INTRODUCTION:

Exam anxiety is experienced by many students while undertaking exam. There are four main areas of reported stresses which can contribute to exam anxiety including life style issue, lack of required information, studying style and psychological factors.

Life style related issues include inadequate rest, insufficient physical activity, poor nutrition and lack of time management which are considered to be the contributing factor leading to exam anxiety.

Lack of strategic studying, that is, ineffective studying style through inconsistent content coverage and studying all night before exam and inefficient studying which include lack of review and revising of course material studied are major factors leading to exam related anxiety.

Psychological factors which contribute significantly to exam anxiety are negative and irrational thinking about exams, outcomes of exams and feelings of no control over exam situation e.g. going blank during exam. Some people seem to work well with exam stress and find that it gives them the extra buzz to focus their energy on revision and course work. Others find it a tough task but manageable. Some find that their levels of stress rise too far and that the effect is that they cannot function so well. They may find it hard to concentrate, to think clearly, to sleep and to eat.

NEED FOR THE STUDY:

From the literature reviews at the national, international level it is evident that the students experience a great threat because of over anxiety and low coping and students having less knowledge to manage the difficulty regarding examination tension. The researcher aims to provide interventions in order to improve student’s knowledge and there by helps in maintaining health of the students. The goal is to reduce symptoms of stress of examination anxiety which leads to problem such as school dropouts, run away, depression, suicide so on and help the students to face the board exam without any distress. Hence the researcher aims to develop coping strategies to the tenth standard students.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

A study was conducted to examine the effect of examination stress in young adult male and female student in a medical college. Examination stress was studied in 28 young female and 21 male, 0.5 hour before physiology examination at 10-12 a.m. and 45 days after examination at same time in the year. There were no differences in male and female group control and stress conditions. Subsequent analysis between the two genders showed that males had significantly higher systolic blood pressure 124.7mmHg, diastolic blood pressure 76.56 mmHg, Heart rate 84.6beats/min increased in stress condition, were found in both males and females.

A study was conducted on medical students and their coping strategies during examination. Questionnaire method was used to collect the data. A total of 264 students out of 300 (88%) filled in the questionnaire. Inability to cope, helplessness, increased psychological pressure, mental tension and too much work load are stress factors for students. The findings revealed that 90% think that they have been stressed at one time or another. Sports, music, hanging out with friends, sleeping or going in to solution are various coping mechanisms. Better interaction with the faculty and proper guidance, advisory services and peer counselling could do a lot to reduce the anxiety.

A study was conducted among 25 members of a class of 45 medical students to assess their examination anxiety. Pre examination anxiety control exercises were conducted four week before the start of examinations. The students completed short questionnaires before and after reading the typewritten script of a counselling session of a member of their class. On pre script questionnaires, 50% of the men and 35% of women reported a high level of stress. On the post script questionnaire, only person 16% reported a reduction in anxiety after reading the script and one person recorded an increase in anxiety.

A study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of a training program on reducing needle stick injuries/sharp object injuries among 107 soon graduate vocational nursing school students. The study method consisted of a lecture to the students after the internship training and a self-study brochure for them to study. This study used the pre-test and post-test method. The results revealed that, the incidence of needle stick injuries / sharp injuries decreased significantly from 50.5% pre-test to 25.2% post-test, and the report rate increased from 37.0% to 55.6%, respectively. In conclusion, this intervention significantly reduced the incidence of needle stick injuries/sharp injuries and increased the report rate of such events.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

“A study to evaluate the effectiveness of structured teaching programme regarding knowledge on coping strategies of examination anxiety among tenth standard students in selected schools, at Delhi”

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

1. To assess the existing knowledge regarding coping strategy of examination anxiety among tenth standard students.

2. To evaluate the effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding coping strategy of examination anxiety among tenth standard students.

3. To associate the knowledge of tenth standard students regarding coping strategy of examination anxiety with the selected socio demographic variables.

Hypotheses:

H₁: The mean post test knowledge scores regarding coping strategy of examination anxiety among tenth standards students will be significantly higher than the mean pre test knowledge scores.

