Investigating the Effect of Attitudes Toward the Teaching Profession on Teaching Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Teacher Enthusiasm

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student in Educational Management, Department of Educational Sciences, Bu- Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.

2 Department of Educational Sciences, Bu- Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.

10.22091/jrim.2025.14071.1394

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between attitudes toward the teaching profession and teaching anxiety, with teacher enthusiasm as a mediating variable. In terms of purpose, the study was applied; methodologically, it employed a correlational design using structural equation modeling (SEM). The target population consisted of 6,328 elementary school teachers in Kurdistan Province, Iran, during the 2023–2024 academic year (1402–1403 in the Iranian calendar). A sample of 362 teachers was selected through stratified random sampling based on the population’s regional, urban, and gender classifications. Data were collected using Hart’s Teaching Anxiety Questionnaire, the Vienna and Envoy Attitudes Toward the Teaching Profession Questionnaire, and Kanter’s Teacher Enthusiasm Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including structural equation modeling. The findings indicated that teacher enthusiasm was significantly and negatively associated with teaching anxiety. Attitudes toward the teaching profession were also significantly and negatively associated with teaching anxiety. Furthermore, teacher enthusiasm mediated the relationship between attitudes toward the teaching profession and teaching anxiety. These findings suggest that strengthening teachers’ enthusiasm and fostering more positive attitudes toward the teaching profession may be associated with lower levels of teaching anxiety.

Keywords

References

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Research In Instructional Methods
Volume 4, Issue 2 - Serial Number 14
November 2026
Pages 43-61

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History

  • Receive Date: 04 October 2025
  • Revise Date: 20 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 07 December 2025

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