Test Anxiety Disorder: Research Report on Teachers' Knowledge Levels

This report presents a research study focusing on test anxiety disorder in a school setting. The study aims to explore the knowledge level of teachers and administrators regarding this issue, examining its impact on students' academic performance and well-being. The research employs a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, using face-to-face interviews with teachers and administrators across multiple schools. Data collection involves a structured questionnaire and audio recordings to capture participants' experiences and perspectives. The study anticipates that teachers may have a limited understanding of test anxiety disorder, highlighting the importance of recognizing and addressing this problem. The report reviews existing literature on test anxiety, including its physiological and psychological effects, and explores relevant research gaps. Ethical considerations, including informed consent and data privacy, are also addressed. The research aims to contribute to the understanding of test anxiety and inform interventions to support students' mental health and academic success.

Running head: TEST ANXIETY DISORDER
Test Anxiety Disorder
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The concept of test anxiety refers to the anxious behaviours that are mainly observed
among the students, and it is manifested through emotional, physiological, cognitive and
behavioural components. Cognitive parts of test anxiety generally comprise negative
thoughts, worries that interfere an individual’s mind during or before the test, and as a result,
the cognitive insufficiencies related to retrieval, memory or attentions take place. Over the
years, it is reported that the concept of test anxiety disorders has emerged in a great way since
the last decade and in this regard, it can be stated that the number of students is now facing
the issue of test anxiety disorders during their college and school days (Dan, Bar Ilan &
Kurman, 2014). In recent studies, it is reported that among the school going children, the rate
of test anxiety disorder is very high, and along with other fears among them, this type of
disorders are also enhancing.
Aim of the Research
The main aim of this research is to explore the knowledge of test anxiety disorder among the
teachers and the administrators in a school setting.
Objective
 To explore the knowledge level among the teachers and administrators regarding the
issue of test anxiety disorder among the students.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to understand the behaviours of the students during
the time of examination by analysing the views of the teachers regarding test anxiety
disorder.

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Research Question
1) What is the amount of knowledge level among the teachers and administrators regarding
the test anxiety disorder of the students?
Review of Literature
The emerging issue of test anxiety disorder is one of the most crucial areas of concern for
the teachers and the administrators of the schools as day by day the amount of test anxiety
disorder cases among the students in the school are enhancing, and thereby the academic
performances of the students are also lowering due to this disorder among the students. The
problem associated with the test anxiety disorder is associated with physiological problems as
well. In this regard it can be stated that the problems related to the health of the students are
mainly due to the sleep disturbances of the students as they face the problem of arousal due to
the anxiety (Zeidner, 2014). Not only this, but also they also face various other physiological
problems such as shaking, sweating, muscle tension, gastric sensations, and higher heart
rates. On the other hand, while discussing the psychological aspects of the test anxiety
disorder, it can be reported that test anxiety disorder may cause lowering of motivation
among the students and thereby the academic performances of the students will also be
hampered. According to the study of Regehr et al. (2014), it is stated that the issue of test
anxiety disorder is also associated with the absenteeism among the students and in this study
it is reported that the students who are suffering from the issue of anxiety disorder, have
higher amount of absenteeism among the students. In this regard it is observed that the
students reported that they feel demotivated to attend the schools due to their anxiety disorder
and thereby it can be stated that such behaviour hampers their academic performances as
well. In another study by Kearney and Graczyk (2014), it is reported that the scores of test
anxiety disorder gradually enhanced from the early to the late elementary school years and

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along with this it is also reported that the trend of having anxiety disorder was stabilized
during the end of elementary school. The test anxiety score of the students was found to be
highest during the junior high school level as with the growing age the demands and
expectations from the academic life enhances and thus the pressure from the expectations
increases the chances of having test anxiety disorder among the students (Nelson, Lindstrom
& Foels, 2014). While discussing the reasons of test anxiety disorders among the students in
the schools, it can be stated that genetic component underlying the growth of anxiety disorder
is one of the crucial factors for developing this problem among the students. In a recent study
by Opialla et al. (2015), it is observed by the researchers that the anxiety trait is not only
located in one single brain structure or the neural circuit of the human being. In another
study, it is also stated that in the development of the anxiety disorders role of the family
environments are also very crucial.
Research Gap
From the above literature study, it can be easily observed that there are no such studies
regarding the knowledge levels of the teachers and administrators regarding the test anxiety
disorders of the students and so there is a huge scope to explore this area of research.
Methodology
Design
In this study, an interpretive hermeneutic phenomenological study method will be used by
the researchers. According to the study of Porteous and Machin (2014), it is reported that
hermeneutic phenomenology refers to the research process in which the researchers interprets
the thoughts of the participants and along with this the researchers will also add their own

