Academic anxiety of male and female secondary school

students in relation to their academic achievement

Mohammad Hasan
Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (U.P.) India
ABSTRACT
Academic anxiety has become one of the most debatable topics of present school education. Academic Achievement of students
is very much depending upon the level of academic anxiety. Present research study was carried out on a sample of 204 (Male &
Female) secondary school students. Sample was drawn from four Secondary Schools of Aligarh District, (U.P.)India by employing
purposive sampling technique. Analysis was done by calculating Mean, SD, Pearson Correlation (r) and t- test. A very comprehensive
interpretation was made in the light of previous studies. Findings of the study revealed that a negative significant correlation was
found between academic achievement and academic anxiety of secondary school students. Moreover, no significant difference
was found between academic achievements of high and low academic anxiety of male and female students. Further researches are
suggested for more generalised results.
Keywords: Academic anxiety, academic achievement, gender

Education is the panacea for all types of development.

The overall development of an individual can be realised
only through the proper provisions of education. It
gives the power of rational and scientific thinking to an
individual and makes him an enlightened personality.
Access this article online
Publisher

Website:
http://www.ndpublisher.in

DOI: 10.5958/2230-7311.2016.00014.3

Education is the only tool through which all ails of the

society and country can be eradicated. It also produces
good and responsible citizens who assist the growth
and development of the country. Among all the ladders
of education right from the kinder garden to university
level, the stage of secondary education is the most
important stage because it is the stage that provides very
solid and sound foundation for the further education.
But in the present day world due to academic anxiety
caused by school system, family environment, socioeconomic status, high expectations of society and so on,
has put the students in the dearth of serious anxiety and
thwarted students to perform best at their level.

Address for correspondence

Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (U.P.) India
E-mail: mohdhasanazmi@gmail.com

Submission: 16th January 2016

Accepted : 10th April 2016

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Hasan

Academic Anxiety
According to the Dictionary of Education, anxiety means,
apprehension, tension, or uneasiness characterised by
fear, dread, or uncertainty, the source of which is largely
unknown or unrecognised by individual; may consist
in persistent apprehensions of future events as well as
in generalised emotions reactions to any choice point
or decision (Good, 1973). It plays an important role in
human life because each and every person today is the
victim of anxiety in different ways.
In the present study, academic anxiety is that kind of
anxiety which is associated to the impending threat
and menace from the environment of the academic
institutions comprising of teacher, certain subjects like
Science, Mathematics, English and so on. Academic
anxiety is therefore a situation-specific form of anxiety
related to the educational contexts. Academic anxiety
encompasses not only test anxiety, but also anxiety
about certain educational subjects in general.For
instance, anxiety has been observed in students taking
maths, reading, science, and foreign language classes
(Cassady, 2010).Regarding the academic anxiety, experts
have general consensus that academic anxiety is not bad
for all times because without any sorts of anxiety most
of us would be devoid of motivation and purpose to
perform any activities of our daily life. Thus a moderate
level of anxiety is always welcome to motivate students
to study for exams and help them in better achievement.
On the other hand, a high level of anxiety hampered the
concentration power and affects the power of memory.
High level of anxiety has become the main obstacle to
the academic achievement of students.

Academic Achievement
Academic achievement concerns with achievement of
students. It plays key role in declaring the students
successful and unsuccessful. It also helps in selecting the
students for different courses and recruiting them for
various jobs. In general parlance, academic achievement
is the level of learning outcome in particular area of
subject in relation to knowledge, understanding, skill and
application which are usually evaluated by concerned
teachers in the form of test scores and examination.
C.V. Good (1973), defined academic achievement as,
32

knowledge attained or skills developed in the school

subjects, usually designated by test scores or by marks
assigned by teachers or both. It is also considered as
a key instrument through which student learns about
their talents and competencies which as recognised as
an essential part of developing career aspirations.
Academic achievement of students affected by several
factors and academic anxiety is one of them. The present
study is an attempt to reveal whether the performance
of high academic anxiety group of students is different
from students reporting low level of academic anxiety.
In the present study academic achievement is taken
as the performance of students after a course and is
calculated in terms of marks obtained by them.

