Teacher-student relationships, classroom anxiety, and physics identity of high school students

Physics is commonly a prerequisite for higher education courses in engineering and other STEM disciplines. The study reported in this paper involved a convenience sample of high school students in Thailand (n = 1,141) to examine associations between measures of teacher-student relationship, motivation to study and learn physics, and the influence of teacher gender and student gender on these variables. Results of structural equation modeling showed that dependency and negative feelings about the teacher were positively associated with physics classroom anxiety, whereas perceived closeness with the teacher was negatively associated with physics classroom anxiety. The highest levels of physics classroom anxiety were reported by girls taught by a man while boys taught by a man reported the strongest intention to study physics beyond secondary schooling. Sense of closeness with teacher had the strongest positive total, direct, and indirect effects on physics identity. Theoretical and practical implications for the development of physics identity are discussed.