A Dissertation

Entitled

Anxiety Among Physical Educators: Is It a Neglected Issue?

By Rolland Martin

PsyDissertation.com

Abstract The career of Physical Education (P.E.) and sport teachers is often linked with a stereotyped image: steel muscles, well-trained, sun-tanned, fearless, popular, and always in a good mood. The happiness they feel in the practice of sport, the overall outlook, as well as the concept of turning a hobby into a profession, as well as in inspiring others to have a passion in sport are among the vital reasons for selecting such line of profession. (Moor & Bailor, 1999). In these sisituations, is the anxiety of these P.E. and sports teachers neglected? Is this issue even worth discussing? To acknowledge and feel anxiety, and discussing about it is somewhat unfit when it comes to taking into consideration that expected internal stereotype or the personal image of these teachers. This may be the motivation why challenges are presently experienced when looking for quality data that is related to the anxiety of teachers, most especially those that are teaching PPhysical Education.

Chapter OneIntroduction

While Kitmen (1982) claims that most teachers go everyday to school with their “bags on together with a sack filled with anxiety”, Amador (1985) discovered that the feeling of anxiety seldom occurs in the survey composed of 257 P.E. teachers. Where the situation was such, anxiety was discovered to be quite intense. This study will focus on the establishment of an accepted understanding regarding anxiety as discussed in both behavioral and cognitive concepts. The common assumption of the perspectives is the ultimate understanding of anxiety as a common consequence of expectations, as well as the right way of evaluating situations. According to the study conducted by Wilder (1999), anxiety refers to a subjective experience which often involves uncertainty, threat, as well as helplessness while also attempting to cope with certain demands of the situation. This article also tries hard to highlight the fact, with a thorough breakdown of the issue, that such anxiety has extreme relevance towards people in-charge of organizing sports events in different schools, mostly the P.E. teachers.

PsyDissertation.com

Research in Sport Psychology

Process Involved on the Onset of the Emotion By trying to cope with certain demands, valence appraisals as well as competence of the situation, the appraisals happen in the personal history and background of a person. The ability and identity to take action, as well as the well-being of P.E. teachers can be threatened. Such threat may be felt at a psychological, physical, as well as social degree. The threat on the identity of a person may be particularly strong when self-concept becomes highly dependent on the practical competence of such person in the field of sports. Since the performance of P.E. teachers is generally open to scrutiny by the public (Singh & Nimens, 1999), there is a possibility of feeling threatened and low self-esteem, which is the same when good students usually do better compared to the teacher, or when there is new material that neneeds to be taught, including disciplines which are not yet completely mastered by the teacher. A specific aspect of threat happens when the knowledge of good students on learning procedures, teaching concepts, as well as safety measures acquired from sport club happens to be better compared to that of the teacher. However, this idea is often dissolved by the fact that some students may end up perceiving their teachers as their buddy instead of somebody with authority. This buddy like partnership may also pose a threat to the professional status of a teacher.

RReferences

Moor, A.R. & Bailor, A.T (1999). The psychology in the sports profession: threats among P.E teachers. Educational Research Journal, 36, 45-458. Amador, S. (1999). Anxieties involved in teaching physical education. Sports Psychology Research, 45, 44-50.

Wilder, W. (1999). The Psychological Aspects of Threat in Teaching Physical Education. American Research Journal, 7, 333-340.

PsyDissertation.com

Research in Sport Psychology