![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
Prior to high stakes examinations, teachers may engage in instructional practices to encourage their students to prepare well for their exams, including the use of ‘fear appeals’. The current study examined whether academic buoyancy played a role in student appraisals of fear appeals as threatening or challenging. High school students (N = 770) preparing for high-stakes mathematics exams in England completed self-report measures of the frequency with which their teacher used fear appeals, how they appraised those fear appeals, and their academic buoyancy. In line with prediction, students appraised fear appeals as more threatening and challenging as the frequency of fear appeal use increased. When fear appeals were used more frequently, a challenge appraisal was more likely when academic buoyancy was higher. Although a threat appraisal was less likely when academic buoyancy was higher, the protective influence diminished when fear appeals were used more frequently. Educational implications are discussed.
Keywords Academic buoyancy, fear appeals, challenge, high-stakes examinations, threat
References
Section:
| Chen, J. J. L. (2008) Grade-level differences: Relations of parental, teacher and peer support to academic engagement and achievement among Hong Kong students. School Psychology International 29(2): 183–198. doi: 10.1177/0143034308090059. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
| Hanushek, E. A., Raymond, M. F. (2005) Does school accountability lead to improved student performance? Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 24(2): 297–327. doi: 10.1002/pam.20091. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Heck, R. H., Thomas, S. L. (2009) An introduction to multilevel modelling techniques., (2nd ed.). Hove: Routledge. Google Scholar | |
| Hoferichter, F., Raufelder, D., Eid, M. (2014) The mediating role of socio-motivational relationships in the interplay of perceived stress, neuroticism, and test anxiety among adolescent students. Psychology in the Schools 5(7): 736–752. doi: 10.1002/pits.21778. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Koretz, D., Hamilton, L. S. (2006) Testing for accountability in K-12. In: Brennan, R. L. (eds) Educational measurement. (4th ed.), Westport, CT: American Council on Education, pp. 531–578. Google Scholar | |
| Locker, J., Cropley, M. (2004) Anxiety, depression and self-esteem in secondary school children: An investigation into the impact of SAT's and other important school examinations. School Psychology International 25(3): 333–345. doi: 10.1177/0143034304046905. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
| Lüdtke, O., Robitzsch, A., Trautwein, U., Kunter, M. (2009) Assessing the impact of learning environments: How to use student ratings of classroom or school characteristics in multilevel modelling. Contemporary Educational Psychology 34(2): 120–131. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2008.12.001. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Marsh, H. W., Lüdtke, O., Nagengast, B., Trautwein, U., Morin, A. J. S., Abduljabbar, A. S. (2012) Classroom climate and contextual effects: Conceptual and methodological issues in the evaluation of group-level effects. Educational Psychologist 47(2): 106–124. doi.10.1080/00461520.2012.670488. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Martin, A. J. (2013) Academic buoyancy and academic resilience: Exploring ‘everyday’ and ‘classic’ resilience in the face of academic adversity. School Psychology International 34(5): 488–500. doi: 10.1177/0143034312472759. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
| Martin, A. J., Colmar, S. H., Davey, L. A., Marsh, H. W. (2010) Longitudinal modelling of academic buoyancy and motivation: Do the ‘5Cs’ hold up over time? British Journal of Educational Psychology 80(3): 473–496. doi:10.1348/000709910X486376. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
| Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2003). Academic resilience and the four Cs: Confidence, control, composure and commitment. In: Paper presented at joint AARE/NZARE Conference: Education Research, Risks and Dilemmas, Auckland. Deakin, AARE, 29 November. Google Scholar | |
| Martin, A. J., Marsh, H. W. (2008a) Academic buoyancy: Towards an understanding of students' everyday academic resilience. Journal of School Psychology 46(1): 53–83. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2007.01.002. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
| Martin, A. J., Marsh, H. W. (2008b) Workplace and academic buoyancy: Psychometric assessment and construct validity amongst school personnel and students. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 26(2): 169–184. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
| Martin, A. J., Marsh, H. W. (2009) Academic resilience and academic buoyancy: Multidimensional and hierarchical conceptual framing of causes, correlates and cognate constructs. Oxford Review of Education 35(3): 353–370. doi: 10.1080/03054980902934639. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Morin, A. J. S., Marsh, H. W., Nagengast, B., Scalas, L. F. (2014) Doubly latent multilevel analyses of classroom climate: An illustration. The Journal of Experimental Education 82(2): 143–167. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2013.769412. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Peugh, J. L. (2009) A practical guide to multilevel modelling. Journal of School Psychology 48(1): 85–112. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2009.09.002. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Putwain, D. W. (2009) Assessment and examination stress in Key Stage 4. British Educational Research Journal 35(3): 391–411. doi: 10.1080/01411920802044404. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Putwain, D. W., & Best, N. (2011). Fear appeals in the primary classroom: Effects on test anxiety and test grade. Learning and Individual Differences, 21(5), 580–584. Google Scholar | |
| Putwain, D. W., Connors, L., Symes, W., Douglas-Osborn, E. (2012) Is academic buoyancy anything more than adaptive coping? Anxiety, Stress and Coping 25(3): 349–358. 10.1080/10615806.2011.582459. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
| Putwain, D. W., Daly, A. L. (2013) Do clusters of test anxiety and academic buoyancy differentially predict academic performance? Learning and Individual Differences 27: 157–162. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2013.07.010. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Putwain, D. W., Remedios, R. (2014) The scare tactic: Do fear appeals predict motivation and exam scores? School Psychology Quarterly. April 2014. doi:10.1037/spq0000048. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
| Putwain, D. W., Remedios, R., Symes, W. (2014) The appraisal of fear appeals as threatening or challenging: Frequency of use, academic self-efficacy and subjective value. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology. . Advance online publication, doi: 10.1080/01443410.2014.963028. Google Scholar | |
| Putwain, D. W., Roberts, C. M. (2009) The development of an instrument to measure teachers' use of fear appeals in the GCSE classroom. British Journal of Educational Psychology 79(4): 643–661. doi: 10.1348/000709909X426130. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
| Putwain, D. W., Roberts, C. M. (2012) Fear and efficacy appeals in the classroom: The secondary teachers' perspective. Educational Psychology 32(3): 355–372. doi: 10.1080/01443410.2012.659845. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Putwain, D. W., Symes, W. (2011a) Teachers' use of fear appeals in the Mathematics classroom: Worrying or motivating students? British Journal of Educational Psychology 81(3): 456–474. doi: 10.1348/2044-8279.002005. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
| Putwain, D. W., Symes, W. (2011b) Perceived fear appeals and examination performance: Facilitating or debilitating outcomes? Learning and Individual Differences 21(2): 227–232. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2010.11.022. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Putwain, D. W., Symes, W. (2014) The perceived value of maths and academic self-efficacy in the appraisal of fear appeals used prior to a high-stakes test as threatening or challenging. Social Psychology of Education 17(2): 229–248. doi: 10.1007/s11218-014-9249-7. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Sprinkle, R., Hunt, S., Simonds, C., & Comadena, M. (2006). Fear in the classroom: An examination of teachers' use of fear appeals and students' learning outcomes. Communication Education, 55(4), 389–402. Google Scholar | |
| Zimmerman, B. J., Dibenedetto, M. K. (2008) Mastery learning and assessment: Implications for students and teachers in an era of high-stakes testing. Psychology in the Schools 45(3): 206–216. doi:10.1002/pits.20291. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI |
