Master of Arts (Applied Psychology)

This study examines the learning style preferences of 126 lower primary students. 63 high achievers, in a neighbourhood school. It attempts to identify their learning styles and investigate whether significant differences exist between the learning styles of the two groups of students.

A questionnaire inventory modified from the Learning Style Inventory: Primary (1991) by Janet Perrin was used to identify their learning style preferences.

The findings from this study suggest that high achievers and low achievers have similar learning style preferences. They like learning in a quiet, bright, and formally designed environment. They see themselves as responsible and self motivated learners. They disliked learning with adults. They prefer their learning to be minimally structured and dislike learning in the evenings.

It also suggest that learning styles discriminate between the two groups of learners. Overall, 8 out of the 18 elements were significantly different. They are temperature, learning with an adult, visual, auditory, tactual perceptual strengths, intake mobility and time of the day.

This study sought to examine the relationship between the recently proposed 2 x 2 achievement goal framework with achievement-related variables such as learning strategies, achievement emotions, and maths performance. It also explored if the relationships between achievement goals and maths performance could be explained by learning strategies and achievement emotions. Finally, cluster analytic approach was used in an attempt to better understand the adoption of multiple goals and its links to achievement-related variables. Participants were 480 Secondary Two students (aged between 13 and 14 years) from two coeducational government schools. They filled out a self-report questionnaire and their results for a subsequent maths examination were obtained. Results provided support for the 2 x 2 achievement goal framework and indicated that the four achievement goals were significantly related to the students' use of learning strategies, experience of achievement emotions, and maths performance. Gender and stream differences were also noted. Mediation of the relationships between achievement goals and performance by self-regulation, enjoyment, anxiety, and possible boredom were found. Cluster analysis revealed that students held multiple goals and the cluster with high endorsement of mastery approach goal and low endorsement of mastery avoidance goal was noted with the most adaptive profile. The presence of a cluster of students who were lowly motivated was highlighted. Findings also indicated the importance of investigating achievement emotions, the need to clarify the effects of avoidance goals, and how the different achievement goals combine to influence achievement-related variables.

Parents in Singapore want the very best in their children and educational success is one of the most important indicators. Success is generally measured in terms of performances in school examinations. With parental and social pressure on performances, there is now anecdotal data to show that test anxiety is affecting children even at a young age. Previous findings revealed that pupils who had lower test anxiety level generally performed better in examinations than did those with higher anxiety level. Prior research also revealed gender differences in anxiety levels, where the girls were relatively more anxious than the boys. To date, there are insufficient local data on pupils' affective reaction to examinations.

There were two studies conducted. In Study 1, I examined the relationship between text anxiety and academic performance. Specifically, I examined whether there was any relationship between text anxiety and the pupils' academic stream, gender, expected grades and the scores which they were working towards. The relationship between test anxiety and academic performance were then analysed. In Study 2, I examined the efficacy of a brief classroom stress management programme. The Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI, Spielberger, 1980) was administered three weeks before pupils sat for their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).

Two separate groups of pupils were recruited for each of the studies. Of the participants in Study 2, half participated in the programme, with the remainder being assigned to a control group. Both groups were administered the TAI 3 days before their PSLE. The results showed that pupils with higher expected grades had relatively high test anxiety scores. The boys have significantly higher test anxiety than the girls. The TAI scores provided a modest prediction for PSLE performance. Pupils who participated in the stress management programme showed lower test anxiety.

These findings showed that test anxiety and academic performance are correlated and even a brief stress management programme can have a beneficial effect. These findings suggest that in addition to cognitive abilities, pupils' psychosocial or affective states may also be important determinants of academic performance.