H₂: There will be a significant association between the pre test knowledge regarding coping strategy of examination anxiety among tenth standard students with the selected socio demographic variables.

METHODOLOGY:

Research approach: A quantitative evaluative approach was used for this study.

Research Design:

Quasi-experimental design. (One group pre-test post-test)

Variables:

Dependent Variable:

Knowledge of tenth standard students on coping strategies regarding examination anxiety.

Independent Variables:

The structured teaching programme.

Socio- demographic Variables:

Age, gender, education of father, occupation of father, religion, dietary pattern, and dietary habits etc.

Setting of the Study:

School of Excellence. & Govt. Higher Sec. school Lajpat Nagar, Delhi.

Population:

Accessible Population:

Tenth standard students in selected schools in Delhi.

Sample:

The tenth standard students who fulfill the inclusion criteria.

Sample size:

60 students studying tenth standard in the selected schools.

Sampling technique:

Purposive sampling technique

Sampling criteria:

Inclusion criteria:

Tenth standard students who:

· Can read and write English.

· Are willing to participate in the study.

· Are présent in the schools during the period of data collection.

Exclusion criteria:

Tenth standard students who have attended any preventive education on coping strategies of examination anxiety in last three months.

Development and description of the tool:

Data collection tools are the procedures or instruments used by the researcher to observe or measure key variables in the research problem.

Method of developing instrument:

The prepared tool was based on:

· Literature review

· Discussion with the experts

· Preparation of blue print.

Preparation of blue print:

A blue print of the tool was prepared by the researcher, which includes sections, number of questions and weightage in percentage for each section.

Components of the Instrument:

The instrument consists of two sections:

Section A:

This consists of seven items related to socio-demographic variables (age, sex, education of father, and occupation of father, religion, dietary pattern, and dietary habits) of tenth standard students from selected schools in Bangalore City.

Section B:

Consists of 30 items regarding the knowledge of tenth standard students on coping strategies of examination anxiety which is divided into three parts:

Part-1: Deals with general information of coping strategies of examination anxiety includes 4 multiple choice questions regarding introduction, definitions of coping strategies of examination anxiety.

Part-2: This section deals with reasons and sign and symptoms of examination anxiety. This section includes 7 multiple choice questions.

Part-3: This section deals with management and techniques of coping strategies of examination anxiety. This section includes 19 multiple choice questions.

Content Validity of STP:

To ensure content validity of the tool comprising of the socio-demographic data, structured knowledge questionnaire and structured teaching programme on coping strategies of examination anxiety were submitted to 2 Medical experts, 1 statistician and 4 child health nursing experts.

Reliability of the tool:

Reliability of the tool was established by split half method. The Reliability of score was obtained by Karl’s Pearson’s coefficient of correlation method. The ‘𝛾’ value obtained for questionnaire was 𝛾 = 0.9050. Hence the tool was found to be reliable to proceed for the data collection.

RESULTS:

The analysis is made on the basis of objectives and hypothesis. The data analysis is the following sections:

1. Description of the demographic variables.

2. Comparison of mean pre test and post test knowledge scores

3. Association between pre test knowledge sores of the respondents with selected socio demographic variables

Section-1 Description of the demographic variables:

1. Majority 33.3%of subjects belong to the each age group of 15 years and least 16.7% belong to the age group of 17years and 25% were in age group of14 years and 25 % were in the age group of 16 years.

2. Majority 68.3% of the participants were females and remaining 31.7% were males.

3. Majority 46.7% of the participants father were illiterate, illiterate and (20%) of them were primary educated and (20%) were secondary educated. graduation and above were very few only (13.3%).

4. Among participants father 43.3% were govt. employees, 31.7% were private employees and 18.3% were self employee and 6.7% were coolie.

5. Majority 51.7% of subjects are Hindus and 26.7% belongs to Muslim and 21% were Christian.

6. Most (56.7%) of the subjects were vegetarians and remaining 25% were having non vegetarian foods and 18.3% were mixed vegetarian.

