).

Further analysis of the data was conducted to answer the first research question, which
seeks to find the level of stress of the student teachers during their teaching practice. The table
is plotted in accordance to their area of specialisation as shown in Table 3. The findings were
presented quantitatively in the following table:

9
Table 3
Stress Level of Student Teachers (Area of Specialisation)

Stress Level
No. Area of Specialization mean sd

1 Special Education (Hearing Impaired) 2.66 1.03

2 Special Education ( Visually Impaired) 3.03 .89

3 Music Education 3.56 .98

4 English Language Studies 2.89 .75

Total 3.02 .90

Based on Table 3, the overall analysis showed that the stress level of student teachers at
IPG Kampus Ilmu Khas during their practicum in 2015 was at a moderately high level with a
mean of 3.02 (sd=.90). The analysis also showed that the stress level of all student teachers
from all three departments from the four area of specialisation recorded a moderately high level
of stress, from a mean of 2.66 hingga 3.56. Among the four groups of respondents from the
different area of specialisation, the Music Department student teachers recorded the highest
stress level of mean 3.56 (sd=.98), followed by Special Education Department (Visually
Impaired) with a mean of 3.03 (sd=.89). English Language Studies Department obtained a
reading of mean 2.89 (sd=.75) whereas the Special Education Department (Hearing Impaired)
recorded the lowest stress level with a mean of 2.66 (sd=1.03)

Furtheron, Research Question 2 inquire on which component of the teaching practice

contributed to the highest stress among the student teachers in IPG Kampus Ilmu Khas during
their teaching practice. In the attempt to answer this question, data analysis is summarized and
plotted in the Table 4 below;

Table 4

Stress Level of Student Teachers (Components of Teaching Practice)

Components of Area of Specialization

No. Teaching Practice Special Special Music English Total
Education Education Education Language
(Hearing (Visually Studies
Impaired)
Impaired)

10
 Area of Specialization
No. Components of
Teaching Practice
mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd
1 Self management 2.89 1.07 3.17 .78 3.58 .94 2.83 .81 3.0 4 . 90
2 Lesson Planning 3.03 1.06 3.13 .11 3.64 .98 3.30 .92 3.31 .99

3 Implementation of 2.80 1.00 3.08 .46 3.58 1.14 3.07 .91 3.14 1.01
Teaching
4 Attitude and 2.75 1.11 3.12 .89 3.59 1.12 3.12 1.01 3.17 1.06
Personality
5 School 2.35 1.28 3.00 .85 3.67 1.07 2.88 1.00 2.98 1.13
Administration
6 Lecturer Supervisor 2.47 1.24 3.06 .82 3.39 1.05 2.56 1.13 2.79 1.19

7 Cooperating 2.34 1.29 2.63 .67 3.50 1.23 2.47 1.04 2.69 1.20
Teacher
Total 2.66 1.03 3.03 .89 3.56 .98 2.89 .75 3.02 .91

Based on Table 4, the results showed that Lesson Planning contributed the highest stress
to student teachers of IPG Kampus Ilmu Khas during their practicum with a mean 3.31 (sd = .
99). Additionally, the analysis showed that the student teachers form Special Education
(Hearing impaired) undergo the highest level of stress when planning their lessons with a mean
3.03 (sd = 1.06) among the seven components of teaching practice. For the English Language
Studies Department too, student teachers find Lesson Planning component provided the
highest level of stress, with a mean of 3.30 (sd= .92). For the visually impaired student teachers,
their highest stress is self management with a mean 3.17 (sd = .78) whereas for the Music
Education Department student teachers, School Administration component contributed the
highest stress, which recorded a mean 3.67 (sd=1.07), the highest among the seven
components. Generally, the findings showed that all the four groups of student teachers from
different areas of specialization obtained moderately high level of stress at with a mean of 2.66
to 3.56.

In the attempt to answer research question 3, which is to find out the factors that
contributed to student teachers’ stress, the researchers analysed the student teachers’
responses to an open-ended question from the questionnaire. The findings are presented in
Table 5 below:

11
Table 5
Causes of Stress of Student Teachers

No. Area of Specialization Student Teachers’ Responses

1 Special Education - teacher-pupil communication

(Hearing Impaired) - knowledge and skills are not enough to handle the tasks
- lecturer supervisor makes students feel down
- stressed because of the lecturers
- assessment during phases 1 and 2 are different in
phase 3, confusing
- too many programmes in schools

2 Special Education - heavy workload

(Visually Impaired) - late allowances
- transportation to schools

3 Music Education - class control

- other assignments need to submit at the same time
- pupils who are not interested in learning
- pre planned lesson cannot be conducted, need to
resolve problems spontaneously
- lack of cooperation from senior teachers
- pressure from cooperating teachers to do better lesson
plans
- distracting environment
- classrooms are not conducive for learning
- traffic jams
- personal problems
- need to do preparation for Action Research
- attends meetings in the afternoon, no tike to prepare
lesson plans
- many activities and extra assignments at school
- too many relief classes
- unstable emotionally
- poor self –management skills
- personal problems and strained relation with peers

