A comparative study on learning stress and academic self-concept: A small town vs. a metropolitan city

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the difference both English learning stress and academic self-concept of students from two schools, one located in a small town and the other in a metropolitan city, and the subjects of this study were a total of 313 elementary school students from both schools. The research was conducted through five-point Likert score surveys, and the data were analyzed via Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). The students from the small town were found to exhibit higher levels of stress from learning English and a lower academic self-concept than the students in the metropolitan city. The results imply that elementary school teachers need to reduce stress that students experience when learning English as well as strengthen the level of academic self-concept by providing a context-appropriate learning environment.