Age and Gender factors of Test Anxiety among Undergraduate Students in Two Southwestern Nigerian Universities

Abstract

This present study examined age and gender as factors of test anxiety among undergraduates from two universities in Nigeria. A total of 281 randomly selected participants participated in the study and they responded to the 20-item Suinn test anxiety behavior scale. For analysis of data the t-test for independent samples was used and results suggested that age and gender do not significantly predict test anxiety among undergraduates. It is therefore concluded that other variables apart from demographics may account for test anxiety among undergraduates in Nigeria. More research would need to be done in this area in order to ascertain the factors that may predict test anxiety among undergraduates in Nigeria and thereby provide empirical basis for intervention to help the test-anxious.

Headnote

This present study examined age and gender as factors of test anxiety among undergraduates from two universities in Nigeria. A total of 281 randomly selected participants participated in the study and they responded to the 20-item Suinn test anxiety behavior scale. For analysis of data the t-test for independent samples was used and results suggested that age and gender do not significantly predict test anxiety among undergraduates. It is therefore concluded that other variables apart from demographics may account for test anxiety among undergraduates in Nigeria. More research would need to be done in this area in order to ascertain the factors that may predict test anxiety among undergraduates in Nigeria and thereby provide empirical basis for intervention to help the test-anxious.

Keywords: Test anxiety, gender, age, undergraduate, University students.

Anxiety as a Psychological construct plays a major role in one's life (Razazadeh & Tavakoli 2009). One of these anxieties is test anxiety or apprehension over academic evaluation (Mohsen & Mansoor, 2009). Test anxiety has been defined as a phobia for failure and or a negative evaluation that is usually related to previously established standard by self or other institutions; self-blame for perceived shortcomings; social evaluation in relation to students' estimate of how others are doing and negative prediction of what would be the outcome of a test (Olatoye, 2009). It is characterized by the feeling of uneasiness or apprehension that a student experiences before, during or after a test because of the fear of failure (Oladipo & Ogungbamila, 2013).

Test anxiety has emerged as one of the most salient and most widely studied in literature and has been identified as a pervasive problem in modern society. Scholars have even asserted that as the information age continues to evolve, test scores will become more important than they are today in relation to evaluating applicants for jobs, admitting candidates into educational programs and even in evaluating students for promotion into another level in their studies (Razazadeh & Tavakoli 2009).

Year-in-year out, many students under-perform in schools because of heightened test anxiety (Zeidner, 1998), although test anxiety is known to depend on several variables such as levels of motivation, task complexity and practical consequences of high or low performance (Humphreys & Revelle, 1984), it varies widely from one individual to the other. Some people are relatively calm when completing a test while others may experience more intense levels of anxiety when faced with the same test.

Though it may seem natural to feel anxious while preparing for a test or examination, yet, too much of test anxiety can hamper students' academic performance (Rafiq, Ghazal & Farooqi, 2007; Matthew, Tracy & Scott, 2000). Because test anxiety generally causes decrements in performance and undermines academic achievement, the recorded failure among students may have actually been as a result of test anxiety and not necessarily academic or intellectual weakness.

The topic of test anxiety has prospered, in part, due to the increasing personal importance of test situations for people in modern society, making tests and their long-term consequences significant educational, social, and clinical problems for many. Since test results in most academic and occupational settings have important practical implications for a person's goals and future career, test anxiety is frequently reported to be a meaningful factor impacting upon test scores, the more reason why it is the focus of this paper.

Undergraduate university students have been the focus of this study because test anxiety seems more pertinent to them. They typically undergo multiple sittings of time pressured; intensive examinations yearly and they tend to consistently cite exam and grade-related worries as their greatest sources of anxiety (Furr, Westefield, McConnell, & Jenkins, 2001). In the light of the aforementioned therefore, this present study investigated how age and gender influence test anxiety among undergraduates.

Most studies conducted to examine age and test anxiety submitted that early adolescents are mostly prone to test anxiety. According to Healy, (2009), individuals aged 11-18years were more likely to report a high level of test anxiety than the late adolescents. The reason for this, as asserted by Healy (2009) was that, the individuals at this stage are more exposed to peer influence, family and life pressures; at the same time, their inexperience may also pre-dispose them to high level of test anxiety. If the findings of Healy,(2009), is used to explain the current study, it simply implies that first year undergraduates who may likely fall within the ages of 16 to 19 may likely be more prone to test anxiety behaviour than those in higher levels. According to Moore (2008), most reported cases of test anxiety came from adolescents who have suffered the disorder for a long period of time. However, Mitra, Fergusson, & Sapolsky (2009), found and submitted that test anxiety can be treated at an early age.

Research reports at different times and places have also implicated gender as having a significant influence on students' test anxiety level. For example Sharma & Sud, (1990) reported that female students experience higher levels of test anxiety than do males irrespective of cultural background. In addition, Cassady & Johnson (2002) and El-Zahhar & Hocevar (1991) also established that females were more prone to experience high level of test anxiety than their male counterparts and are more likely learn to surrender passively to test anxiety than the males. Despite these studies, there seems to be a dearth of local research in respect of gender and test anxiety particularly among undergraduates in Nigeria, thereby leaving a gap in literature in this regard.

This present study therefore aimed at of examining age and gender as factors of test anxiety among undergraduates in Nigeria. This is with the hope of contributing to knowledge in this area of research and to provide indigenous research report in this area of study. To achieve the above aim therefore, the following hypotheses were tested.

