Preservice Management Teachers’ Self-Efficacy and Anxiety about Teaching Practicum

Abstract

The study examined preservice management teachers’ (PMTs) self-efficacy and anxiety about the teaching practicum. The repeated measures sequential explanatory design, follow-up explanations model were employed for the study. The census-extreme case sampling technique was used to obtain the respondents and participants for the study. The census involved 119 respondents in the quantitative phase of the study and the extreme case sampling selected eight deviant participants based on the quantitative findings for the focus group discussion. The adapted TSES and STAS, validated through CFA, were used to gather self-efficacy and anxiety data respectively. Data gathered from the follow-up focus group discussion guide was validated for trustworthiness. Descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential (chi-square, repeated-measures ANOVA, factorial MANOVA, paired-samples t-test, binomial logistic regression and structural equation modelling) statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data, and template analysis for the qualitative data. Findings indicated that the PMTs were highly efficacious, chiefly influenced by passion. They experienced transient anxiety with supervision anxiety as the key anxiety-provoking factor characterised by contradictory and constant negative feedbacks. Self-efficacy had a significant negative influence on anxiety. Admission to teacher education programmes should focus on teaching passion inaddition to grades as the bases for considering applicants. As part of their training, preservice teachers should be engaged in sensitisation programmes to dispel their fears about the teaching practicum. Teacher training institutions should consider discarding the competency-based assessment with the use of the rating scale and use global assessment technique.