The relationship between pre-service teachers' physics anxiety and demographic variables

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between pre-service teachers' physics anxiety and gender, grade point average (GPA), major of study, and high school type they graduated. The sample consisted of 849 pre-service teachers of different majors. Data were collected, using the Physics Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS) at the beginning of the semester. Post-semester data were obtained from 175 pre-service teachers who were included in the pre-semester data. Results revealed gender difference in physics anxiety. Females scored higher on the PARS and its factors than males. It was found that students with medium GPA scored lower on the whole anxiety scale than students with low and high GPA. Pre-service primary teachers scored higher on the PARS than all other majors. High school type had an effect on physics anxiety, vocational high school graduates being the highest physics anxious of all. One semester of traditional physics instruction did not seem to have a significant influence on students' physics anxiety. Implications of the results were discussed for instructional purposes and future studies.