ACADEMIC ANXIETY AND COPING MECHANISM: BASIS FOR A PROPOSED PLAN OF DEALING WITH ACADEMIC ANXIETY OF GRADE 11 STUDENTS

This research study was conducted to propose an intervention plan focusing on dealing with the Grade 11 students of Inosloban-Marawoy Integrated National High School who encountered academic anxiety and strategizing coping mechanisms. The researcher assessed the level of academic anxiety in terms of academic expectations, facilitation and examination, and academic self-perception, and the level of coping mechanisms in terms of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping mechanisms. Through the use of convergent-parallel mixed methods research design with the underlying support of Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping and with the tools survey questionnaire and one-on-one interview, the result showed that the majority of the respondents were enrolled in HUMSS strand, ages 15-16 years old, and male students; a quite bit encountered academic anxiety, specifically on academic expectations while both facilitation and examination and academic self-perception ranked to the last. Additionally, the respondents showed that the coping mechanisms in terms of problem-focused are more effective than emotion-focused. Lastly, it was found out that gender and strand have significant difference on the level of academic anxiety, age do not have; gender has significant difference on coping mechanisms while both age and strand do not have; and there is a small, positive correlation between the level of academic anxiety and level of coping mechanisms. The researcher recommended a proposed work plan for the institutionalization of academic anxiety containing different intervention and student support programs to help the senior high school students to handle and overcome academic anxiety.