ABSTRACT
Emotions like nervousness and anxiety can play important roles as students prepare to take their licensure exams. These emotions can drive students toward preparation activities, away from them, and shape how students experience taking their licensure exam. Through case studies of three students, this chapter examines the emotions associated with licensure exams and how students deal with them. It explores how students cope with the emotional stress associated with licensure exams and how these coping actions can both facilitate and undermine their success. The chapter also unpacks the different ways that students put their stressful experiences into narratives and how these narratives can also facilitate and undermine their success. Overall, this chapter uses students’ emotional and affective experiences with licensure exams to help readers understand and navigate this important dimension for themselves.
