Demographic, Social-Emotional and Educational Aspects of Specific and Generalized Social Anxiety Subtypes Among Palestinian Arab Minority Student Teachers in Israel

Abstract

The current study is aimed to assess the differences between Palestinian Arab minority student teachers in Israel with specific and generalized social anxiety from various demographic, social-emotional and educational aspects. For this purpose, 543 Palestinian Arab minority student teachers in Israel from Sakhnin College responded to the research tools which measure these aspects and they were divided into three categories (no social anxiety, specific social anxiety, and generalized social anxiety). The findings indicated that the average age of the student teachers with generalized social anxiety was higher than the average age of those with specific social anxiety, while no differences were found between the two categories in certain demographic variables. The study found that average social anxiety, social fear and social avoidance levels were higher among student teachers with generalized social anxiety than among those with specific social anxiety. In addition, there is a statistically significant correlation between levels of social anxiety and levels of depression and motivation for learning, while there are no statistically significant links between levels of social anxiety and levels of self-esteem and perceived social and family support. A regression analysis reveals that the specific social anxiety levels of Palestinian Arab minority student teachers in Israel can be explained by the level of their perceived social and family support and their ages, whereas the levels of their generalized social anxiety can be explained by their depression levels and ages. The practical pedagogical implications suggest that both social anxiety student teachers groups should be exposed to educational- interventional programs in order to be integrated into the educational system.