Review of Literature
Bhansali and Trivedi (2008) indicated that there was a
significant difference between male and female students
on academic anxiety. Girls were found to have more
academic anxiety as compared to boys. Rezazadeh &
Tavakoli (2009) reported significant negative correlation
between test anxiety and academic achievement.
Pleg (2009) reported that academic achievement was
positively correlated with self-esteem and negatively
correlated with test anxiety. Ginger et al. (2010)
examined a practical programme to reduce test anxiety
impairment and improve academic performance.
Results indicated that adjusted HESI scores were seem
to be almost 64 points higher for the corresponding
treatment group versus controlling group. Onyeizugbo
(2010) investigated the extent of variability in academic
performance in relation to self efficacy and test anxiety.
Analysis revealed negative correlation between test
anxiety and academic performance. Robert et al. (2011)
revealed parental involvement was positively correlated
with mathematical achievement and math anxiety was
negatively correlated with mathematics achievement.
Jain (2012) found negligible negative correlation between
academic anxiety and academic achievement and no
significant difference was found between academic
anxiety and academic achievement of boys and girls.
Farooqui et al. (2012) reported that female medical
students revealed significantly higher test anxiety level
as compared to the male medical students. Sridevi

Educational Quest: An Int. J. of Education and Applied Social Sciences Vol 7 l Issue 1 l April 2016

Academic anxiety of male and female secondary school students in relation to their academic achievement

(2013) found a negative low correlation between general

anxiety and academic achievement. Parvez & Shakir
(2014) reported negative correlation between academic
anxiety and academic achievement of secondary school
students.
Apart from the above cited studies, large number
of studies (Luigi, et al. 2007; Hamza, 2007; Sena, et al.
2007; McCraty, 2007; Rana & Mahmood, 2007; Kumar
& Karimi, 2010) have reported that students having
higher level of anxiety have low academic achievement
and greater anxiety is related with poor academic
achievement. (Gaurdy, & Spielbergr, 1971; Hancock,
2001; Cassady Johnson, 2002; Jing, 2007; Pleg, 2009; Ali,
Awan,Batool, & Muhammad, 2013) have also resulted
with negative correlation between academic anxiety
and academic achievement.

Variables in the Present study

1.

Dependent Variable: Academic Achievement

4.

Independent Variables: (a) Academic Anxiety

and (b) Gender (Male & Female)

Objectives

Hypothesis
1.

There is no significant relationship between the

academic achievement and academic anxiety
of secondary school students.

2.

There is no significant difference in the academic

achievement of high and low academic anxiety
groups of secondary school students.

3.

There is no significant difference in the academic

achievement of high and low academic anxiety
groups of male secondary school students.

4.

There is no significant difference in the academic

achievement of high and low academic anxiety
groups of female secondary students.

5.

There is no significant difference in the academic

achievement of high academic anxiety groups
of male and female secondary school students.

6.

There is no significant difference in the

academic achievement of low academic anxiety
groups of male and female secondary school
students.

Methods and Materials

1.

Design: Present study comes under the

category of descriptive research and desired
data were collected through questionnaire.
Thus, survey design was used to carry out the
present study.
Population: Students of secondary school of
Aligarh District constitute the population of
the study.

1.

To find out the relationship between the

academic anxiety and academic achievement
of secondary school students.

2.

To find out the effect of high and low academic

anxiety on the academic achievement of
secondary school students

2.

3.

To find out the impact of high and low academic

anxiety on the academic achievement of male
secondary school students.

4.

To investigate the academic achievement of

high and low academic anxiety groups of
female secondary school students.

3. Sample: Sample comprised of 204 students

of secondary school students. The purposive
sampling technique was put in used to draw
the sample from 4 secondary school students
of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar
Pradesh, India.

5.

To find out the effect of high academic anxiety

on the academic achievement of male and
female secondary school students.

