SJIF Impact Factor: 7.001| ISI I.F.Value:1.241| Journal DOI: 10.36713/epra2016 ISSN: 2455-7838(Online) EPRA International Journal of Research and Development (IJRD) Volume: 5 | Issue: 12 | December 2020 - Peer Reviewed Journal 2020 EPRA IJRD | Journal DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra2016 | www.eprajournals.com |202 | IDENTIFYING THE CONNECT BETWEEN STUDENTS’ SCIENCE ANXIETY LEVELS AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENT IN SCIENCE Nitu Kaur* *Department of Education, Mizoram University, Aizawl, Mizoram - 796 004, India R.P. Vadhera* *Department of Education, Mizoram University, Aizawl, Mizoram - 796 004, India Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra5912 ABSTRACT This study aims to explore the effect of an affective variable 'science anxiety' on students' achievement in science subject. By affective we refer to the learners' affect such as emotions, feelings, moods and attitudes involved in teaching-learning process. The chosen sample comprised of 1134 students (532 boys and 602 girls) of class X from 34 schools of Aizawl district of Mizoram. An adapted version of 'Science Anxiety Questionnaire' was used with some indigenous modifications to assess the level of science anxiety amongst the sample. The science anxiety scores of students were correlated with their science achievement scores obtained in class X board examination. Past researches have recognized 'science anxiety' as a negative affect responsible for student's underperformance in science. However, in the present finding the correlation coefficient value was found to be 0.1 indicating a very low but statistically significant positive relationship. This suggested that a minimum threshold level of science anxiety positively becomes the achievement in science. Anxiety levels were found to differ significantly between high and low science achievers, interestingly the high achievers (upper 27%) were found to be more science anxious suggesting that the very low positive relationship between the science anxiety and science achievement of students was contributed more from the high achievers. The findings revealed a significant difference between science anxiety levels of boys and girls, the latter being more science anxious. The chi-square analysis also supported that science anxiety is not independent of gender. KEYWORDS: Achievement in Science, Affect and Science, Science Anxiety, Secondary School Students INTRODUCTION If the discipline of science is characterized by logical processes, objective thinking, strong inter- connections, evidence-based facts, does it also mean that while doing science one has to get rid of his/her belief system? Is science free from emotions? Is being rational equivalent to being emotionless? The western thought advocates a strong assumption that emotions threaten the disembodied, detached, and neutral knower hence they do not offer any valid knowledge which undermines the importance of emotions (Zembylas, 2005). School science is being portrayed as rational and non-emotional (Alsop, 2001; Zembylas, 2002). Science has been treated largely as a cognitive affair until recently when the connection between science and learner's affective domain has been reported in the literature. By affective we refer to the learners' affect such as emotions, feelings, moods and attitudes involved in the teaching learning process. Affect has the potential to influence the learner and thus science learning. Affect has to set the stage for learning to take place, just like the catalyst triggering the reaction. It