Janet Fernandez
St. Xavier’s College, Goa
The present study attempts to assess and analyze interactions as well as observe gender differences among three psychological variables, namely; academic stress, academic self concept and academic grades. The participants consist of 135 Std. IX students, 72 boys and 63 girls, age range of 14 – 16 years, selected by simple random sampling, from four co-ed schools in Goa. Educational stress scale, Academic self-concept questionnaire and records of school grades were used as appropriate tools for data collection. The study involves the survey method and factor analysis design, wherein the research tools were administered to participants in the classroom after seeking necessary permissions. The results revealed a significant moderate negative correlation (Pearson’s r = -0.45, p < 0.01) between academic stress and academic self concept. One- way- ANOVA indicated a significant difference on academic stress [F (4,130) = 7.466, p < 0.001] as a function of academic grades and significant difference on academic self concept [F (4,130) = 10.064, p < 0.001] with respect to academic grades. Logistic Ordinal Regression model revealed that academic stress and academic self concept significantly predict variance on academic grades. Significant Gender differences were found on academic stress (t = 2.012, p< 0.05) with girls experiencing higher level of academic stress as compared to boys, and on academic self concept (t= 2.37.p< 0.01) wherein girls showed higher scores on academic self concept as compared to boys. No significant gender differences were found on academic grades. The study results reviews the significant interconnections among the variables selected in the study and stresses on the importance of interventions to reduce academic stress, implement exercises and workshops to nourish academic self-concept and provide opportunities for earning higher academic grades