Abstract
The present study intends to explore the level of practical examination anxiety
among secondary and higher secondary school students and its causes and
remedies. A self-developed Perceived Science Practical Anxiety Scale (PSPAS)
was used to collect quantitative data from 900 science students of two districts of
central Punjab: Sargodha and Faisalabad. Moreover, 50 students were interviewed
to explore their perceptions of the causes of science practical examination anxiety
and the remedies to reduce it. All students had recently taken science practical
examination and therefore had first-hand vivid experience of science practical
examination anxiety. The analysis of responses in the questionnaire revealed that
on an average more than half (61.50 %) of the students experienced anxiety during
practical examination. Fourteen sources of anxiety during practical examination
were ranked and synthesis of qualitative data from interviews recorded five
categories of anxiety causes: shortage and unavailability of the materials, lack of
practice, harsh behaviour of laboratory personnel, over loaded syllabus and lack of guidance. The students’ opinion regarding reducing anxiety was synthesized into
four themes: relaxation during practical examination, individual level preparation,
completion of practical syllabus well before time and training of laboratory
personnel. The findings of the study may be beneficial for teachers, school mangers
and policy makers and those who are responsible for the preparation and execution
of examination policies, to reduce anxiety among students.
Shafqat Hussain, Ashfaque Ahmad Shah , Zunaira Fatima Syeda, Muhammad Sarwar. (2018) Self-Assessment of Students’ Anxiety during High Stake Laboratory Work Examinations, Journal of Education and Educational Development, volume 5, 5.2.
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