The study investigated the causes of stress for adult learners in the Work and Study programme in Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. Specifically the study assessed the extent to which family expectations societal expectations, crowded classrooms, short period of study and lack of committed teachers cause stress for adult learners in the work and study programme. The population for this study consisted of all the adult learners in the Work and Study programme in the Faculty of Education numbering 630, while the sample size was 140. Five research questions guided the study. The instrument for data collection was a researcher made instrument named Adult Learners’ Stressors Assessment Scale (ALSAS) which is a four – point modified Likert scale with four clusters (A – D) and 25 items. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The findings of the study revealed that the adult learners in Ebonyi State University in the Work and Study programme are stressed by family expectations, societal expectations, and the shortness of the period under which they have to cover the whole work meant for their programme. To them, the teachers or the crowded classrooms do not constitute stress. Recommendations were also made for example that they should accept counselling for stress management strategies
Keywords: Adult Learners, Stress, Stressors, work and study
