Abstract

• The aim of the study was to identify the levels of anxiety experienced by the student teachers about their practicum. Moreover, it is intended to compare the anxiety levels experienced by the student teachers about the practicum activities by gender, age, and year, and to analyze how the student teachers handled their anxieties. The participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. The sequential explanatory mixed methods design was adopted in this study. As the research instrument, the Student Teacher Anxiety Scale (Ngidi & Sibaya, 2003), which consists of 26 items, was applied in this study. This questionnaire is classified into five dimensions: Evaluation anxiety, Class control anxiety, Professional preparation anxiety, School staff relations anxiety, and Unsuccessful lesson anxiety. The reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) resulting from the pilot study was 0.84. A total of 211 student teachers (77 males and 134 females) from Taunggyi Education Degree College participated in this study. The findings showed that evaluation and class control anxieties were found to be the highest anxieties of student teachers during their teaching practicum. The results showed that the student teachers have felt moderate anxiety in professional preparation and unsuccessful lessons, and low anxiety in school staff anxiety. In this study, a significant difference was found in anxiety during practicum, along with gender and age. There was no significant difference in any of the dimensions across school years. This study also found that there were several ways to cope with the anxieties. The strategies used by student teachers to cope with their anxiety were thinking positively, creating a good learning atmosphere, discussing with their supervisors, mentors, and peers, building good relationships with school staff, and preparing everything well. Thus, this study might help student teachers, lecturers, and mentors prepare for a quality teaching practicum by reducing student teachers’ anxieties.