On Teaching, Anxiety, and Responsibility
Teaching is often described as a one-way act of giving, but it’s an emotionally demanding practice that also affects the teacher. Our internal emotional state shapes not only the classroom climate, but students’ beliefs about what they can and cannot do. When anxiety goes unexamined, it rarely remains contained within the adult; instead, it subtly shapes instructional choices, showing up in rushed or stalled pacing, avoidance of certain topics, overreliance on rigid scripts, and lowered expectations for students.
So here’s a question worth considering: if students are expected to confront discomfort in order to learn, what responsibility do teachers have to understand their own anxieties in the classroom?
A new study, “Examining How Grade Level and Teaching Experience Are Related to Math Anxiety and Anxiety about Teaching,” published in The Elementary School Journal, broadens the conversation about teacher anxiety beyond math alone, math being the primary area of focus for previous content-related anxiety studies. The researchers surveyed 279 kindergarten through third-grade teachers, examining how grade level and years of experience relate to general math anxiety, and anxiety about teaching: math, science, reading, writing, grammar, and social studies.
This is important because elementary teachers are generalists. Unlike secondary teachers, they teach across content areas, often without deep specialization in each subject.
From the study, several important patterns emerged. For one, grade level matters. Teachers in earlier elementary grades (Kindergarten and Grade 1, specifically) reported higher general math anxiety than teachers in upper elementary grades. Interestingly, these same teachers reported lower anxiety about teaching non-math subjects compared to those teaching higher grades.
Experience, however, reduces anxiety, at least for the most part. More experienced teachers generally reported lower overall anxiety about teaching. This supports the notion that familiarity and repeated exposure reduce stress over time. But some subjects are consistently anxiety-provoking. Across grade levels and experience, teachers reported higher anxiety when teaching math, science, and writing. These subjects often involve correctness and apparent content mastery—factors known to heighten anxiety.
So math anxiety is not the whole story. While math anxiety remains significant, the study shows that subject-specific teaching anxiety is broader and more nuanced than previous research has suggested. The authors concluded that understanding the sources of these anxieties is necessary for improving teaching effectiveness and reducing potential negative effects on students.
From another angle, this research also invites caution against treating anxiety as something to be eliminated at all costs. Historically, a certain level of anxiety has been understood as a signal of responsibility, rather than pathology. Teaching difficult subjects should feel like it carries a lot of weight. Math and science, in particular, demand precision and clarity, which take time to master and humility to teach. Some discomfort may reflect a healthy awareness of the subject’s importance, rather than a deficit in the teacher.
The finding that anxiety decreases with experience suggests that mentorship and practice may be more effective than therapeutic reframing alone. Instead of focusing primarily on emotional coping strategies, strengthening teachers’ subject-matter mastery (especially in STEM and writing) could address anxiety at its root. If teachers avoid challenging subjects because of anxiety, their students may inherit both the gaps and the fears. Addressing anxiety should aim at confidence through competence, not curricular retreat.
Psychological research distinguishes between trait anxiety (a stable predisposition) and state anxiety (context-specific and situational). Teaching anxiety often falls into the latter category, triggered by uncertainty around certain topics. Anxiety can impair working memory, which is especially relevant when teaching complex or procedural subjects like math. Anxiety is also socially transmissible. Studies have shown that students—especially younger ones—can absorb teachers’ stress signals and internalize them as beliefs about their own abilities. At the same time, moderate stress can sharpen attention and preparation, which reinforces the idea that the goal is regulation, not eradication.
This research reminds us that teacher anxiety is not a personal failing, nor is it confined to math alone. It varies by grade level, experience, and subject, and it has real implications for students.
For schools, the takeaway is not simply to “reduce anxiety” for teachers, but to understand it: where it comes from, and how professional growth and experience can transform it into confidence. We care about teacher anxiety not because we’re centering adult feelings at the expense of student outcomes, but because we’re recognizing that the emotional formation of the teacher is inseparable from the intellectual formation of the child.