Emotional Intelligence and Self-Regulated Learning towards English Examination Stress: A Comparative Study between Primary and Secondary School Students

Abstract

English Examination stress is becoming an alarming issue to most of Malaysian students nowadays. There are hardly any documented records of studies on influence of emotional intelligence and self-regulated learning towards English examination stress faced by the students. The major purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence and self-regulated learning towards English examination stress among primary and secondary school students in Pasir Gudang District, Johor. The research design applied in this study was quantitative approach. The instruments used in this study were Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), Self-regulation formative questionnaire and Examination Stress Scale (ExamSS). The respondents were 334 Year Four students and 388 Form Four students from Pasir Gudang District. Results in linear regression analysis revealed that the self-regulated learning significantly contributing 4.4% in primary and 13.7% in secondary towards examination stress. Meanwhile, the multiple regression showed that, only self-regulated learning was more significant towards examination stress. The present study contributes to an understanding of the relationship and impact of self-regulated learning towards English examination stress.