Relationship Between Teachers’ Emotional Support and Students’ Academic Stress at Secondary Level in District Karak

Abstract

Teachers’ emotional support may represent an important interpersonal resource for adolescents facing academic demands. This study examined the relationship between teachers’ emotional support and students’ academic stress among male students at the secondary level in District Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study used a quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive-correlational design. The target population comprised 7,506 male students enrolled in Grades 9 and 10 in government boys’ high schools, and 362 complete cases were included in the reported analysis. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire containing 25 items assessing teachers’ emotional support and 25 items assessing students’ academic stress, alongside demographic questions. Descriptive statistics and Pearson product–moment correlation were used for analysis. The reported results indicated a generally favourable perception of teachers’ emotional support (M = 3.51, SD = 0.48) and a moderate level of academic stress (M = 3.00, SD = 0.49). Examination stress and anxiety was the most salient academic-stress dimension. A statistically significant, moderate negative association was reported between teachers’ emotional support and students’ academic stress, r(360) = −.520, p < .001, with approximately 27% shared variance. Respect, fairness, and emotional safety showed particularly strong associations with overall academic stress. The findings suggest that emotionally supportive classroom relationships may be relevant to students’ experiences of academic pressure. However, because the study is cross-sectional and correlational—and because the supplied thesis identifies the reported dataset as simulated—the findings should not be interpreted as causal or as verified empirical evidence until the underlying field data are confirmed.