Evidence of Teaching Anxiety Among Accounting Educators

Abstract

In this study, the authors investigated teaching anxiety among accounting professors in the United States. The vast majority of respondents (78%) in our study reported having experienced some type of teaching anxiety, and a substantial proportion (69%) indicated that it was a continuing problem. In addition, 38.5% of the respondents reported specific physical symptoms such as heart-rate acceleration, gastrointestinal distress, or being flushed while experiencing teaching anxiety, and 80% reported general psychological reactions such as apprehension. Occurrence of teaching anxiety was associated with academic rank, age, years of teaching experience, the nature of the institution (whether doctoral granting or not), and whether the accounting department had separate American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation.