Anxiety of Not Being Appointed: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

This study aims to reveal the opinions of the senior students of education faculty about the anxiety of not being appointed. Phenomenological research design is used in this research. The convenience sampling method was used in the selection of the participants. The data of the study is collected through face-to-face individual interviews with the students. The research form consists of 2 parts. The questions in the first part are about the demographic information of the participants. The second part includes questions aiming to reveal the experiences of the participants regarding the anxiety of not being appointed. Each interview lasted 20 minutes on average. All interviews conducted within the scope of the research were recorded using a voice recorder with the permission of the participants. Descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of data. According to the findings, it was observed that family expectations affected all of the participants who had anxiety about not being appointed. All of the prospective teachers who experienced anxiety about not being appointed were found to catastrophize the situation. Five of the participants who had anxiety about not being appointed had physiological symptoms and that anxiety affected daily life. Three of the participants who experienced anxiety about preparation for appointment stated that they had no additional effort to be appointed. All of the participants stated that they used social support mechanisms for anxiety.