Date of Award
Winter 1-15-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
PHD - Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Education
First Advisor
Dr, Patricia Crain de Galarce
Second Advisor
Dr. Beverley Cush Evans
Third Advisor
Dr. Karen Levine
Abstract
The incidence of anxiety disorders, one of the most prevalent mental health disorders, in students has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, these disorders continue to be underdiagnosed and untreated in schools, leading to impaired learning, social relationships, and health issues. If teachers, who spend a considerable amount of time with students, identify anxiety and enforce successful interventions, it can lead to positive student outcomes. Therefore, this qualitative study examined teachers’ knowledge of anxiety and their feelings of preparedness in teaching students with anxiety. Thirteen general education elementary teachers with two to three years of experience were interviewed. The participants responded to questions on six scenarios exploring student anxiety symptoms and recommended strategies for addressing student concerns. They responded to direct questions about their preparation courses, professional development (PD) opportunities, knowledge of anxiety prevalence and symptoms, and comfort level working with students with anxiety. The results indicate a theory-to-practice gap: most teachers did not correctly identify the anxiety symptoms of the children in the scenarios despite hypothesizing that 50–90% of all students had anxiety, but they listed some signs when specifically asked. Although the teachers had no mental health coursework and inadequate PD regarding the impact of student anxiety, they reported being very comfortable working with such students. Future research may explore whether there is a relationship between teacher training on anxiety in students and their response to real-life situations.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Language
English
Number of Pages
218
Embargo Period
11-30-2022
Recommended Citation
Minahan, Jessica, "A Qualitative Study of Teachers’ Knowledge of Anxiety and Their Feelings of Preparedness to Support Students with Anxiety" (2023). Educational Studies Dissertations. 209.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/education_dissertations/209
Rights
The author owns the copyright to this work.
