How do Student Leaders in a Teachers’ College Cope with Stress?

Abstract

As stress becomes disturbingly high among college students, it becomes one of the common problems that is brought about by their demanding schedules. This qualitative-descriptive research aims to describe how student leaders in a Teachers' College cope with stress. Eight (8) student leaders were identified using purposeful sampling. A duly-validated semi-structured interview guide was used to gather data through online-in depth interviews. Three (3) significant themes and thirteen (13) meaningful categories emerged after using a thematic approach to analyze the data, namely: (1) stressors (organizational, academic, mental, financial, and academic-related support); (2) effects of stress (emotional, physical, and academic); and, (4) coping strategies (emotional support, spiritual coping, goal setting, physical care, and recreational coping). As student leaders balance both academic and leadership roles, they have to skillfully manage stress through their effective coping strategies.