SCIENCE ANXIETY, SELF-ESTEEM, AND SCIENCE

PERFORMANCE: A CORRELATIONAL STUDY

PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL

2023
Volume: 13
Pages: 969-973
Document ID: 2023PEMJ1225
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8379977
Manuscript Accepted: 2023-24-9
Psych Educ, 2023, 13: 969-973, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1225, doi:10.5281/zenodo.8379977, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

Science Anxiety, Self-Esteem, and Science Performance:

A Correlational Study
Harry R. Palmes*
For affiliations and correspondence, see the last page.
Abstract
This descriptive correlational study aimed at finding out the relationship between science anxiety,
self-esteem, and science performance junior high school students. This study involved 400 students
from different public and private schools in the municipality of Calinog, Iloilo Western Visayas,
Philippines. The quantitative data were collected using researcher-made questionnaires to identify the
level of science anxiety and self-esteem, while science and technology performance were measured
by their GPA grade in science subjects. Findings revealed that High School students as an entire
group exhibited a satisfactory science performance, a low level of Science Anxiety and a high level
of Self Esteem. The correlation result revealed significant correlation between science anxiety and
self-esteem, but both have no significant relation with the science performance of high school
students.

Keywords: science anxiety, self-esteem, science performance

Introduction predictor of academic performance. Students with high

Science plays an important and crucial role in the
education of the newest generation. With the rapid
advancements in science and technology this field is
very vital to everyday life. Being aware of what is
going on in the world of science and why certain
phenomenon occur is important to a student’s
education in science. Science may be a difficult
subject for some students. A single lesson in science
may leave a student feeling lost and confused. A
lesson on a topic in science may be overly wordy and
hard to interpret or understand.
While some students excel in science, many find
learning the complex discipline decidedly difficult.
Science is a subject comprised of a plethora of rules
and principles. Without a firm grasp of these rules, and
an understanding of what they mean, students will
struggle to understand scientific information. There are
several reasons why students may struggle to learn
these scientific principles and, therefore, have
difficulty comprehending the discipline. This difficulty
leads to anxiety on the subject often leads to problems
concentrating while studying and remembering, which
makes the student feel helpless and like a
failure(Schreiner, 2010).
Most studies on academic anxiety do not differentiate
by subject matter. But some people develop anxiety
about performance in specific subject areas or about
particular skills. They may be comfortable in most
academic contexts but have great difficulty performing
in one domain. But in general, according to literatures
academic anxiety is a well-established, significant
levels of anxiety are unable to perform at the best of
their ability (Mirawdali, Morrissey and Ball, 2018)
If anxiety isn't properly addressed, it can have many
serious and lasting consequences, such as causing a
student to procrastinate, perform poorly on
schoolwork, fail classes, and withdraw from
socializing with peers or pursuing activities that
interest him. Academic anxiety results from the fear of
criticism from peers, parents, and teachers for not
carrying out one's academic duties to the best of one's
ability. A person's performance may suffer if they have
academic anxiety since it shortens their attention span,
hinders their ability to concentrate, and impairs their
memory (Bhansali, &Trivedi, 2008).
Self-esteem is the core issue in social and performance
anxiety. It is important to consider the difference
between a people who says, “I have lost three battles”
from the one who says, “I am a loser”. Failure has
more to do with one's self-concept than one’s actual
unsuccessful experiences. The person who suffers
from social or performance anxiety misinterprets
unsuccessful experiences. Not winning, making
mistakes, rejection, and failing at something are too
often interpreted as a flaw, or an attack on the core of
the person's being. Unresolved, uncomfortable
emotions from the past are activated by “performance”
challenges. Self-esteem is how people feel about
themselves and how much they like themselves,
especially socially and academically when it comes to
students. Through the many pressures and daunting
responsibilities of being a student, one learns and
understands the importance of having a high self-

