Investigating the Structural Model of the Relationship between Hardiness and Social Anxiety, Self-esteem and Motivation in Teaching among Arab Novice and Intern Teachers

The current study sought to investigate the structural model of the relationship between hardiness and social anxiety, self-esteem and motivation in teaching among 298 novice and intern teachers in Israeli Arab schools. The participants filled out questionnaires that included demographic details, and measures of hardiness and the three mentioned variables. A structural equation analysis indicated moderate and statistically significant positive direct effects of hardiness on motivation in teaching and self-esteem, while a negative direct effect of hardiness was found on social anxiety. It was also found that hardiness explained 25% of the variance of motivation in teaching (p<.05), 22% of the variance of social anxiety, and 28% of the variance of self-esteem. Results of the structural equations analysis show that the theoretical model fits the data, and that the research hypotheses were confirmed. Future interventions for novice and intern teachers should focus primarily on increasing their hardiness levels in order to reduce their social anxiety levels, and raise their selfesteem and motivation in teaching.