Gender, Test Anxiety and Self-concept as Factors in Basic Science Achievement of Junior Secondary School Students in Ikom Education Zone, Cross River State

Abstract

This study examined the influence of Gender, test anxiety and self-concept on Basic Science achievement of Junior Secondary School Students in Ikom Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. The study sample comprised 490 Junior Secondary three students drawn from a population of 3,317 using the stratified and simple random sampling technique. Three (3) research questions and three (3) corresponding hypotheses guided the study. The ex-post facto design was employed in the study and data collection was by means of Test Anxiety and Self-concept Questionnaire (TASCQ) as well as Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT). Both TASCQ and BSAT were validated by two experts in Measurement and Evaluation and two in Basic Science. The reliability indices of TASCQ and BSAT were established using Cronbach alpha and KR-20 method respectively and this yielded 0.69 for TASCQ and 0.76 for BSAT. The hypotheses were tested using descriptive statistics and independent t-test. Results of data analysis showed significant influence of test anxiety and self-concept on Junior Secondary School Students’ Basic Science achievement but non for gender. Based on the findings, the paper recommended that Science teachers should employ effective teaching methods in Science classroom to improve students’ self-concept and also reduce test anxiety.