Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy, Fear of Failure and Examination Malpractice Behaviour among Secondary School Students in Calabar Municipality

Abstract

Examination malpractice is a behavior in the educational system that is destructive and needs modification in order for the gains of education to be maximized. Fear of failure has been identified as one of the key causes of examination malpractice. This study investigated the effect of Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) on fear of failure among Public Secondary School Students in Calabar, Cross River State. A total of 80 students were selected for the study after the administration of a pretest to 200 students selected by means of a table of random numbers from public secondary schools in Calabar Municipal Educational zone in Calabar Municipal Area. The instrument used for data collection was the Students’ Fear of Failure Questionnaire (SFFQ) designed by the researcher. The face validity of the questionnaire was ascertained by experts in the field of Educational Psychology and Measurement and Evaluation in the department of Educational foundations of Nasarawa State University and given a 73.6% rating. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained after a pilot study, using the Cronbach Alpha and found to be .83. One research questions was asked and answered and one hypothesis formulated and tested at 0.05 alpha level. The hypothesis was tested using the Independent t-test of difference test statistics. The result of the analysis showed that there is a positive effect of REBT on fear of failure and hence on examination malpractice. The null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative hypothesis upheld. The conclusion that REBT has a positive effect on examination malpractice was reached based on the above finding.  Some recommendations were made.

Keywords: Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy, Examination Malpractice, Fear of Failure, Wrong value Orientation and Socialization.