1.) Age of students will not significantly predict their level of test anxiety.

2.) There will be no significant gender difference in test anxiety among undergraduates.

Methods

Study Design

The study was a survey, thus the cross-sectional survey research design was adopted. The researcher measured the variable of interest as they had occurred and there was no conscious attempt to manipulate any of the variables that were measured in the study.

Population

Undergraduates from two Universities in southwestern Nigeria formed the population from which the study sample was drawn. The universities were Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba and the Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State. Both universities are located in the southwestern part of Nigeria.

Sample and Sampling Method

The simple random sampling (ballot system) was used for sample selection. Only participants who chose 'yes' in the ballot were included in the study. Thus the 281 respondents were sampled for the study. There were 182 (64.8%) males and 99 (35.2%) females. Their ages ranged between 16 - 30years (M = 21.88; SD = 2.637).

Instrument

The instrument of data collection was in two sections, the first section dealt with the demographic variables, while the second section was the 20-item Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale. It is a Likert scale and responses which ranged from 'Not at all' (1) to 'very much' (5). A mean score and scores below the mean are interpreted as low test anxiety, while scores above the mean are interpreted as high anxiety. An Alpha reliability of .85 was established for this scale in this study.

Procedure of Data Collection

Before the date of data collection, prior contacts and arrangements had been made with the departments concerned as well as course lecturers and intact classes were used for this purpose. Verbal consent was sought from participants and they were assured of confidentiality and anonymity. Only participants who consented to participate were included in the study. The questionnaires were administered and collected back the same day, since the approximate time of response to the questionnaire is 5minutes.

Data analysis

Data were analyzed using version 21 of SPSS Software Package. The two hypotheses were tested using the t-test for independent samples. The result is presented in the result section.

Results

The result as presented in table 1 shows that age and gender of undergraduates did not significantly predict test anxiety among undergraduates. Male and female undergraduates did not differ significantly in their observed mean scores on test anxiety; neither is there any significant mean difference between the scores of young students and old students. The p value for the two variables was not also significant at the .05 level of significance. Based on this result, the two hypotheses were accepted. In other words, whether a student is a male of female does not impact on his or her anxiety level. In the same vein, whether a student is young or old does not impact on his or her anxiety level.

Discussion

Though not so many literature was available regarding age and test anxiety, the few seen supported that younger people are more prone and more likely to manifest more anxiety than older people (Healy, 2009; Moore, 2008; Mitra, et al. 2009). Study finding of the present study suggested that there was no significant age difference in test anxiety manifestation. In other words, but young and old manifested test anxiety, therefore age could not have been a precipitating factor of test anxiety among this sample. The possible explanation for this is the fact that whether an individual is young or old does not have any significance on the manifestation of anxiety among the population of study. It thus means young and old people have similar dispositions regarding test anxiety. Just as the young would not want to fail test, likewise the old (probably because of their age) will not also want to fail.

The university is usually not a place where the students' age really matters, as long as the student has attained the minimum age of admission into the university. Every student on the university campus is regarded and treated as an adult, so what is important therefore is not the age, but what one can achieve in terms of grades.

People are not allocated into departments or classes based on age, it is based on their choice and grades scored and once they have been admitted as students, the next motivating factor would be the grade points, so as to finish the course in flying colors. Therefore, irrespective of age, everybody tries as much as possible to do well in their test and exam. Although one would have thought that the anxiety would have been higher among the older participants because they may be of the opinion that much is expected of them because of their age and they may not afford to fail because they do not actually have much time on their side. However, the finding of this study has proved otherwise, probably because higher education can be embarked upon at any time in one's life, unlike the elementary education that is age specific.

Despite research reports from different countries and cultures that female differ significantly from male on test anxiety (Sharma and Sud, 1990; Sud, 1991; Cassady & Johnson, 2002;. El-Zahhar & Hocevar, 1991), the result of this present study is in dissonance with previous research findings. There was no significant difference between male and female undergraduates regarding their test anxiety. Cultural difference may have accounted for the difference in findings in this regard. Again, participants for this study were undergraduates, the possibilities are that their level of education has impacted on their test anxiety; they might have developed sufficient coping mechanisms to be able to handle their anxiety. It is noteworthy however that the sample size may have also affected the result. Probably the result would have been different if the sample had been larger or if they have been drawn from a wider geographical coverage.

The increase in the campaign for equal opportunity for the girl-child may have increased the competition between girls and boys in school, hence the observed result of no significant difference between both sexes. Each of them might have been eager to score high in test in order to meet up with both societal demands as well as family demands. In addition to the above, all over the world, a gender difference in behavior is changing due to exposure, access to information, advancement in technology and globalization. All of these are interacting to close the gap in gender differences across the globe. Women have also been working towards justifying their clamor for gender equality by getting involved in professions that have previously been male dominated; they show more toughness in adverse situations and demonstrate more courage where previously they would most probably have moved away. All of these might have accounted for the observed result of no gender difference in in test anxiety.

We conclude therefore that age and gender variables are not significant factors of test anxiety among undergraduates in Nigeria. May we quickly point out though that there are some limitations to this present study sampled only 281 participants; peradventure, having a larger sample may change the findings. Samples were not also taken across the entire nation, thus the generalizability of findings may be restricted to only a geographical zone of the country. Further studies can therefore give consideration to these factors as well as exploring psychological and social variables as factors of test anxiety among undergraduates in Nigeria.

References

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