Stress-Related Illnesses and High School Students’ Performance in Mathematics: Implication for Facing the Challenges of Global Competitiveness

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The impact of stress and stress-related illnesses on the mathematics performance of boarding high school students‟ has become critical. It is well known that for several years the performance of high school students‟ in mathematics has been poor. Several studies in Kenya that sought to address the worrisome issue failed to investigate how stress- related illnesses militated against students‟ mental concentration and problem-solving abilities with concomitant failure in the subject. Yet for students to live quality life or face the challenges in a growing innovative competitive world, mathematics‟ skills are indispensable. One research question and one hypothesis were postulated for the study. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant difference in mean performance score in mathematics for students who were suffering from stress-related illnesses and those who were well. One hundred (100) female students participated in the study. Independent sample t-test was used in comparing the average Mathematics marks between the Not Stressed and Stressed students using the two independent samples. Focus group discussion (FGD) was also used to establish students‟ feeling and opinion about mathematics and/or stress-related illness arising from boarding school environmental factors that affected their performance. Results of the study showed that students who were not suffering from stress-related illness performed better than those who were affected by stress related illnesses. The study has implications for students particularly those in boarding high schools, teachers and school heads. It will greatly assist parents, Ministry of Education officials in planning and making decision in order to improve performance in mathematics for future enhanced sustainability and innovation for global competitiveness.