Patterns of Examination Anxiety among Secondary School Students in Saki-west Local Government Area, Oyo State

Abstract

Academic anxiety is a common issue that students cannot ignore if they want to achieve success in life. If academic anxiety is not properly addressed, it can have many serious, severe and long-lasting consequences on students’ academic activities. This study therefore investigated patterns of examination anxiety among secondary school students in Saki West Local Government Area, Oyo State. The study adopted descriptive survey research. The population of this study comprised all secondary school students in Saki West Local Government Area of Oyo State, while a sample of 200 respondents participated in the study. The sample was selected using simple random technique. A questionnaire entitled “Patterns of Examination Anxiety Questionnaire” (PEAQ) was used to collect data for the study. The variables taken into consideration were gender, and age. Percentages were used for demographic data, mean and rank order analysis was used for the main research question while the null hypotheses postulated were tested using t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistical techniques at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that the main patterns of examination anxiety are worry about failure during an examination; fear crept into their heart when they hear of an examination; and hearts beat faster during the examination period. It was also revealed that there were significant differences in the patterns of examination anxiety among secondary school students in Saki West Local Government Area, Oyo State based on gender and age. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that school counsellors should equip students with skills on preparation for examination and coping with examination anxiety in order assist them to overcome examination challenges.