The current study examined elementary (or primary) school teachers’ knowledge of student anxiety and evidence-based anxiety reduction strategies, whether this knowledge was associated with their use of evidence-based anxiety reduction strategies in the classroom, and correlates of teacher knowledge and use of anxiety reduction strategies in the classroom. Fifty-one volunteer elementary teachers (98% female; 98% White) participated and completed questionnaires about: themselves and work-related factors (e.g., years of teaching experience, self-efficacy), knowledge of student anxiety and anxiety treatment (e.g., core manifestations of anxiety such as physiological arousal, behavioural avoidance, and anxious thoughts), and use of anxiety reduction strategies in the classroom (e.g., relaxation strategies, encouraging the use of coping self-talk, and gradual exposure to feared situations). Results indicated that the average score on the knowledge assessment was 57% and knowledge levels were unrelated to self-reported use of anxiety reduction strategies. The most robust correlate of knowledge of anxiety and use of anxiety reduction strategies was teachers’ perceived personal accomplishment. Findings suggest additional teacher training to increase knowledge about student anxiety and use of evidence-based anxiety reduction strategies in the classroom is warranted.

This study examined: (1) school-based avoidance among students with problematic anxiety, (2) teachers’ levels of accommodation of avoidant behaviour, and (3) the relation between teacher accommodation and student avoidance and anxiety. Participants included 31 elementary school students with problematic anxiety (mean age = 7.7 years; range 5–11; 58% female; 71% White) and their teachers (mean age = 41.1 years; 100% female; 100% White). Children completed interviews about their anxiety, and teachers reported on students’ avoided situations and completed a questionnaire about their own use of accommodation. Results indicated that the most commonly avoided situations involved individual and group academic performance (e.g., reading aloud in front of class). All teachers engaged in some form of accommodating behaviour more than one day a week (e.g., assisted a student in avoiding things that might make him/her more anxious), and teachers who reported engaging in more accommodating behaviours had students with higher avoidance and anxiety. Findings suggest that additional training and research on teachers’ behaviours that maintain and/or reduce anxiety via reducing accommodating behaviours appears warranted.

The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of two teacher trainings, both focused on identifying student anxiety and implementing empirically supported anxiety reduction strategies in the classroom. A comparison of teachers’ satisfaction with their training was examined along with pre–post training changes on measures of teachers’ knowledge and use of evidence-based anxiety reduction strategies, perceived confidence in assisting students with anxiety, and teaching self-efficacy. Volunteer elementary teachers in New England USA were randomized to receive either a six-hour interactive training (Teacher Anxiety Program for Elementary Students; TAPES; n  =  41) or a three-hour didactic (Teacher Anxiety Training; TAT; n  =  37). Fifty-four teachers completed their respective training (mean age 40.9; SD  =  10.2; 98% female; 96% White). Results from t-tests indicated that levels of training satisfaction were high and similar across trainings. Mixed-design ANOVA analyses found that teachers receiving both trainings showed significant improvements in teacher knowledge and use of anxiety reduction strategies, confidence, and self-efficacy. Teachers receiving TAPES, compared to TAT, showed greater improvements in their knowledge of anxiety reduction strategies. Findings highlight the need and perceived value of training teachers on topics related to identifying and managing student anxiety.