4 English Language - too many relief classes

Studies - streneous relationship with teachers in the school
- many other assignments with same due dates
- no allocation for buying materials for making

12
 No. Area of Specialization Student Teachers’ Responses

teaching aids
- need to attend long meetings and compulsory to attend
even though not directly involved
- classroom management
- time management and allocation of time for pupils
- given assignments by senior teachers
- need to keep up with Action Research assignment
- handle pupils who are not attentive in the classroom
- disorderly classroom

Discussion and Conclusion

Based on the findings, it is concluded that the level of stress of student teachers of ITE
Ilmu Khas Campus during their teaching practice in 2015 was moderately high. Generally, the
results showed that all the components of the teaching practice were found to be at the
moderately high level for all the student teachers from the three departments, ranging from a
mean of 2.66-3.56. Out of the teaching practice components, results showed that the Lesson
Planning component obtained the highest mean of 3.31 with a standard deviation of .99. (Table
4). Hence, it is highly recommended that all the supervisors and cooperating teachers provide
more guidance on lesson planning. Lesson Planning was found to be the cause for the highest
stress among the other components such as self-management, implementation of teaching,
attitude and personality, school administration, supervisors and cooperating teachers.

In the teaching and learning process, every student teacher should focus on all the
constructs of this study as proposed by the researchers. The supervisors and cooperating
teachers too were suggested to highlight these constructs which play an important role in the
teaching practice. Since the findings from the questionnaire indicated lesson planning as the
cause for the highest stress, effort on the part of the supervisors and cooperating need to be
focussed on planning effective lesson plans so that the student teachers’ stress can be reduced
through good preparation. It is highly recommended that lesson planning should encompass the
following constructs in order to reduce the stress experienced by the student teachers. Some of
the essential construct include employing strategies of teaching and learning which is catered
to pupils of different level of proficiency; designing teaching resources that motivate pupils of
diverse level of proficiency; planning the integration of appropriate moral values for the lessons;
planning appropriate time for teaching and learning activities; preparing and designing
interesting teaching and learning activities; and, conducting a good closure for each lessons
which is in accordance with the student's abilities. The Lesson Planning component of teaching
should be planned carefully because this seemed to be the key factor to the success or failure
of student teachers when they perform in a real classroom later. Furthermore, student teachers
need to ensure appropriate instructional strategies employed in the classroom correspond with
the the various levels of ability and multi intelligences of the the pupils.

13
 Additionally, the findings from the qualitative data showed that most student teachers also
experience a degree of stress in the presence of their supervisors or cooperating teachers
while they are teaching in the classroom. Therefore, every supervisor and copoperating
teachers need to provide assurance to the student teachers that their presence is to help them
identify their strengths and weaknesses in order to upgrade their pedagogical skills for further
improvement. They do not intend to find fault, but rather to provide guidance to enable student
teachers to acquire the appropriate skills for effective teaching.

Data collected from the open-ended question triangulated the qualitative data above. The
following are some of the responses from the student teachers ;

P1: Yes, it is difficult to prepare lesson plans. I have headache when what is planned did not
turn out to be what I wanted. My lecturer would not accept the explanation that I gave.

P2: Sometimes my cooperating teacher wants to enter my class every time I teach. I felt
stressed and annoyed. My every move is being watched.

P3: I don’t mind facing my students. That is normal. But I was quite stressed out when I hear
that my cooperating teacher or my supervisor wants to supervise me. Stressful indeed. I’m
afraid they will not tolerate the mistakes that I make in class later. Worried about the
marks!
Based on the overall findings of this study, the researchers suggest that student teachers,
supervisors and cooperating teachers are required to have profession discussion to help
upgrade student teachers' competency in teaching skills. All stakeholders must work together in
order to produce quality student teachers. The researcher strongly belief that stress can
controlled and prevented by employing the constructs proposed. Keeping in mind these useful
constructs too, will also be able to help student teachers to plan their lessons effectively.

From the interviews conducted with student teachers, the researchers concluded that the
supervisors and cooperating teachers are required to play the role of counselors. They should
not be too assertive and merely emphasize on the achievement of grade but provide guidance
and focus on student teachers’ weaknesses and strengths during the implementation of the
teaching. Finally, the researchers suggest that further study on all other components of the
teaching practice be done to determine an overall interpretation on the level of stress of
students teachers in the duration of their study at the Institute of Teacher Education (ITE). Such
information is much needed for ITE to design appropriate support to student teachers so that
they will not be stressed during the teaching practice. This may help to enhance the teaching
practice programme, in particular, and upgrade quality of education of our country in general.

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