THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACADEMIC WORKLOAD AND STRESS LEVELS AMONG SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL TVL STUDENTS: A QUANTITATIVE CORRELATIONAL STUDY

Abstract. This study aimed to determine the relationships between academic workload and stress levels of the TVL track students in one of the senior high schools located in the El Salvador City Division. To achieve this, the researchers utilized quantitative correlational research design as a form of data collection and analysis. A total of 30 respondents were surveyed using a validated researcher-made Likert scale questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations as well as Spearman Rho correlation to determine whether to accept or reject the null hypothesis. Although there is a lot of literature available on academic stress, there are few literature that have differentiated homework and independent study as two different aspects of academic workload among TVL students in Senior High School. To fill this gap, the current paper investigated the correlation of these dimensions of workload with stress levels. The results have shown that academic workload (homework: M = 4.27; independent study: M = 4.25) and stress levels (M = 4.41) were highly rated. The rho Spearman showed a moderate positive correlation between homework and stress ( 0.39, 0.032) and a strong positive correlation between independent study and stress ( 0.58, 0.001), which were statistically significant. These findings indicate that a significant correlation exists between the academic workload and stress levels, and that there is a strong necessity to provide the well-organized workload control and institutional mental health care. Keywords. Academic workload, correlation, mean, spearman’s rho, standard deviation, stress levels, TVL Students