Qualitative Research On Junior High School Students’ Test Anxiety Under The Background Of COVID-19 Epidemic

COVID-19 pandemic,which started at the end of 2019,is another major global public health crisis after SARS virus in 2002.The epidemic has not only brought physical illness to the public,but also had a negative impact on psychology,causing psychological problems such as panic,anxiety,mania and depression.For junior high school students,the frequent switching between home online learning and school offline learning during the epidemic may cause some students to have test anxiety,which will lead to a series of negative results such as poor test scores.This paper mainly explores the test anxiety of junior high school students in Nanchang A school during the online learning during the epidemic period(March 2022-March 2023),analyzes the causes of test anxiety during the epidemic period,and puts forward targeted suggestions according to the research conclusions.This study is mainly divided into two parts:In the first part,a questionnaire survey was used to collect and analyse data from students in the first and second grades of School A in Nanchang to understand the current situation of test anxiety among junior high school students in School A during this particular period.In the second part,15 students with high test anxiety,five parents of students with high test anxiety and seven class teachers were selected to volunteer for interviews based on the results of the questionnaire survey.The interview texts were coded level by level according to the three-level coding procedure of Zagan’s theory,which eventually led to a theoretical model of the factors influencing test anxiety among junior high school students during the epidemic.The main results of the study are as follows:(1)On March 18 th and 19 th,2022,a questionnaire survey was conducted among189 students in Grade One and Grade Two of Nanchang A School.The data analysis showed that 37% of the students were in high-level test anxiety,40% were in middle-level test anxiety,and 23% were in low-level test anxiety.This result showed that the overall situation of junior high school students’ test anxiety was not optimistic during the epidemic period,and more than 70% of the students were in middle-high level.(2)From October 2022 to March 2023,15 students were selected as interviewees according to the test scores of TAS scale from high to low,and at the same time,5parents and 7 head teachers were randomly selected from these 15 students for interview investigation.By coding and analyzing the interview texts,it is found that the factors affecting students’ test anxiety during the epidemic period are not only dominated by academic pressure,but also caused by the interaction of parent-child conflict,physical decline,emotional instability,poor learning status,poor time management and insufficient adaptability.Conclusion: The overall situation of test anxiety among junior high school students in School A during the epidemic was not optimistic.In the analysis of the factors influencing test anxiety,it was found that the interaction between personal,family,school and social factors had an impact on the test anxiety of junior high school students.Finally,according to the above research conclusions,in order to reduce the test anxiety of junior high school students during the epidemic and after resuming school,the following suggestions are put forward: individuals should improve their self-education ability,turn off unnecessary mobile phone apps or set their mobile phones as do not disturb mode during home study,and persist in physical exercise for30-40 minutes every day;Parents should build a good family atmosphere.When children show anxiety,it is normal to tell them that they are worried and anxious about the exam.They can also seek professional psychological counseling to help their children adjust their mentality.Schools should improve management efficiency according to the actual situation,introduce high-quality teachers and teaching equipment to improve the overall level of schools,and conduct online mental health education classes and psychological counseling during the epidemic period;Teachers should constantly improve their professional quality,improve their online teaching ability,and do a good job of home-school communication during the epidemic;The society should provide more support for junior high school students,and the relevant departments should strictly examine the false news on the internet to stop the spread of false news from the source.Parents,schools and teachers should provide psychological counseling to students who return to school after the epidemic.