On Meaningful Measurement: Junior College Pupils' Anxiety towards Computer Programming

Abstract

This article reports the use of Rating Scale Analysis on a computer programming anxiety instrument which was designed for use by teachers to identify and diagnose a student's level and forms of computer programming anxiety. This instrument comprised three subscales: “Errors,” “Significant Others” and “Confidence,” with the former two measuring state anxiety and the latter trait anxiety. The subscales are of Likert type and have been normed on a sample of 200 Computer Science students from Junior Colleges (Grade 12) in the Republic of Singapore. The article seeks to illustrate the possibility of obtaining quantitative anxiety measures with qualitative interpretation. The recommended diagnostic procedures can be readily programmed and implemented on a microcomputer system.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Epstein

, The Nature of Anxiety with Emphasis upon Its Relationship to Expectancy, in Anxiety: Current Trends in Theory and Research (Vol. II), Spielberger

C. D.

(ed.), Academic Press, New York, 1972.

Spielberger

C. D.

, Conceptual and Methodological Issues in Anxiety Research, in Anxiety: Current Trends in Theory and Research (Vol. II), Spielberger

C. D.

(ed.), Academic Press, New York, 1972.

Phillips

B. N.

Martin

R. P.

, and Meyers

, Interventions in Relation to Anxiety in School, in Anxiety: Current Trends in Theory and Research (Vol. II), Spielberger

C. D.

(cd.), Academic Press, New York, 1972.

Raub

A. C.

, “Correlates of Computer Anxiety in College Students,” Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1981.

Rohner

D. J.

and Simonson

M. R.

, Development of an Index of Computer Anxiety, ERIC Doc. No. 207487, 1981.

Jordan

E. W.

and Stroup

D. F.

, The Behavioural Antecedents of Computer Fear, Journal of Data Education, 22, pp. 7–8, 1982.

Maurer

M. M.

, “Development and Validation of a Measure of Computer Anxiety,” Unpublished master's thesis, Iowa State University, 1983.

Mooi

L. C.

, “Factors Affecting Computer Programming Ability among Junior College Students,” Unpublished master's thesis, National University of Singapore, 1990.

Wright

B. D.

and Masters

G. N.

, Rating Scale Analysis: Rasch Measurement, Mesa Press, Chicago, 1982.

10.

Masters

G. N.

, “A Rasch Model for Rating Scales,” Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago, 1980.