6.

To find out the impact of low academic anxiety

on the academic achievement of male and
female secondary school students.

4.

Research Tool Used: For the purpose of data

collection, a standardised research tool was
used by the researcher. Academic Anxiety
Scale for Children (AASC) by Dr. A.K. Singh
and Dr. Sen. Gupta (2009) having the reliability
and validity value of .65 & .57 respectively,
was used to assess the academic anxiety of
secondary school students.

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Hasan

Marks of previous class achieved by the

secondary school students were considered
as an index of their level of Academic
Achievement. Personal data Sheet, developed
by the researcher, was used to collect the
demographic information of the students.

5. Data collection: The researcher personally

visited the selected schools and administered
the Academic Anxiety Scale for Children on a
total number of 204 (Male & Female) secondary
school students. Full freedom was given to
the students to ask the meaning of difficult
words or sentences which were beyond their
understanding. Respondents were also given
enough time and freedom to fill the scale.
Finally,researcher collected the filled scales.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Table 1: Showing relationship between the academic achievement
and academic anxiety of secondary school students
Basis

No.

df

Correlation (r)
(Pearson Product)

Academic
achievement

204

202

- 0.231*

Academic anxiety

204

*At 0.05 level of significance

The above table shows the figure of (-0.23) as a significant

relationship between the academic achievement and
academic anxiety of secondary school students. Thus,
the null hypothesis is rejected. However, a significant
negative correlation has been confirmed between
the academic achievement and academic anxiety of
secondary school students. It means, as the academic
anxiety will increase so as the academic achievement will
decrease and vice versa. This finding is also consistent
withCassady Johnson, 2002; Jing, 2007; Pleg, 2009; Ali,
Awan, Batool, & Muhammad, 2013; Parvez & Shakir
(2014); Jain (2012) also reported significant negative
correlation between the academic anxiety academic
achievements of boys and girls.

34

Table 2: Showing Difference in the academic achievement of high

and low anxiety groups of secondary school students
Basis
No.
Academic achievement 123
of high academic
anxiety group of
students
Academic achievement 81
of low academic
anxiety group of
students

Mean SD
366.43 80.49

df

t- value

202

0.35

405.12 75.31

At 0.05 significance level

A close observation of table 2 shows thet value as

0.23 that is not statistically significant at 0.05 level of
significance. Thus, the null hypothesis is accepted. This
means no significant difference was found between the
academic achievement of high academic anxiety group
of students and academic achievement of low academic
anxiety group students of secondary school students.
This infers that the both groups of anxiety level have no
difference in their academic achievements.
Table 3: Showing difference in the academic achievement of
high and low academic anxiety groups of male secondary school
students
Basis

No. Mean

Academic
achievement of high
academic anxiety
group male of
students
Academic
achievement of low
academic anxiety
group of male
students

55

51

SD

df

t- value

104

1.30

257.30 80.71

405.23 79.62

At 0.05 significance level

A close view of table 3 reflects thet value as 1.30 which

is notstatistically significant at 0.05 level of significance.
Thus, the null hypothesis is accepted. It means, both,
the academic achievement of high and low anxiety
group of male students have no significant difference
in their academic achievement level as per the levels of
academic anxiety.

Educational Quest: An Int. J. of Education and Applied Social Sciences Vol 7 l Issue 1 l April 2016

Academic anxiety of male and female secondary school students in relation to their academic achievement

Table 4: Showing difference in the academic achievement of high

and low academic anxiety groups of female secondary school
students
Basis

No.

