EFFECTIVENESS OF SELF-MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUE IN REDUCING TEST ANXIETY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of self-management technique in reducing test anxiety among secondary school students in Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State. Three research questions guided the study and three null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test group design. The sample for the study was 75 and purposive sampling technique was used in choosing two schools in the area of the study.

The instrument used for measuring of students’ test anxiety is Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) originally developed in 1980 by Spiel Berger but was further adapted in Nigeria by Oladimeji in 2005. Spiel Berger in 1980 obtained alpha internal consistency reliability co-efficient of 0.88. In Nigeria Oladimeji used Pearson product moment statistical technique to obtain a co-efficient of reliability of 0.79. Mean scores was used in answering the research questions and ANCOVA was used in testing the null hypotheses.

The findings of the study showed that self-management was effective in reducing test anxiety among students. Recommendations included that the use of self-management technique should commence in full force in secondary schools to reduce students’ test anxiety.