7. Most (40%) of the subjects takes 3-4 meals/ day, and 30% of them take food 2 meal per day and 30% irregularly.

Section:3 Association between pre test knowledge sores of the respondents with selected socio demographic variables

Table – 2: Association between pre test knowledge sores of the respondents with selected socio demographic variables

Variables	Below Median	Median and above	Chi square	df	P value (0.05)	Inference
Age in years
a. 14 years	5	10	4.943	3	7.82	NS
b. 15 years	4	16
c. 16 years	2	13
d. 17 years	5	5
Sex
a. Male	7	12	1.472	1	3.84	NS
b. Female	9	32
Education of father
a. Illiterate	6	22	2.867	3	7.82	NS
b. Primary education	5	7
c. Secondary education	2	10
d. Graduation and above	3	5
Occupation of father
a. Govt employee	7	19	1.521	3	7.82	NS
b. Private employee	5	14
c. Self employee	2	9
d. Coolie	2	2
Family Income
a. Hindu	9	22	3.442	2	5.99	NS
b. Muslim	6	10
c. Christian	1	12
Dietary pattern
a. Vegetarian	9	25	0.747	2	5.99	NS
b. Non vegetarian	5	10
c. Mixed Vegetarian	2	9
Dietary Habits
a. 3-4 meals/day	9	15	2.543	2	5.99	NS
b. 2 meals/day	4	14
c. Irregular	3	15

CONCLUSION:

The study revealed that the structured teaching programme was effective in enhancing the knowledge of tenth class students. Therefore the above findings states that the hypothesis H₁ as stated “The mean post-test knowledge scores of tenth class students regarding coping strategies of examination anxiety will be significantly higher than the mean post-test knowledge scores” is accepted.

DELIMITATIONS:

1 The sample size is limited to 60 students.

2 The period of study will be limited to one month.

3 This study is limited to selected schools of Delhi.

RECOMMENDATION:

Based on findings of the present study recommendation offered for the future study are

1. Similar study can be conduct on a large sample.

2. A comparative study can be conducted with control Group

3. Similar study can be done with different population and setting.

REFERENCES:

1. Khaksari M, Mahmoodi M, Rezvant ME, Sajjadi MA, Karm GA, Hajizadesh S. Difference between male and female students in cardiovascular and andocrine response to exam stress. J Ayub Medical College Abbottabad. 2005 Apr-Jun;17(2):15-9.

2. Lewis L, Welters A, Griffith A. Managing pre-examination stress through remote counseling using a session script from a sentimental subject. J Telemed Telecare. 2000;6 Suppl 2: S43-4.

3. Shaikh BT, Kahloon A, Kazmi M, Khalid H, Nawaz K, Khan N et al. Students, stress and coping strategies: a case of Pakistani medical school. Education Health. 2004 Nov;17(3):346-53.

4. Ya-Hui-Yang, Saou-Hsing Liou, Chiou-Jong Chen, Chun-Yuh Yang, Chao- Ling Wang, Chiu-Ying Chen and Trong-Neng wu. The Effectiveness of a Training Program on reducing needle stick injuries / Sharp object injuries among soon graduate vocational nursing school students in southern Taiwan. Journal of Occupational Health 2007;49(5)424-9.

Received on 20.11.2019 Modified on 12.12.2019

Int. J. of Advances in Nur. Management. 2020; 8(1):35-39.

DOI: 10.5958/2454-2652.2020.00010.4

Knowledge aspects	Pre Test			Post test			Mean difference	‘t’ Value
Knowledge aspects	Mean	Mean %	SD	Mean	Mean %	SD	Mean difference	‘t’ Value
General information	2.07	51.75	0.899	2.53	63.25	0.982	0.467	4.368
Reasons and sign and symptoms	3.25	46.42	1.398	4.65	66.42	1.368	1.4	7.29
Management and technique	9.28	48.84	3.247	13.17	69.31	3.026	3.89	9.941
Over all	14.16	48.66	4.114	20.35	67.83	4.206	5.75	10.083