INFLUENCE AND REGULATION OF SELF- ESTEEM AND TEST ANXIETY ON STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IN PHYSICS EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOL

The present scenario of child education in our basic schools and colleges has taken negative approaches against learning in the areas of Students’ negative characters based on their social understanding and participation. This has been drastically affecting their learning ability. Based on this, this study examined the influence of self-esteem and test anxiety on students’ performance in secondary school physics. Recognizing the critical role of psychological factors in academic achievement, the research aimed to explore how these factors interact to affect student engagement and success in physics, a subject often seen as challenging. Using a mixed-methods approach, data was collected through quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews from a sample of 100 secondary school students and total of 100 responses were validated. And the enrolled participants were all respondent are Physics students in Edo State. The results showed that higher self-esteem is positively correlated with better performance in physics, while elevated test anxiety negatively impacts scores. While the elevated test anxiety negatively impacts students’ scores. The study concluded that interventions aimed at improving self-esteem and managing test anxiety can significantly enhance academic outcomes. It recommends that schools provide training and resources to help students cope with test anxiety both in and out of school.