An Association of Age, Education and Marital Status on Occupational Stress Among Principals of Private Schools in Kathmandu

Abstract

The paper discusses the relationship between occupational stress, age, education level, and marital status among the principals of the private schools in Kathmandu, Nepal. Principals are central figures in determining the quality of schools and student performance; nevertheless, they usually operate under great pressure because of administration, stakeholders, limited resources, and competitive school performance pressures. The quantitative descriptive design was used to gather data on 245 private school principals using a stratified random sampling method, that is, using structured questionnaires with validated scales to assess job demands, and job control on a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics found that 37.95% of principals had moderate occupational stress, and 42. 05 reported to have high levels of occupational stress. Mean scores revealed that job demands were high (M = 3.75), stress levels were high with regard to job control (M = 3.45). The correlation analysis revealed that there was statistically significant relationship between age, education and marital status and occupational stress with younger principals, those with lower education level and the unmarried principals recording high levels of stress. These results highlight the necessity of specific interventions, which can empower a better decision-making autonomy, build a better support network, and offer demographic-based capacity-building programs to risk groups. The findings are also in line with the Person Environment Fit which indicates that stress at work is more pronounced when the work requirements are combined with low decision latitude and lack of a good social support. The solutions to these would enhance the lives, job satisfaction, and performance of Kathmandu school leaders.