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DECLARATION OF THESIS / UNDERGRADUATE PROJECT PAPER AND COPYRIGHT
Author’s full name : NURUL HANA BINTI AB NASIR Date of birth : 1 MAY 1986 Title : OVERCOMING TEST ANXIETY: PERSPECTIVES OF SENIOR STUDENTS OF THE
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Academic Session : 2008/2009 I declare that this thesis is classified as :
I acknowledged that Universiti Teknologi Malaysia reserves the right as follows :
1. The thesis is the property of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. 2. The Library of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia has the right to make copies for the purpose
of research only. 3. The Library has the right to make copies of the thesis for academic exchange.
Certified by :
860501-56-6062 (NEW IC NO. /PASSPORT NO.) ASSC. PROF DR. ABDUL HALIM ABDUL RAOF
Date : 28 APRIL 2009 Date : 28 APRIL 2009
NOTES : * If the thesis is CONFIDENTIAL or RESTRICTED, please attach with the letter from the organisation with period and reasons for confidentiality or restriction.
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
√
CONFIDENTIAL (Contains confidential information under the Official Secret Act 1972)*
RESTRICTED (Contains restricted information as specified by the
organisation where research was done)* OPEN ACCESS I agree that my thesis to be published as online open access
(full text)
“I hereby declare that I have read this thesis and in my
opinion this thesis is sufficient in terms of scope and quality for the
award of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Education (TESL)”
Signature : ....................................................
Name of Supervisor : ASSC. PROF DR ABDUL HALIM ABDUL
RAOF
Date : 28 APRIL 2009
OVERCOMING TEST ANXIETY: PERSPECTIVES OF SENIOR STUDENTS OF THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION
NURUL HANA BINTI AB NASIR
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of the degree of
Bachelor of Science in Education (TESL)
Faculty of Education
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
JUNE 2009
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I declare that this thesis entitled “Overcoming Test Anxiety: Perspectives of
Senior Students of the Faculty of Education” is the result of my own research
except as cited in the references. The thesis has not been accepted for any degree
and is
not concurrently submitted in candidature of any other degree.
Signature : ....................................................
Name : NURUL HANA BINTI AB NASIR
Date : .28 APRIL 2009
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To my loved ones…
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, all praise be to Allah, the Almighty for His blessings
and guidance for giving me the inspiration to do this study. I would like to
express my gratitude to all who have helped in one way or another in the
planning, brainstorming, writing and editing stages of this study. Special thanks
to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdul Halim bin Abdul Raof for guiding me
along the way. I would also like to express my thanks to Puan Rozita Abdul Jalil,
lecturer of course SPM 3112, Programming Language II for all of the
cooperation. And to my parents and fellow course mates thanks for supporting
me in completing this study.
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ABSTRACT
This study set out to investigate ways to overcome test anxiety from the
perspectives of senior students of the Faculty of Education. Test anxiety as
Zeidner defined it and quoted by Cizek and Burg (2006) is uneasiness feelings
towards things that have to do with evaluative situation. The study which took
place in UTM, Skudai aimed to look for expressions and sources of test anxiety
as perceived by UTM senior students. It also aimed to find out how they
overcome it. A set of questionnaires was distributed to 91 students from SPM
3112 course, Programming Language II. Nine of the respondents agreed to
participate in a semi- structured interview. The overall results showed that senior
students of UTM expressed their test anxiety through thought disruption and they
felt anxious because they were concerned about their preparation for test. It was
found that most participants perceived test anxiety as a normal feeling and thus,
not many were bothered to overcome it. However, it was found out too that there
were two ways that participants overcome test anxiety. These can be categorised
as physical reactions and mental reactions. The mental reactions are further
divided into two which are self-motivation and religious belief. It is hoped that
this study will give benefits to both students and lecturers of the Faculty of
Education, in particular, on the issues of test anxiety.
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ABSTRAK
Kajian ini menyiasat cara menghadapi keresahan terhadap ujian dari
perspektif pelajar kanan Fakulti Pendidikan. Keresahan terhadap ujian seperti
yang diterjemahkan oleh Zeidner yang diambil dari Cizek dan Burg (2006)
adalah perasaan tidak selesa terhadap perkara yang melibatkan situasi penilaian.
