Effect of Students' Perceptions of Course Load on Test Anxiety
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Objectives The objective of this study was to examine the association between student perceptions of course load, their ability to manage time, and test anxiety. Methods A survey was self-administered to all students (professional years 1 through 4) enrolled in the PharmD curriculum at the University of Houston (2001) with items measuring test anxiety, perceived course load, and ability to manage time. Results One hundred ninety-eight students participated in the survey (response rate P1 = 48%, P2 = 52%, P3 = 52%, P4 = 72%). There was a significant difference in students' perception of course load, ability to manage time, and test anxiety scores across the 4 years. Test anxiety was positively correlated with students' perceptions of course load and negatively related to their ability to manage time with course work. Conclusions Students' perception of course load and their ability to manage time with their course work is associated with test anxiety. Future studies should evaluate the role of stress/time management programs to reduce stress and anxiety.
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The most frequently reported factors contributing to stress and anxiety around examination periods are extensive course loads, lack of physical exercise, and long duration of exams.
“In a number of studies, authors found that the most frequently reported factors contributing to stress and anxiety around the examination periods were extensive course loads, lack of physical exercise, and long duration of exams, reported by the students (Harikiran et al., 2012; Hashmat et al., 2008; Sansgiry and Sail, 2006; Shah et al., 2010).”
From Examining perceptions of academic stress and its sources among university students: The Perception of Academic Stress Scale (2015) · cites this paper as Sansgiry and Sail, 2006
The Results report that perceived course load was positively correlated with test anxiety, and the Conclusions (p. 5) reaffirm that association. The paper does not identify course load as one of the most frequently reported causes, nor does it report lack of exercise or long exam duration as such causes; the Discussion mentions exercise only as part of a stress-management intervention reported by another study. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredTest anxiety among pharmacology students is positively correlated with perceptions of course load and negatively related to ability to manage time with course work.
“Based on a self-administered survey, it was demonstrated that test anxiety among pharmacology students (n = 198) was positively correlated with students’ perceptions of course load and negatively related to their ability to manage time with course work (Sansgiry and Sail, 2006).”
From Examining perceptions of academic stress and its sources among university students: The Perception of Academic Stress Scale (2015) · cites this paper as Sansgiry and Sail, 2006
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Cites
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Bedewy, D., & Gabriel, A. (2015) · Health Psychology Open · doi:10.1177/2055102915596714 · Cited by 561 · see citing works
- Authors
- Sansgiry, S. S., & Sail, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Houston (US)
- Texas Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Sansgiry, Sujit S.
- ORCID
- Sansgiry, Sujit S.
- Venue
- American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2006-09
- Volume
- 70
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 26
- ISSN
- 0002-9459 (ISSN-L)
- 1553-6467
- PMC
- PMC1636912
- OpenAlex
- W1990885800
- Cited by
- 109
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies
- Keywords
- test anxiety, time management, pharmacy students, PharmD curriculum, academic stress, student perceptions, stress management interventions
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety, Education, Pharmacy, Health Surveys, Humans, Personal Satisfaction, Social Behavior, Students, Pharmacy, Time Management
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