The Relationship between Fear of Failure and Academic Achievement of Iraqi EFL Learners

Authors

  • Qusay Mahdi Mutar University of Baghdad / Educational and Psychological Research Center
  • Saad Hassan Hamud university of baghdadUniversity of Baghdad / Educational and Psychological Research Center

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36317/kja/2026/v1.i67.13601

Keywords:

fear of failure, academic achievement, Iraqi EFL learners, university students

Abstract

The current research aims to identify the level of fear of failure among Iraqi EFL learners and to identify if there is a significant difference between male and female students in experiencing the fear of failure. Moreover, the research aims to examine if there is a significant difference between high-achieving students and low-achieving students in terms of experiencing the fear of failure and to examine the relationship between the fear of failure and academic achievement among Iraqi EFL learners. A total sample of (120) male and female students in the first and second years was selected randomly from two different universities, which are located in the city of Baghdad. The researcher adopted a modified 5-point Likert scale consisting of (25) items developed by Abd al-Munam et al. (2019) to measure the fear of failure among students. the researcher used the statistical package of social sciences (V. 23) included One-sample t-test, an Independent-sample t-test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient test. The findings of the research showed that the fear of failure has a recorded a moderate level among on Iraqi EFL learners. There is a statistically significant difference between male and female students in experiencing the fear of failure in favor of females. There is no statistically significant difference between high-achieving students and low-achieving students in terms of experiencing the fear of failure. Finally, there is a weak positive correlation (r= .133) at the level of significance (.146) between the fear of failure and academic achievement among Iraqi EFL learners, in which the higher the level of students' fear of failure, the better the students will achieve.

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Published

2026-03-08

How to Cite

mutar, qusay, and saad hamud. “The Relationship Between Fear of Failure and Academic Achievement of Iraqi EFL Learners”. Kufa Journal of Arts, vol. 1, no. 67, Mar. 2026, https://doi.org/10.36317/kja/2026/v1.i67.13601.

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