Kajian yang dilakukan di UTM, Skudai ini dijalankan untuk mencari cara pelajar
kanan UTM mengekspreskan keresahan mereka terhadap ujian dan punca mereka
merasa resah terhadap ujian. Ia juga bertujuan untuk menyiasat cara mereka
menghadapi keresahan terhadap ujian. Satu set borang soal selidik telah
diagihkan kepada seramai 91 orang pelajar dari kursus SPM 3112, Bahasa
Pengaturcaraan II. Sembilan orang dari mereka telah bersetuju untuk terlibat
dalam sesi temuramah separa struktur. Keputusan keseluruhannya menunjukkan
yang pelajar kanan UTM mengekspreskan keresahan mereka terhadap ujian
dengan gangguan minda dan keresahan ini berpunca dari kerisauan mereka
tentang persediaan mereka untuk ujian. Dari dapatan kajian, didapati
kebanyakkan pelajar menganggap keresahan terhadap ujian adalah perkara biasa
dan kebanyakannya tidak mengambil apa- apa tindakan untuk menghadapinya.
Namun, didapati terdapat dua jenis langkah yang diambil oleh responden untuk
meghadapi keresahan terhadap ujian. Dua cara itu boleh dikategorikan sebagai
tindakan fizikal dan tindakan mental. Tindakan mental ini pula terbahagi kepada
dua iaitu motivasi kendiri dan kepercayaan terhadap agama. Diharapkan kajian
ini dapat membantu para pelajar dan pensyarah dari Fakulti Pendidikan,
khususnya, dalam memahami isu- isu keresahan terhadap ujian.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE DECLARATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
ABSTRAK vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS vii
LIST OF TABLES xi
LIST OF FIGURE xiii
LIST OF CHARTS xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES xv
1 INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Background of the study 2
1.2 Statement of the problem 3
1.3 Purpose of the study 5
1.4 Objectives of the study 5
1.5 Research questions 5
1.6 Significance of the study 6
1.7 Scope of the study 6
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1.8 Definition of terms
1.8.1 Test 7
1.8.2 Anxiety 7
1.8.3 Test Anxiety 8
1.8.4 Symptoms of Test Anxiety 8
1.8.4.1 Body reaction 9
1.8.4.2 Thought disruption 9
1.8.4.3 General test- taking anxiety 9
1.8.5 Sources of Test Anxiety 9
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction 11
2.1 Concept of Anxiety 11
2.2 Concept of Test Anxiety 14
2.3 Concept of Self 17
2.4 Theory adapted for this research 19
2.5 Research studies related to anxiety 20
2.5.1 Test Anxiety among SPT undergraduates 20
by Che Rogayah Desa, 1997
2.5.2 Anxiety during Oral Presentation 21
by Shamril Wan Shahril Ridzuan, 2005
2.5.3 Worry, Intelligence and Academic Behaviour 22
in Dutch School Children by Ploeg, 1980
2.5.4 Test Anxiety Development in West German 22
Schools by Schwarzer and friends, 1984
2.5.5 Test anxiety in K-12 Education 23
by Cizek and Burg, 2006
2.6 Conclusion 24
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3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction 25
3.1 Research participants 25
3.2 Research instruments 27
3.2.1 Questionnaire 27
3.2.2 Semi-structured Interview 29
3.3 Research procedure 31
3.4 Data analysis 33
4 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.0 Introduction 34
4.1 Questionnaire 34
4.1.1 Background information of participants 35
4.1.1.1 Course 35
4.1.1.2 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) 36
4.1.1.3 UHB 1412 and UHB 2422 Exam Results 37
4.1.1.4 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) English 38
Paper Grade
4.1.1.5 MUET Band 39
4.1.2 Expressions of Test Anxiety 40
4.1.3 Summary of Expressions of Test Anxiety 45
4.1.4 Sources of Test Anxiety 46
4.1.4.1 Concerned about Others View 48
4.1.4.2 Concerned about Self-Image 50
4.1.4.3 Concerned about Future Security 52
4.1.4.4 Concerned about Preparation 54
4.1.5 Summary of Sources of Test Anxiety 56
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4.2 Interview 59
4.2.1 Expressions of Test Anxiety 61
4.2.2 Sources of Test Anxiety 64
4.2.3 Strategies to overcome Test Anxiety 66
4.2.3.1 Physical reactions 68
4.2.3.1 Mental reactions 71
4.2.3.2.1 Self-motivation 72
4.2.3.2.2 Religious belief 74
4.3 Discussion of the findings 76
4.3.1 Expressions of Test Anxiety 76
4.3.2 Sources of Test Anxiety 79
4.3.3 Overcoming Test Anxiety 83
4.4 Conclusion 87
5 SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS
AND CONCLUSION
5.0 Introduction 88
5.1 Summary 88
5.1.1 Summary of the study 89
5.1.2 Summary of the findings 90
5.2 Limitations of the study 91
5.3 Recommendations 92
5.3.1 Pedagogical recommendations 92
