Combating Examination Stress among University Students: Action Research in an Institutional Context

Abstract 167 students completed a questionnaire survey immediately after completing their final examinations. A significant minority of students reported finding their experiences moderately to highly stressful. Stress levels were related to general psychological states in the whole of the preceding year, particularly anxiety, depression and sleeplessness. Major sources of stress were seen to be work overload, revision difficulties, and uncertainty about examination content and the future. Stress was shown to have a detrimental effect on examination performance. Students employed a variety of coping strategies. Strategies that were widely used and felt to be effective included peer support, taking time off work and away from the institution, and exercise. There is some evidence that these strategies were actually effective in reducing stress, and that the early help of a counsellor increases the repertoire of coping strategies. The principal institutional response urged by respondents was the partial or total dismantling of the final examination system and its replacement with a variety of assessment forms distributed throughout the course. The implications of these findings for the roles of counsellors and other staff are discussed.