Investigating the relationship between social skills and test anxiety with the academic performance of female high school students in Morvdasht city

Dissertation for Master's Degree (M.A) in Curriculum Planning

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between social skills and test anxiety with the academic performance of high school girls in Morvdasht city. In terms of its nature and goals, this research is of an applied type and correlational method was used for its implementation. The statistical population of this research includes all high school female students of Morvdasht city, who were selected as the statistical sample size of the research using the multi-stage cluster sampling method. To collect data, Matson et al.'s social skill questionnaires (1983), Sarason's test anxiety (1975) and Pham Taylor's (1990) academic performance were used, and their validity and reliability have been confirmed. In order to analyze the information obtained from the data at the level of inferential statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient tests and multiple regression analysis were used simultaneously. The results of the research showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between the dimensions of appropriate social behavior and self-confidence with academic performance, and there is a negative and significant relationship between the dimensions of inappropriate social behavior, acting impulsively and academic performance, and no relationship was observed between envy and academic performance. There is a negative and significant relationship between exam anxiety and academic performance, and the results showed that social skills positively and exam anxiety negatively can predict academic performance.

Keyword: social skills and exam anxiety with academic performance

Introduction

One of the main tasks of educational systems in every country is to transfer the cultural heritage of the society, cultivate the talents of graduates and prepare them for active participation in society. Therefore, it is necessary to educate people in order to hold various jobs, and the issue of success or failure in education is one of the most important concerns of any educational system in all societies. The success and academic performance of the students of each society shows the success of the educational system in the field of goal setting and paying attention to meeting individual needs. Therefore, the educational system can be considered efficient and successful when the academic performance of its students is the highest at different levels. Today, researchers have a special emphasis on the need to pay attention to the predictors of academic success, as in the last three decades, the study of factors affecting academic performance has been more and more the focus of educational systems (Butler and Wiene [1], 1995). Heller and Vick[2] (2000) believe that accurate prediction of academic performance is not based only on the capacities measured by intelligence tests, but one should have information about personality, motivational, emotional and cognitive characteristics that play a mediating role between abilities and progress in a special field. In this regard, according to the relationship between cognition, motivation, and emotion in human behavior, several variables have been formed and tested in order to explain the academic performance and academic progress of students in different subject areas (Wolters, Pintrich, Karbank [3], 2003).

Among the variables that are related to academic performance is exam anxiety. Sarason [4] (1986) refers to the nature of exam anxiety as a factor that causes cognitive interference in the process of attention, distorted thoughts and unrelated to the task, which causes disruption in the learning process, drop in academic performance and turning away from school. Therefore, exam anxiety can affect the academic process of students. In addition to reducing anxiety, paying attention to social skills and strengthening them can be a way to improve learning and educational activities in schools. Because social skills are learned behaviors that enable a person to have an effective relationship with others and avoid unreasonable social reactions (Gresham and Elevit [5], 2005). Therefore, social skills may be related to the academic progress of students (Swatz 1 and Walker 2, 1984, quoted by Hamidpour et al., 2018), so it is useful to pay attention to it in the academic period. In this regard, this research has paid attention to the relationship between social skills and exam anxiety with academic performance. In the following, the importance of the research is explained and the objectives of the research are mentioned.In the next part, the research questions are stated and in the last part, the important words and terms of this research are defined. Measuring academic progress and identifying the factors affecting it is one of the issues that has attracted the attention of psychologists (Binet and Simon [6], 1905, Thorndike [7], 1920, Alshat and Hamker [8], 2000; quoted by Derihaki, 2013), because achieving positive results in the field of education (by identifying and controlling factors affecting academic performance) leads to comprehensive progress. students and society (Chadoori[9], 2010). Atkinson [10] et al. (1998) consider academic performance as the learned or acquired ability resulting from the courses presented or in other words, the learned or acquired ability of a person in school subjects, which is measured by means of standardized tests (cited by Seif, 2008). Although academic performance is affected by many factors, the role of social skills in academic performance cannot be ignored.

Having social skills is one of the basic necessities of today's life. This necessity is more tangible especially for teenagers and young adults who face many situations. In this regard, the role of school and teachers is very important. Based on this, considering the importance of learning social skills in the critical years of development, it is necessary to make a preliminary evaluation of the teaching of these skills by teachers (Fathi et al., 2014).

Social skills are abilities that cause behaviors that are positively or negatively reinforced. These skills can produce positive and successful results in human relationships with others and provide more adaptation and a suitable and favorable effect on the behavior of other members of society with whom the child lives in society (Mojib, 2014). Socialization is a process during which a person's norms, skills, motivations and behaviors are formed and prepares him to enter the society (Nasaji Zawareh, 2018) and provides the basis for success in education.

Among other variables that affect academic performance is test anxiety.

Anxiety is a condition that occurs in almost all people throughout their lives and to varying degrees. slow One of the well-known anxieties in education is exam anxiety. Test anxiety is a common form of performance anxiety that affects millions of students worldwide every year. Researchers consider test anxiety to be a type of situation-related anxiety that is closely related to student learning performance in educational centers and is defined as a relatively stable trait related to threatening situations (Larson [11] et al., 2010).

Sarason [12] (1986) introduced test anxiety as a type of mental preoccupation characterized by self-doubt about academic ability and undervaluing oneself. Sarason refers to the nature of exam anxiety as a factor that causes cognitive interference in the attention process, distorted thoughts and unrelated to the task, which causes disruption in the learning process, drop in academic performance and turning away from school (Larson et al., 2010). Back exam anxiety is an unpleasant emotional reaction to the assessment situation. This excitement is characterized by the feeling of some kind of tension, anxiety and excitement of the nervous system. As Weber [13] (1988) stated: Anxiety usually refers to an unpleasant and vague emotional state that is associated with distress, panic, panic and confusion (quoted by Kazemian, 2009). Therefore, anxiety is one of the motivational and cognitive variables that significantly affects the academic progress, learning, performance, attention, concentration and information retrieval of learners (Benjamin [14], 2008) and its consequence is reducing the ability to deal with assessment situations, solving problems and reducing academic efficiency. Test anxiety is the main factor contributing to a variety of negative outcomes, including psychological distress, failure to complete high school education, and insecurity (Hember [15], 1988). Students with high test anxiety use their study and learning skills below their ability and knowledge both during study and when participating in the test (Jin [16], 2007).