5.3.2 Future research 93
5.4 Conclusion 94
REFERENCES 95-97
APPENDICES
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LIST OF TABLES
TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE
3.1 Division of questionnaire items 25
4.1 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 36
according to Course
4.2 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 37
according to CGPA
4.3 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 38
according to UHB 1412 and UHB 2422 Exam Results
4.4 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 39
according to SPM English Paper Grade
4.5 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 40
according to MUET Band
4.6 Divisions of items on Expressions of Test Anxiety 42
based on Categories
4.7 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 43
according to Expression of Test Anxiety
4.8 Lists of Categories of Expressions of Anxiety 45
based on Most Expressed by Participants
4.9 Divisions of items on Sources of Test Anxiety 47
4.10 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 49
according to Concerned about Others View
4.11 Participant distribution in Frequency and Percentage 50
according to Concerned about Others View
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4.12 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 51
according to Concerned about Your Own Self- Image
4.13 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 52
according to Concerned about Your Own Self- Image
4.14 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 53
according to Concerned about Your Future Security
4.15 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 54
according to Concerned about Your Future Security
4.16 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 55
according to Concerned about Preparation
4.17 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 56
according to Concerned about Preparation
4.18 Information of interviewed participants 60
based on questionnaire
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LIST OF FIGURE
FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE
3.1 Procedure to conduct the study 32
xiv
LIST OF CHARTS
CHART NO. TITLE PAGE
4.1 Students percentage based on 50% agreement 57
on items of each sources
4.2 Students means percentage based on most 58
agreed items from each source
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LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX TITLE
A Questionnaire
B Test Anxiety Inventory Analysis
C SPM 3112 Programming Language II mid term test
paper
D Sample of transcription
E Translation of extracts of transcription
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction
Test anxiety has become more visible nowadays as more students tend to
do last minute revision. Teachers, too, often do pop quiz in class and sometimes
give monthly tests without informing the students first. Some students gain
benefit from their anxious feelings towards test taking but many others somehow
are affected as shown in their performance in a test. The same scenario is
happening in the tertiary education environment. Students study at the last minute
as most of their time is spent either completing their assignments and projects or
on club activities.
It is often observed that people who experienced test anxiety will be doing
things that they seldom do, such as, jiggling their legs, touching their nose every
five minutes, or fiddling with a pen when they happen to be in that uneasy
situation. Test anxiety is known as a situation type of anxiety. It will only happen
in certain undesirable situations. However, it can be controlled as one grows and
it is likely advised to be controlled to better the performance of those who suffer
from it. Nevertheless, a little sensation of test anxiety feeling sometimes is
beneficial as it makes the brain works faster than usual. This is because there are
those who perform better when they are under some pressure.
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1.1 Background of the study As education never stops changing, people in the field become more
aware on how they can help students to the maximum. Testing would be an area
which can help boost students’ achievement if we manage to teach the right
strategies and skills to them. Even after exposing them to all those strategies and
skills, there will still be one problem that is quite troublesome as it might differ
from one student to another, which is, test anxiety.
