The latent influence of teacher leadership: Alleviating teaching anxiety in the classroom

Teacher leadership encompasses numerous facets that remain largely unexplored, with its potential to foster stress-free teaching environments standing out as a crucial, yet underexplored, aspect. This study, using math teachers’ anxiety as a case study, investigated the relationship between teachers’ anxiety and their teacher leadership skills. Involving 103 teachers from six different countries, the study employed a quantitative survey approach. Through structural equation modeling and correlation analysis, the findings revealed a reciprocal relationship between teaching anxiety and teacher leadership skills, suggesting that these skills not only affect anxiety levels but are also influenced by them. These results underscore the potential of teacher leadership to support the reduction of teaching anxiety, highlighting that strengthening leadership skills can act as a vital scaffold for teachers, promoting a more positive emotional climate in educational environments.