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Psych Educ, 2023, 13: 969-973, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1225, doi:10.5281/zenodo.8379977, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
esteem. When a person is suffering from academic
anxiety, he/she may lose concentration on the task at
hand may end up undertaking some unproductive
behavior that further reduces the efficiency of the
person.
In theory, high self-esteem might improve
performance by increasing confidence, by making
people willing to persist despite initial failure, by
means of self-fulfilling prophecies, by eagerness to
seek out challenges, and by other means. Much
research has been conducted on the effects of self-
esteem on education level has shown that those with a
higher level of self-concept tend to do better in school
and receive more education. This further indicates that
those with more education have a higher level of self-
concept. There is general agreement that there is a
close relationship between self-esteem and academic
achievement. However, there is considerable
disagreement as to the specific nature of this
relationship. It has been argued that students have to
do well in school in order to have positive self-esteem
or self-concept; another position is that a positive self-
esteem is a necessary prerequisite for doing well in
school (Baumeister, 2003).
Despite anxiety and self-esteem has only rarely
studied, the available research suggests that high self-
esteem may have positive consequences for the well-
being and success of the individual and that low self-
esteem may be a risk factor for negative outcomes
(Sowislo & Orth, 2013). Due to the interest in these
relationships, the researcher decided to take these
relationships as basis in conducting his studies and see
if he could also positively correlate these
relationships.
In the K to 12 curriculum here in the Philippines,
science and technology is being taught in four subject
areas in different year levels. Students often struggle to
wrap their heads around abstract concepts. Because
they cannot physically see the principles about which
they are learning, they are unable to process the
information they are receiving through the lesson.
Similarly, disciplines with scientific numbers are too
infinitely large or infinitesimally small to be easily
understood. These issues are believed by the
researcher can serve as stumbling block standing
between a student and true scientific understanding.
For these reasons, he would like to ascertain if the
performance in Science and Technology subjects
(Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics) of
high school students is significantly associated with
science anxiety and self-esteem.
This research was also chosen by the researcher
Harry R. Palmes
because of practical reasons. He wants to engage in a
study in line with his chosen field, the availability of
resources and materials and the accessibility of
conducting the said research. The theoretical
framework of the study was anchored in the following:
Jeffry V. Mallow (1986) where he identified the
phenomenon for which he coined the term “science
anxiety”. He stated that science anxiety usually
manifests itself as a crippling panic on exams in
science classes, but it is distinct from general test or
performance anxiety. He stated that students suffering
from science anxiety are often calm and productive in
their non-science courses, including their mathematics
courses. According to the theory of Lawrence (2000),
self-esteem construct is recognized today to be a major
factor in learning outcomes. His study has consistently
shown a positive correlation between how people
value themselves and the level of their academic
attainments. Those who feel confident generally
achieve more, while those who lack confidence in
themselves achieve less.
Methodology
The Subject
The participants of this study were the four hundred
(400) selected junior high school students in the
municipality of Calinog, Iloilo, Region VI, Western
Visayas, Philippines. The number of the sample
participants was determined using the G*Power (Faul,
Erdfelder, Buchner and Lang, 2009) from the total
population of junior high school earners in the
municipality.
Data Gathering Instruments
The data gathering instruments used were research-
made questionnaires and are in two parts. First part is
the personal data sheet that was used to gather
personal data of the participants (sex and type of
school). The second part was composed of two
questionnaires in the form of a Likert-Scale (5-point).
These were a set of questions which determined the
science anxiety and self-esteem of high school
students. These questionnaires undergone the process
of validation, pilot tested and was tested for reliability
which the result showed a Cronbach alpha of 0.879
(for Science Anxiety questionnaire and 0.856 (for Self-
Esteem questionnaire). The data on the science
performance of the participants were obtained from the
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Research Article

GPAs (General Point Average) in their science Table 1. Level of Science Anxiety, Self-Esteem, and
subjects.The data obtained from the High School Science Performance of High School Learners.
students was held confidential for security purposes.

Data Collection Procedure

Permission to conduct the research study was secured

from the principals and school heads of the different
high schools in the municipality of Calinog to conduct
the study in their school as well as the securing of
student’s GPAs (General Point Average) in the science
subjects. The researchers personally explained and
administered the questionnaires to the respondents,
after which the data was collected, processed, and
subjected to the pertinent statistical tools.
Data Analysis Procedure
To answer the problem, gathered data were tallied,
processed, and analyzed examined using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 with an
alpha set at 0.05. Data results were shown through the
table where it was noted the relationship between
science anxiety, self-esteem, and science performance
of the participants.
Statistical Tools. This correlational study sought the
help of an expert to present the result and findings of
the study. The researcher, together with the statistician
used mean, and Spearman’s rho to analyze the data to
understand the relationship between science anxiety,
self-esteem, and science performance of the
participants.
Results and Discussion
The data revealed that the level of science anxiety of
the participants as an entire group was low (M = 2.43,
s.d.= 0.61). Despite science subjects has such high
cognitive and psychological demands in which
students must be able to comprehend other topics,
retain difficult and frequently abstract concepts, and
maintain high levels of drive and perseverance
throughout their studies, still the learners were found
not anxious with such subjects.
The result also revealed that the participants have a
high level of self-esteem (M = 2.12, s.d.= 0.33) as an
entire group. This simply shows that the participant of
the study has a high sense of self-worth. It can be
furthered that they have confidence among themselves
as a student.
Lastly the science performance of the participants
taken as an entire group, was satisfactory (M = 83.64,
s.d.= 3.44). This simply means that participants neither
is doing good nor bad in their performance in science
subjects.
Table 2. The Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient
results for the Relationship between the Science and
Technology Performance, Science Anxiety Level and
Level of Self Esteem of the Respondents.

