Abstract

The main aim of this research was to explore the relationship between the sources and manifestation of anxiety and the general test anxiety among preservice teachers. A sample of 100 female preservice teachers was randomly selected from three different programme groups in a public sector college of education, Ghana. Data were collected by using an adapted version of the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) developed by Spielberger and Vagg. Descriptive statistics, zero-order correlations and univariate statistics were run for data analysis. A key finding is that, external agents such as future job security tend to be the major source of teacher trainees test anxiety. This finding was found to be at variance with what literature seems to suggest that students who experience test anxiety tend to be the type of people who put a lot of pressure on themselves to perform well. Also, the findings seem to suggest that the premium and how high the stakes are for a test tend to kindle anxious moments for preservice teachers. It was recommended that appropriate training should be given to preservice teachers on how to deal with factors associated with general test anxiety.