INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL STRESS ON TUTOR PERFORMANCE IN TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN ARID AND SEMI-ARID COUNTIES IN KENYA
Keywords:
Physical Stress, Tutor Performance, TVET Institutions, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands, KenyaAbstract
Tutor performance is fundamental to instructional quality, learner competency development, and institutional effectiveness within Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions. However, tutors in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands counties face physical working conditions that may constrain their instructional effectiveness. This study examined the influence of physical stress on tutor performance in Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions in Mandera, Samburu, Marsabit, Tana River, and Wajir counties, Kenya. The study was underpinned by the Job Demand-Control-Support Model and adopted a positivist research philosophy and descriptive cross-sectional research design. The target population comprised 256 tutors from 10 Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions, and the study adopted a census approach. The study used a questionnaire with closed- and open-ended items for data collection, yielding 232 valid responses and a response rate of 90.63%. Physical stress had a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.821, while tutor performance had 0.874. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and bivariate linear regression at a 5% significance level. Physical stress had an overall mean of 3.51 (SD = 0.561), indicating that tutors frequently experienced stress related to their physical and institutional work environment. Pearson correlation established a significant negative relationship between physical stress and tutor performance (r = −.312, p < .001). Regression analysis showed that physical stress explained 9.7% of the variation in tutor performance (R² = .097) and exerted a significant negative effect on performance (B = −.298, β = −.312, t = −3.810, p < .001). The study concluded that unfavorable physical working conditions, institutional ambiguity, and inadequate instructional resources significantly undermine tutor performance. It recommended improved teaching infrastructure, adequate instructional resources, conducive working environments, clear institutional structures, and systematic management of tutors’ physical working conditions.
References
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2017). Job demands–resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 273–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000056
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2022). Job demands-resources theory in occupational health psychology: Current developments and future directions. Work & Stress, 36(1), 48–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2021.1956903
Choi, S., Kim, H., & Lee, J. (2022). Organizational culture and occupational stress responses among employees in educational institutions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14), 8452. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148452
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2022). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (6th ed.). Sage Publications.
Demerouti, E., & Peeters, M. C. W. (2021). Transmission of reduction-oriented crafting among colleagues: A diary study on the moderating role of working conditions. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 26(2), 89–104. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000267
Field, A. (2021). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics (6th ed.). Sage Publications.
Häusser, J. A., Mojzisch, A., Niesel, M., & Schulz-Hardt, S. (2022). Ten years on: A review of recent research on the Job Demand-Control-Support Model and psychological well-being. Work & Stress, 36(2), 95–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2021.1969473
Karasek, R. A. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(2), 285–308. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392498
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (2023). Economic survey 2023. KNBS.
Kothari, C. R., & Garg, G. (2021). Research methodology: Methods and techniques (4th ed.). New Age International Publishers.
Lavy, S., Bareli, Y., & Ein-Dor, T. (2021). Teacher stress and student outcomes: The role of relational skills and classroom climate. Teaching and Teacher Education, 99, 103255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103255
Makanjuola, V., Adewale, T., & Okoro, J. (2021). Occupational stress and job performance among academic staff in Nigerian tertiary institutions. International Journal of Education and Research, 9(5), 123–136.
Mwakisha, P., & Karanja, M. (2022). Occupational stress and tutor performance in TVET institutions in arid and semi-arid counties of Kenya. Kenya Journal of Educational Studies, 19(3), 215–229.
Mwangangi, F., & Mutiso, K. (2021). Organizational culture and occupational stress among TVET tutors in Kenya. International Journal of Educational Management, 25(5), 345–356.
Ngugi, J., & Mutisya, M. (2020). Occupational stress and teacher performance in technical and vocational education institutions in Kenya. International Journal of Education and Research, 8(6), 45–60.
Nixon, A. E., & MacLennan, J. (2021). Work stress and employee well-being in contemporary organizations. Occupational Medicine Review, 71(4), 221–234. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqab019
Odhiambo, G. (2021). Occupational stress and teacher performance in Kenyan secondary schools: Implications for policy and practice. African Journal of Education and Development Studies, 18(2), 112–125.
Pretorius, M., & Coetzee, M. (2022). Occupational stress, job satisfaction and turnover intentions among academics in South African universities. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 48(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v48i0.1913
Richardson, P. W., & Watt, H. M. G. (2021). Teacher workload, stress, and professional commitment in educational environments. Teaching and Teacher Education, 103, 103367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103367
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2023). Research methods for business students (9th ed.). Pearson Education.
Simiyu, J. (2022). Challenges of teaching and occupational stress in TVET institutions in Kenya. International Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 30(2), 112–126.
Taherdoost, H. (2022). Designing a questionnaire for a research paper: A comprehensive guide to design and develop an effective questionnaire. Asian Journal of Managerial Science, 11(1), 8–16. https://doi.org/10.51983/ajms-2022.11.1.3087
Taris, T. W., Ybema, J. F., & Van Beek, I. (2021). Burnout and engagement: Identifying and managing occupational stress. International Journal of Stress Management, 28(2), 123–138. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000218
Van der Heijden, B. I. J. M., Brown Mahoney, C., & Xu, Y. (2023). Organizational support and employee well-being in educational settings. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 34(1), 55–73. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21467
Wambua, N., & Njiru, P. (2022). Teacher stress and institutional performance in Kenya’s TVET institutions: A policy review. Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 14(1), 67–82.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Pheris Nkatha Njeru, Guyo Huka, Simon Kubaison
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