Cizek and Burg (2006) stated that test anxiety is one of many specific
forms of anxiety, resulting in a combination of cognitive and physical responses
aroused in testing or similar situations in which a person believes that he or she is
being personally evaluated. In addition, Mohd Ghazali Borhan, 2003, stated that
it is a step by step event which started from the cognitive response, followed by
affective response, continued by physiology response and lastly reflected through
behaviour.
As mentioned above, this problem is quite specific to an individual. We
can have one student who is very comfortable and confident with himself or
herself and we can also have one who is afraid of everything. Zulkifli Ismail
(1993) in his motivation book said that test anxiety is a disease which has been a
part of students, like this anxiety sometimes can be the factor that leads to
students’ failure if it is not tackled.
Facing this kind of problem might not allow us to overcome it in total.
However, by knowing how it can be reduced might make a difference. It is well
known that tertiary level students will be facing more challenging test questions
or test type (more subjective type) and will probably have less time to answer
them in. Moreover, test papers are usually written in English, if not bilingual, as
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an option for students so that they are able to control themselves in terms of
anxiety due to language barrier during a test for them to be able to score well.
In Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), examination and test cover
normally between 20 and 60 percent of the total mark of a course. That is quite a
lot. Lecturers are given the opportunity to determine the percentage and this is
quite flexible as scores division can be changed throughout the course by mutual
understanding among the lecturers who teach the subject. Lecturers should be
able to see how well the students will perform. The decision should resort to the
one that benefit both parties the most.
Besides, final examination is a must. Thus, UTM students cannot run
away from taking tests. In UTM, a test is normally conducted in a small class
while examination will involve people from various courses from the same
faculty. However, this study will only look at test situation.
1.2 Statement of the problem
As test is usually conducted mid-way throughout a semester, many
students are usually busy with their assignments and other co-curricular
activities. This study will look at test anxiety behaviour of senior students of the
Faculty of Education when taking a test.
Nowadays, humans compete to be the best in order for self satisfaction.
Students will start worrying on how others will view them if they do poorly in
tests, assignments and examination. Attitude and also ability to socialize are
among those that worry them most. Especially for those who are around 18 to 25,
they will trying to put a nice image in order to receive recognition from both
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friends and special friends. To have been viewed positively from people around
them might work to boost their self confidence.
Students too, will start to realize that they are responsible to maintain
their parents’ reputation. In order to do that, of course they will have to take care
of their own. This is another big concern that students would usually face which
is to be concerned about their self-image. This feeling of uneasiness does not
need attention from others. The person himself can feel the need to be clean and
to have a nice image.
People nowadays compete against each other, so students have to start
being concern about their future security. Academic qualifications would be the
first criterion for fresh undergraduates that the perspective employer would
consider before offering students the job. Thus, students have to do their best in
everything whether in project or class assignment, quiz or test and examination.
Students always have difficulty in managing their time. So, they have
problems deciding whether to complete an assignment or be ready for a quiz or
test. This is really stressful and students might end up feeling anxious. For
instance, a test might come up after a test and is likely to be followed with
another test and this is also contributing to the lack of time for students to
prepare.
Thus, this study intends not only to look at expressions and sources of test
anxiety but also the perspective of UTM senior students on how they overcome
test anxiety.
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1.3 Purpose of the study
This study aims investigate the expressions and sources of test anxiety as
perceived by UTM senior students and how they overcome it in order to achieve
better performance in a test.
1.4 Objectives of the study
This study has the following objectives:
1. To discover the expressions of test anxiety as experienced by UTM senior
students when taking a test.
2. To discover the sources of test anxiety among UTM senior students when
taking test.
3. To investigate how UTM senior students overcome their anxiety when taking
test.
1.5 Research questions
The study intends to find answers to the questions below:
1. What are the expressions of test anxiety as experienced by UTM senior
students when taking a test?
2. What are the sources of test anxiety as perceived by UTM senior students
when they take a test?
3. How do UTM senior students overcome their anxiety when taking a test?