Does Test-Anxiety Experience Impair Student Teachers’ Later Tendency to Perspective-Taking?

Abstract

Introduction: We aimed to examine whether student teachers’ tendency to test anxiety relates to their later perspective-taking tendency and self-efficacy. The purpose of the presented study was to obtain first insights into the relationship between test anxiety, perspective-taking, and self-efficacy tendencies in student teachers. These tendencies may determine student orientation across different situations. We tested the hypothesis that the test anxiety components emotionality and worry relate to later low perspective-taking and self-efficacy. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study with 275 student-teachers and analyzed the obtained data using structural equation modeling. Results: The data analysis revealed that only emotionality is related to lower perspective-taking and self-efficacy in later life. Discussion: We conclude that lowering student teachers’ test anxiety emotionality (e.g. through interventions) would result to later increased perspective-taking tendency. Limitations: Participants attended the study voluntarily, so it was a self-selected sample. We employed a correlational design over two measurement times instead of experimental methods. Conclusions: The obtained results give an explanation of why student teachers focused rather on themselves than on school students in classes. The perspective-taking tendency is important for teachers’ student orientation. The role of perspective-taking in different teaching situations might be investigated in further research.