When anxiety matters as a condition of possibility: about student-teachers’ anxiety experiences towards becoming a teacher

Mette Helleve; Knut Ove  Æsøy

doi:10.6092/issn.1825-8670/12357

Authors

Mette Helleve Oslo Metropolitan University – OsloMet https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9479-5195

Mette Helleve is a University Lecturer in Pedagogy at Faculty of Education and International Studies – Department of Primary and Secondary Teacher Education at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University in the section of Pedagogy. Her research interests include Emotions as a Pedagogical Phenomenon; Theory of Education, Pedagogy and Curriculum; Pedagogical mentoring of newly educated teachers and student teachers; Philosophy of education and Phenomenography.
Knut Ove Æsøy Oslo Metropolitan University – OsloMet

Knut Ove Æsøy is Associate Professor in Philosophy at Faculty of Education and International Studies - Department of Primary and Secondary Teacher Education at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University in the section of Pedagogy. His key academic interests are Teacher well-being, Living knowledge, Philosophy of education; Theory of Education, Pedagogy and Curriculum and Humanistic science.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1825-8670/12357

Keywords:

Teacher education, Student teachers’ emotional life, Existential Anxiety, Professional development, Phenomenography

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the emotional dimension of the student-teachers’ experiences, which is marked by anxiety. This study is based on a combination of a phenomenological informed theoretical framework and a phenomenographic approach. The empirical material refers to in-depth interviews with student-teachers. Through an abductive analysis of the material, anxiety experiences appeared to be a significant matter in the student teachers’ emotional life. Our study showed that anxiety in different variations to a large extent characterized the emotional dimension of the student teachers’ experiences. The variations were expressed through three overarching categories of anxiety. The first category of anxiety is about losing one’s dignity, the second about not being recognized as a person, and the third about doing something very wrong. To operationalize the purpose of this study, we will discuss the importance of considering anxiety experiences as a didactical content component in teacher education.

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https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1998-07-17-61