EFFECT OF SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF TECHNIQUE ON TEST ANXIETY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The dynamic nature of contemporary schooling, coupled with increased exposure to social media and heightened academic demands, necessitates a corresponding evolution in student support strategies to adequately address students academic and psychosocial well-being. This study investigated the effect of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Techniques (SFBTs) on test anxiety among secondary school students in Onitsha North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The study adopted a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The population of the study comprised all 300 SS2 students with high test anxiety in the 16 public co-educational secondary schools in Onitsha North L.G.A. The sample consisted of 40 participants (15 males and 25 females) selected through purposive sampling based on high scores on the Test Anxiety Inventory and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, with 20 students in each group. The experimental group received six sessions of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy intervention, while the control group received conventional counselling. Data were collected using an adopted Spielberger Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI). The internal consistency reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach’s alpha. Mean scores were used to answer the research questions, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. Data collected were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 24. Findings revealed that SFBTs significantly reduced test anxiety among secondary school students in the experimental group compared to the control group. It was concluded that Solution-Focused Brief Therapy is effective, time-efficient, and suitable for managing test anxiety in school settings. Based on the findings, the study recommended that guidance counsellors in Onitsha North L.G.A should adopt SFBT as a structured intervention for test-anxious students. The Anambra State Post Primary Schools Service Commission should organize training workshops to equip counsellors with SFBT skills. Curriculum planners and the Ministry of Education should also integrate brief solution-focused strategies into school guidance programs and policy frameworks