Table 1 shows the level of science anxiety, self-

esteem, and science performance of the high school
learners. The major areas of science taught under the
basic education curriculum were Physical Science,
Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in a spiral approach.
Science is considered one of the most challenging to
learn. The difficulty of science might be due to a
variety of factors. The researcher perceived that the The data on the correlation results for the relationship
difficulties that they experience is more likely why between Science Anxiety Self Esteem and Science
performance of the participants is shown on Table 2.
learners develop fear in learning science which also
Spearman correlation coefficient results showed that
affect their self-esteem as a student.
there is a significant correlation between the
respondents’ Science Anxiety level and level of Self

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Psych Educ, 2023, 13: 969-973, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1225, doi:10.5281/zenodo.8379977, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
Esteem. It can be implied from the that the anxiety that
the learners feel in their science subjects is associated
with their self-esteem, vice versa. The findings
replicated the correlation between anxiety and self-
esteem studies in which low self-esteem has been
associated with anxiety symptoms and somatic
complaints while high self-esteem has been considered
as an important buffer against anxiety (Millings et
al.,2012; Morley & Moran, 2011; O’Brien, Bartoletti,
& Leitzel, 2006). Cross-sectional research studies of
Lee and Hankin, (2009) have reported correlations of
medium of high statistical power between self-esteem
and anxiety. Despite anxiety and self-esteem has only
rarely studied, the available research suggests that high
self-esteem may have positive consequences for the
well-being and success of the individual and that low
self-esteem may be a risk factor for negative outcomes
(Sowislo & Orth, 2013).
On the other hand, results showed that there is no
significant correlation between the respondents’
science anxiety level and the science performance. The
result contradicted the result of the correlational study
of Cho (2020) in which she found out that there was
significant negative correlation between science
anxiety and science achievement. It can be concluded
that science anxiety has negative contributions to the
development of achievement in Science. Additionally
the result go against the systematic review conducted
by Hashempour and Mehrad (2014), which concluded
that academic anxiety negatively affects success as
anxious students are self-preoccupied, not focusing on
their learning process, had shorter memory span and
poor emotional intelligence (Hashempour, 2014).
Furthermore, it was also revealed that there is no
significant correlation between the respondents’ self-
esteem and their science performance. This study is
unique to previous studies in the literature that self-
esteem is associated with performance. Studies like
Bailey and Phillips (2016) in which they stated that
self-esteem is another key factor that influences
academic performance; it is relevant because it has
been closely related to motivation and academic
achievement.
Hadinezhad & Masoudzadeh (2018) emphasized that
students with high self-esteem participate
enthusiastically in the learning process. Such students
are more confident, active and motivated towards
learning. Students with high self-esteem perform better
in examination as compared to those students who
have low self-esteem. Self-esteem according to
Cheema & Bhardwaj (2021) predicts academic
achievement, confidence level, job performance and
Harry R. Palmes
satisfaction in relationships and in marriages. It
improves one’s belief in oneself.
Conclusion
Self-esteem and science anxiety levels have no
significant relationship with the performance in
science and technology of high school students. This
means levels of self-esteem and levels of science
anxiety are not associated with learners’ science
performance. Furthermore, there is a significant
correlation between science anxiety and level of self-
esteem of the respondents. This simply shows that the
level of science anxiety of the respondents is
associated with self-esteem of the learners. This may
be true for people with low self-esteem, for example, a
low degree of confidence in their skills and abilities.
Once a person develops anxiety their confidence in a
particular thing decreases, this may lead to insecurity
and lack of self-focus. On the contrary, a person with a
solid sense of self-esteem will choose whatever course
of action he/she feels is best without excessive concern
or indecision.
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Millings, A., Buck, R., Montgomery, A., Spears, M., & Stallard, P.
Affiliations and Corresponding Information
(2012). School connectedness, peer attachment, and self-esteem as
predictors of adolescent depression. Journal of Adolescence, 35, Harry R. Palmes
1061-1067. Calinog National Comprehensive High School
Department of Education – Philippines
Mirawdali, S., Morrissey, H., and Ball, P.(2018). Academic anxiety
and its effects on academic performance. International Journal of
Current Research. Vol. 10, Issue, 06, pp.70017-70026,

Morley, T. E., & Moran, G. (2011). The origins of cognitive

vulnerability in early childhood: Mechanisms linking early
attachment to later depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 31,

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