Effects of Rational-Emotive Behaviour and Systematic Desensitization Therapies On Ss1 Students’ Test Anxiety in Government Senior Secondary School, Township, Jos-Nigeria

ABSTRACT

The study examined the effects of Rational-Emotive Behaviour and Systematic Desensitization therapies on SS1 Students‟ test anxiety in Government Senior Secondary School, Township, Jos. This was motivated by the increasing incidence of mass failure of students in West African Examination Council (WAEC) and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). This anxious state seems to make students fear examinations and engage in malpractices. The study examined the following variables associated with test anxiety such as: self-concept, self-efficacy and willingness to engage in examination malpractice. The pre-test, post-test control group experimental design was used. The population of the study consisted of all SS1 students with test anxiety in Government Senior Secondary School Township, Jos. The sample consisted of eighty SS1 students made up of both sexes in Government Senior Secondary School Township, Jos. The treatment consisted of Rational-Emotive Behaviour Therapy, Systematic Desensitization and Combined therapies that were aimed at counselling and educating students on test anxiety. There were twenty students in each treatment and control group. A researcher designed questionnaire named Students Test Anxiety Questionnaire (STAQ) was used for data collection. The statistical techniques used for data analysis were Mean, Standard Deviation, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe Multiple Comparison Test. The homogeneity of variance was tested at 0.05 significance level. Pearson Product Moment was used to correlate the first and second test for reliability index of the instrument. The reliability result gave a correlation that was significant at 0.01 level and an index of 0.92. Therefore, all the four null hypotheses were rejected, indicating that the treatments were effective in changing students‟ behaviours. The results showed a statistically significant effect of the treatments (Rational-Emotive Behaviour Therapy, Systematic Desensitization and combined Therapies) on SS1 students‟ test anxiety as well as the related variables such as self-concept, self-efficacy and willingness to engage in examination malpractice. Rational-Emotive Behaviour Therapy was more effective in reducing students‟ test anxiety than Systematic Desensitization and Combined Therapies. xiv The results also showed that the treatment groups were found to be significantly different from the control group. The findings of the study were interpreted in terms of the need to counsel students out of the fear for examinations. The implication of the findings is that there are positive attitudinal and behavioural changes towards test anxiety. It is recommended that since Rational-Emotive Behaviour and Systematic Desensitization Therapies were effective in reducing test anxiety in Secondary School Students, they could be incorporated in the teacher training programmes to be used in normal classroom teaching in order to reduce test anxiety in students.