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interpretation in the final study result. In this regard, it can be stated that hermeneutic will add
the interpretive component to clarify meanings of the interviews of the participants.
Sampling
A purposeful sampling method will be used by the researchers as it will help to collect
proper study participants for collecting the data. In this study, almost 3 different schools will
be assessed and as a part of this the teachers will be interviewed. As a part of this the
administrators of the schools will also be interviewed.
Data Collection
For collecting the data from the participants the researchers will use a face to face
interview. The researchers will develop a questionnaire comprised of 10 questions and the
validity of the questionnaire will be assessed by using the Cronbach Alpha test. The
participants of this study will be asked the questions for a period of 3- 4 months by the
researchers and the experiences of the teachers and the administrators will be recorded
electronically by the researchers as well. Each of the interview sessions will last for 15 to 20
minutes and all the interviews will be saved by the researchers in order to maintain the
privacy of the interviews. According to the study of Hamilton (2014), it is stated that the
main advantage of recording the interview by using the recorder is the fact that it will help
the researchers to analyse the data in a more detail manner. An Olympus Digital Voice
Recorder VN-8500PC will be used as the main technique of recording the audio. In the case
of those regions that are far from Wichita Falls Texas School district, the interview sessions
will be performed by using a telephone that is telephonic interview will be conducted. The
telephonic interview will also be recorded by using the phone recorder. After collecting all
the data from the participants, the researchers will analyse it by using a six step systematic
analysis method that involves line by line immersion, organising, reading and initial

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interpretation of textual data sets; understanding, identifying and coding. After that, the
researchers will construct the themes of the research from the interview transcript.
Ethical Considerations
Before initiating the study, the researchers will collect all the permissions from the
respective schools and along with these consent forms will also be supplied to the participants
well before the study. The researchers will also maintain the privacy of the study and the
collected data will not be used in other purposes.
Expected Outcome
From the study result it may be found that the teachers may have a low amount of
knowledge regarding the problem of test anxiety disorder and it is very crucial for them to
identify this problem.

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References
Dan, O., Bar Ilan, O., & Kurman, J. (2014). Attachment, self-esteem and test anxiety in
adolescence and early adulthood. Educational Psychology, 34(6), 659-673.
Hamilton, R. J. (2014). Using skype to conduct interviews for psychosocial research. CIN:
Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 32(8), 353-358.
Kearney, C. A., & Graczyk, P. (2014). A response to intervention model to promote school
attendance and decrease school absenteeism. In Child & Youth Care Forum (Vol. 43, No.
1, pp. 1-25). Springer US.
Nelson, J. M., Lindstrom, W., & Foels, P. A. (2014). Test anxiety and college students with
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 32(6),
548-557.
Opialla, S., Lutz, J., Scherpiet, S., Hittmeyer, A., Jäncke, L., Rufer, M., ... & Brühl, A. B.
(2015). Neural circuits of emotion regulation: A comparison of mindfulness-based and
cognitive reappraisal strategies. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical
Neuroscience, 265(1), 45-55.
Porteous, D. J., & Machin, A. (2018). The lived experience of first year undergraduate
student nurses: A hermeneutic phenomenological study. Nurse education today, 60, 56-
61.
Regehr, C., Glancy, D., Pitts, A., & LeBlanc, V. R. (2014). Interventions to reduce the
consequences of stress in physicians: a review and meta-analysis. The Journal of nervous
and mental disease, 202(5), 353-359.
Zeidner, M. (2014). Test anxiety. The Wiley handbook of anxiety disorders, 581-595.

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