RECREATIONAL SPORT AND ANXIETY AMONG SIXTH-GRADE STUDENTS DURING EXAMINATION PREPARATION: A ONE-GROUP PRETEST–POSTTEST STUDY

Authors

Dede Suryadi Universitas Majalengka
Indra Prabowo Universitas Majalengka
Davi Sofyan Universitas Majalengka

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31949/ijoehm.v6i1.181

Keywords:

Recreational sport, Test anxiety, Elementary school students, Student well-being, Physical activity, Psychosocial well-being

Abstract

This study examined changes in anxiety scores among sixth-grade elementary school students following participation in a structured recreational sport program. A quantitative pre-experimental approach using a one-group pretest–posttest design was employed. The participants were 39 sixth-grade students from SD Negeri 1 Kepongpongan, Cirebon Regency, Indonesia, comprising 23 boys and 16 girls. Anxiety was assessed before and after four recreational sport sessions using a 13-item questionnaire adapted from the Spence anxiety scale. Descriptive statistics summarised the anxiety scores, and the Shapiro–Wilk test was conducted on the paired difference scores. Because the difference scores were not normally distributed, the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was used to examine the pretest–posttest change. The mean anxiety score decreased from 30.03 (SD = 6.37) at pretest to 27.77 (SD = 5.64) at posttest, representing a mean decrease of 2.26 points (7.51%). The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test indicated a statistically significant difference between pretest and posttest anxiety scores, W = 154.50, p = .0028. Of the 39 students, 24 showed lower anxiety scores at posttest, 13 showed higher scores, and 2 showed no change. These findings indicate a statistically significant change in anxiety scores across the two measurement points following participation in the recreational sport program. However, because the study used a one-group pretest–posttest design without a control group, the observed change cannot be attributed exclusively to the recreational sport program. The findings therefore provide preliminary, context-specific evidence regarding the potential relevance of structured recreational sport as a supportive component of broader school-based approaches to student psychosocial well-being. Future controlled studies with larger samples and longer follow-up periods are needed to examine the sustainability and causal mechanisms of these changes

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Published

2026-02-26

How to Cite

Suryadi, D., Prabowo, I. ., & Sofyan, D. (2026). RECREATIONAL SPORT AND ANXIETY AMONG SIXTH-GRADE STUDENTS DURING EXAMINATION PREPARATION: A ONE-GROUP PRETEST–POSTTEST STUDY. Indonesian Journal Of Education and Humanity, 6(1), 29–43. https://doi.org/10.31949/ijoehm.v6i1.181