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Explaining exam anxiety in Singaporean students: the influence of family, pedagogical and individual characteristics
Citation
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, 2008
Abstract
With increasing pressure for young people to excel academically, the issue of exam anxiety warrants much attention as it bears on the validity of the testing procedure. Using data from the CRPP Life Pathways Study, a survey of 2,514 Secondary 1 students from 39 schools, this paper investigates the influences of family, pedagogical and individual characteristics on cognitive exam anxiety (CEA) among Singapore students using hierarchical regression. Controlling for demographic factors, expectations explained some variance while family background and authentic pedagogy did not. Subjective wellbeing and problem-solving skills further accounted for a significant proportion of variance. It is suggested that the family and school settings could instead be playing an indirect role in minimizing CEA through promoting student wellbeing and problem-solving skills.
Date Issued
March 2008
Project
CRP 7/03 AL