Comparative Study of Relationship between General Perceived Self-efficacy and Test Anxiety with Academic Achievement of Male and Female Students

Abstract

Recently, the use of non-cognitive measures such as general self-efficacy and test anxiety in predicting academic achievement besides use of ability tests in predicting academic achievement of learners have much attractiveness to researchers. The aim of this research is comparative study of relationship between general perceived self-efficacy and test anxiety in academic achievement of male and female students. This study is the correlation one. In the present study, 350 students (175 males’ and175 females) were selected by random sampling method. To measure the general perceived self-efficacy, it was used self-efficacy questionnaire (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995), to measure the test anxiety, it was used test anxiety questionnaire (Abolghasemi and colleagues, 1996) and finally to gather demographic data, it was used a prepared inventory. The results showed that there was a positive significant relationship between general perceived self-efficacy and students academic achievement (female: r =0.551, P< 0.000, male: r =0.281, P<0.004) and a negative significant relationship between test anxiety and students academic achievement (female: r =-0.674, P<0.000, male: r =-0.121, P<0.043). The results of regression analysis showed that in academic achievement of female students, test anxiety (-0.084) and in academic achievement of male students, self-efficacy (0.057) had significant predictive power and in academic achievement of male students, test anxiety and female student's general perceived self-efficacy had no significant predictive power. As a result, Anxiety as a female characteristic and belief to be capable as a male characteristic can be imagined reasons of success in context of a gender role.