Academic
achievement of high
academic anxiety
group of female
students
Academic
achievement of low
academic anxiety
group of female
students

68

Mean

SD

df

t- value

373.80 80.02
97

0.27

Basis

No. Mean

Academic achievement
of low academic anxiety
group of male students
Academic achievement
of low academic anxiety
group of female students

SD

df t- value

51 405.23 79.62
31 404.93 68.19

80

2.65*

*At 0.05 significance level

31

404.93 68.19

At 0.05 significance level

A close examination of table 4 gives thet value as 0.27

which is not statistically significant at 0.05 level of
significance. Thus, the null hypothesis is again accepted.
Therefore, it can be inferred that academic achievement
of high and low level of academic anxiety of female
students has no difference in terms of their academic
achievement.
Table 5: Showing difference in the academic achievement of high
academic anxiety groups of male and female secondary school
students
Basis

Table 6: Showing difference in the academic achievement of low

academic anxiety groups of male and female secondary school
students

No.

Academic achievement
of high academic anxiety
55
group of male students
Academic achievement
of high academic anxiety
68
group of female students

Mean

257.30

SD

df

Findings of the Study

1.

A significant negative correlation was found

between the academic anxiety and academic
achievement of secondary school students.

2.

No significant difference was found between the

academic achievements of low and high academic
anxiety groupsof secondary school students.

3.

No significant difference was found between

the academic achievements of high and low
academic anxiety groups of male secondary
school students.

4.

No significant difference was found between

the academic achievements of high and low
academic anxiety groups of female secondary
school students.

5.

No significant difference was found between

the academic achievements of high academic
anxiety groups of male and female secondary
school students.

6.

A significant difference was found between

the academic achievements of low academic
anxiety groups of male and female secondary
school students.

t- value

80.71
121

373.80

A close view of table 6 shows thetvalue of 2.65 is

statistically significant at 0.05 level of significance. Thus
the null hypothesis is rejected. It means both the level of
low academic anxiety groups of male and female have
difference in their academic achievements. Therefore,
on the basis of mean, it can be inferred that male having
the higher mean value of academic achievement in
relation to low academic anxiety, has better academic
achievement than the female counterparts.

1.02

80.02

At 0.05 significance level

At a glance, table 5 shows thet value as 1.02 that is not

statistically significant at the significance level of 0.05.
Thus the null hypothesis is accepted. However, it can be
interpreted that both the male and female group of high
level of academic anxiety have no difference in their
academic achievement.

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Hasan

Conclusion
Changing scenario of education has called the
restructuring in the existing education system.
Academic achievement has become the best instrument
to assess the performance of students in the classroom
as well as teachers. Effectiveness of curriculum is not
spare of being assessed on the utility ground pertaining
to socio and economic perspectives. Thus, academic
achievement of students is very much dependent
upon the school environment, quality of teachers,
teaching process and so on. School as well as classroom
environment are responsible to put students in the zone
of anxiety or free from every bits of academic anxiety.
However, it has been ascertained by experts that certain
level of anxiety is necessary for pushing the students
towards their betterment of academic performance. In
the present research, a significant negative correlation
was found between the academic anxiety and academic
achievement of secondary school students. Thus, it has
become necessary for teachers, parents, administrators
and so on to ensure better educational environment
that would help the students in performing at their best
level.

Educational Implications of the Study

Although, this study is confined to only four schools
of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh,U.P. India.
But on the part of implications, it has its importance.
Findings of the study would be helpful to assist the
students, teachers, parents and so on in pertaining to
the understandingproblem and prospects of academic
anxiety. Level of academic anxiety can be reduced to an
acceptable level through the interventions of guidance of
counselling. Thus general trends of academic anxiety of
secondary school students can be estimated in the light
of this study. However, present study will be helpful
for designing curriculum, framing time table, arranging
class room, organising guidance and counselling
programmes, educationists to devise educational policy,
psychologists in mooting out new tools and techniques
for teaching and learning process.

Suggestions for Further Research

Present research study is confined only to a sample
size of 204 secondary school students and that has
36

been drawn from the four secondary schools of Aligarh

Muslim University, Aligarh. U.P. India. Therefore, for
more generalised and realistic findings, further study can
be conducted on a larger sample size by incorporating
more demographic variables.Similar study can be put
in to operation by associating present variables with
different other researchable variables that might be
personality, socio-economic, home and environment,
familial variables and so on.

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