THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF SELF-EFFICACY AND ACADEMIC RESILIENCE IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEST ANXIETY AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN RESEARCH METHODS AMONG POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS

Abstract

Test anxiety has been widely recognised as a significant psychological factor that influences students’ academic performance, particularly in courses that require analytical and methodological competence, such as research methods. In many public universities in South–South Nigeria, students often experience varying levels of anxiety during assessments, which may adversely affect their academic achievement. However, the mechanisms through which test anxiety influences academic outcomes, as well as the roles played by relevant student-related variables, remain insufficiently explored. This study, therefore, investigated the mediation effects of self-efficacy and academic resilience on the relationship between test anxiety and academic achievement in research methods courses among postgraduate students in public universities in South–South Nigeria. Four purposes, four research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The study used a correlational survey in which a causal model testing research design was adopted. The population of the study comprised 870 postgraduate students (462 males and 408 females) in the faculties of education who offered educational research and statistics in federal government-owned universities in the South-South Zone, Nigeria, during the 2024/2025 academic session. All elements in the population were used as a sample to ensure representativeness, hence the census. Data was collected using the adapted Academic Self-Efficacy Scale in Research and Statistics (ASESRS), Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30) and Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to establish the construct validity of the three adapted instruments used in the study. Using Cronbach’s alpha, the reliability estimate for the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale in Research and Statistics (ASESRS) was 0.88, Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30) was 0.87 and Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) was 0.85. The instruments were administered to the study participants. PROCESS macro in R version 4.4.3 (PROCESS Model 83) was used to answer the research questions and test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that test anxiety affects achievement both directly and indirectly through the mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and academic resilience. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that universities should institutionalize regular test-anxiety management programmes for postgraduate students, especially those enrolled in educational research and statistics.