INFLUENCE OF COMPUTER ANXIETY AND COMPUTER SELF-EFFICACY ON STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT IN RESEARCH STATISTICS COMPUTER-BASED TEST IN THE UNIVERSITY OF JOS, NIGERIA.

Abstract

This study was motivated by the persistent decline and inconsistency in students’ achievement in Research Statistics Computer-Based Tests (CBT) in the University of Jos, despite the perceived advantages of CBT over traditional paper-based testing. The noticeable decline in pass rates after the adoption of CBT suggested that factors beyond content mastery, particularly psychological readiness for CBT, might be influencing students’ performance. Consequently, the study investigated the influence of computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy on students’ achievement in Research Statistics CBT. A survey and correlational research design were employed. The study sampled 335 third-year students from a population of 2,229 within the Faculty of Education for 2022/2023 academic session using proportional stratified sampling. Data were collected through a validated Students’ Psychosocial Factors Questionnaire (SPFQ) and documented achievement scores. Descriptive statistics addressed the research questions, while Pearson Product-Moment Correlation tested the hypotheses.

Findings revealed that 45.4% of students exhibited high computer anxiety, and most students reported low to moderate computer self-efficacy. A strong negative relationship emerged between computer anxiety and achievement (r = -0.730, p < .05), indicating that higher anxiety significantly reduced performance. Conversely, a strong positive relationship was found between computer self-efficacy and achievement (r = 0.673, p < .05), showing that higher confidence in computer use facilitated better performance in CBT. The study concludes that computer anxiety and self-efficacy are key psychological determinants of achievement in Research Statistics CBT. It recommends enhanced computer literacy programmes, regular mock CBT sessions, strengthened counselling support, increased access to digital facilities, technology-integrated teaching practices, and systematic monitoring of students’ psychological readiness to improve learning outcomes in computer-based assessments.