Abstract:

Science anxiety represents a significant barrier to academic achievement and career aspirations, particularly affecting learners in rural contexts where sociocultural factors may exacerbate these challenges. In rural schools it is influenced by personal, geographical, socioeconomic, and environmental factors. These hinder leaner’s ability to excel in science and may have a long-term effect in their pursuit for science courses at institutions of higher learning. This study utilised a systematic literature review to examine the impact of sociocultural influences on science anxiety among rural learners, from empirical studies obtained from ERIC, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, RESEARCH GATE and SCOPUS – in press or published between 2015 and 2025 and written or translated to English. The Boolean operators search words used for this study were "rural secondary school learners," AND "sociocultural influences", "cultural factors," AND "science anxiety", as well as "academic performance," OR "psychological well-being". Thematic analysis was used for the selected studies. The study's findings indicate that sociocultural factors play a significant role in contributing to science anxiety through various pathways. These include creating identity conflicts, establishing stereotype threats that diminish confidence, limiting social support networks, and exacerbating poor-quality educational experiences for learners in rural areas. This study implies the necessity for interventions in rural schools that address individual, interpersonal, and systemic challenges concurrently. The study recommends that education departments focus on the recruitment and retention of qualified science teachers in rural regions, enhance professional development opportunities for educators, and provide more flexibility for local adaptation and the integration of indigenous knowledge systems into the curriculum.

Keywords:

Rural education, Science anxiety, Sociocultural factors, Secondary school