Adaptation and Validation of a Scale of Anxiety Toward Experimental Sciences in Pre-Service Teachers: Implications for the Teaching of Experimental Sciences

Background: Science anxiety constitutes a relevant emotional variable in initial teacher education, given its impact on motivation, academic identity, and future teaching self-efficacy. While several instruments have been developed to assess science anxiety, few tools have been specifically adapted to the university context of pre-service teachers. Objective: To adapt and validate the psychometric properties of the Abbreviated Science Anxiety Scale in pre-service teachers, in order to assess anxiety toward experimental sciences and derive implications for science education. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 210 students enrolled in early childhood and primary education degrees at the University of Jaén, with a mean age of 20.85 years (SD = 2.26). Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure (learning and evaluation) explaining 63.40% of the variance, with high reliability (α = 0.89; ω = 0.91). Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit for the two-factor model. Women reported significantly higher levels of anxiety than men. No significant relationship was found between anxiety and academic achievement. Cluster analysis identified two differentiated profiles associated with academic orientation (Sciences vs. Humanities) and science anxiety levels. Conclusions: The adapted scale, named the Brief Experimental Science Anxiety Scale for Pre-Service Teachers (BESAS-PST), demonstrates adequate psychometric properties and constitutes a valid and reliable instrument for assessing anxiety toward experimental sciences in initial teacher education. These findings extend previous research on domain-specific academic emotions by demonstrating that science anxiety can be reliably assessed in teacher training contexts, providing a tool for future research and evidence-based interventions aimed at strengthening scientific self-efficacy among pre-service teachers.