<![CDATA[This study aims to investigate the responses of pre-service elementary school teachers toward academic stress arising from task intensity and task ease. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed, with sixth-semester students of the Islamic Elementary Teacher Education (PGMI) program at IAIN Sorong as purposively selected subjects. Data were collected through open-ended questionnaires distributed via Google Form and analyzed using thematic analysis involving three stages: data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The findings reveal that high task intensity with overlapping deadlines is the primary trigger of academic stress, negatively affecting students' sleep quality, learning motivation, concentration, and emotional well-being. Furthermore, tasks with clear and easily understood instructions were found to reduce academic pressure and enhance students' self-efficacy. Conversely, tasks with unclear instructions intensified anxiety and hindered academic performance. This study concludes that lecturers and educational institutions need to design proportional task loads with clear instructions to foster a healthier learning environment for pre-service elementary school teachers.]]>
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