Education is among the strongest apparatus for social progress. Thus, it is important that individuals get quality education to contribute to the advancement of their societies. since teachers have important roles in socialization of individuals and transferring national priorities (Goodwin, 2010), there is a need for quality teachers that can deliver quality education.

Among the plethora of factors that may affect the effectiveness of teachers, anxiety is one of them. Anxiety is an emotional state that every individual can experience and is often described in relation to tension, worried thoughts, and certain physical reactions (Spielberger, 1966; (Horwitz, et al., 1986).

Anxiety may affect the well-being of individuals and may prevent them from actualizing their full potentials (Alpert & Haber, 1960; Spielberger & Reheiser, 2009). In this vein, teaching anxiety can be described as a characteristic part of teaching that is observed on specific occasions, and it is identified with apprehensive feelings experienced regarding the act of teaching and the teaching profession (Buitink & Kemme, 1986). Anxiety is argued to be common among teachers and considered a natural part of teaching. Therefore, it is of high importance to notice the debilitating effect of anxiety on teaching performance (Murray-Harvey et al., 2000).

Being among the pioneers in teaching anxiety studies, Fuller conducted a series of studies on the topic (e.g., Fuller, 1969; Fuller & Parsons, 1974; Fuller et al, 1974). One of the earliest studies was conducted with the intent to improve the quality of teacher education curricula, in which Fuller (1969) developed a three-phase developmental conceptualization of teachers' concerns. Building on the initial arguments of Fuller (1969), the conceptualization of teaching anxiety included self-centered, task-centered, and student-centered anxieties (Fuller et al., 1974) which were initially referred to as self-preservation, task-related issues, and impact on pupil needs and effects of teaching, respectively. While the self-centered anxiety is considered to include having anxiety about getting approved by students, peers and employers, having job security, and feeling inadequate for the profession; the task-centered anxiety is related with the daily tasks of teaching, such as ensuring and sustaining classroom management, as well as managing the time. The student-centered anxiety is related with the motivation of pupils, meeting the cognitive, emotional and social needs of learners, improving their progress in education. (Fuller et al., 1974).

It is argued that the teaching anxiety of those involved in teaching does not fully diminish, but changes in focus as one’s experience in teaching increases (Fuller et al., 1974; Borich, 1996). Since teachers have great influence on students’ success (Darling-Hammond, 2000), it is essential to train teachers well for the profession before recruitment so that they would not struggle much in the profession, especially in their initial years; develop more intense anxieties; and become ineffective in teaching. To prevent teachers from lacking quality and dropping out, especially because of the feeling of ineffectiveness based on anxiety, there should be awareness of teaching anxieties and they need to be addressed during teacher education process to train more effective teachers.

In this regard, this study aims to explore teaching anxiety and its sources from the perspectives of pre-service teachers. In line with the aim of the study, the following research questions are formulated:

1. What are the anxieties that pre-service teachers experience related to teaching?

2. What are the sources of anxieties that pre-service teachers experience related to teaching?

Qualitative research is defined by Creswell (2013) as “an inquiry process of understanding based on a distinct methodological approach to inquiry that explores a social or human problem” (p. 324). Qualitative research enables in-depth studies on various topics by focusing on the experiences and meanings of individuals (Patton, 2002). In addition, qualitative research aims to reveal perceptions and events in a realistic and holistic manner (Creswell, 2013). In this study, phenomenology was used, the aim of which is to make sense of the lived experiences of individuals about a phenomenon (Patton, 2002). The phenomenon investigated in this study is teaching anxiety. The participants of the study consisted of 20 pre-service teachers enrolled in teacher training programs at a state university in Central Anatolia/Turkiye. Participants were selected through criterion sampling strategy, which is one of the purposeful sampling strategies (Patton, 2002). In this context, the criteria for participation in the study were determined as being a senior who completed the first three years of study in the faculty and having taken all the methodology and pedagogical courses offered by their departments until the fourth year of the program. The pre-service teachers who volunteered and met the specified criteria participated in the study. The participant pre-service teachers were enrolled in different departments including the Department of English Language Teaching (n = 10), Elementary Mathematics Teaching (n = 6), Mathematics Teaching (n = 1), and Elementary Science Teaching (n = 3). All participants were 4th grade students and their ages ranged between 21-28 years. 18 of the participants were female and two were male pre-service teachers. In this study, the data were collected through semi-structured interviews developed by the researchers and were analyzed through content analysis using the MAXQDA program, which is an online application. The steps suggested by Creswell (2009) were taken into consideration during the data analysis phase. In this context, the data obtained in the study were first transcribed. The interview transcripts were read once to capture the general meaning. Then, the interviews were coded in line with the relevant literature and the views of the participants. The resulting codes were grouped under certain themes in line with their similarities and interrelationships.

In this study, the phenomenon of teaching anxiety has been explored from the perspective of pre-service teachers in terms of their experiences regarding teaching anxiety and the sources of their anxiety. The first research question of the study aims to explore teaching anxieties that pre-service teachers experience. The findings have revealed three main themes for the teaching anxieties experienced by the participant pre-service teachers. These anxieties were grouped as self-centered anxieties, task-centered anxieties, and student-centered anxieties. Regarding the self-centered anxieties, participants reported their anxieties regarding teaching based on themselves. The sub-themes include adaptation, security, and relations of pre-service teachers. As for the task-centered anxieties, five sub-themes have emerged as starting to work, instructional processes, management-related issues, excessive workload, and facilities and resources provided for teaching. With respect to the student-centered anxieties, four sub-themes have emerged. These comprise building rapport with students, handling individual differences of students, ensuring students’ learning, and enhancing students’ motivation. The second research question of the study aims to investigate the sources of teaching anxiety experienced by pre-service teachers. The findings have shown that three main themes emerged for the sources of pre-service teachers’ anxieties. These consist of person-related sources, teacher training-related sources, and profession-related sources. To begin with person-related sources, it has been found that pre-service teachers’ anxieties may stem from lack of experience, feeling of inadequacy, negative past experiences, and personality traits. Regarding teacher training-related sources, the sub-themes include the discrepancy between theory and practice, insufficiency of practice teaching, and instructor-related issues. Lastly, profession-related sources are found to involve external influences on teachers, such as low prestige of the profession and high expectations from teachers. Instructional issues related with online education and the use of instructional strategies and materials are also included among the profession-related sources of pre-service teachers’ anxiety.

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