Teacher candidates' appointment teacher candidates' appointment anxiety in distance education: a mixed-methods study

This study investigates teacher candidates' appointment anxiety during the distance education process using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. The quantitative phase included 237 participants, followed by a qualitative phase with 7 teacher candidates. Quantitative data were analyzed using t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression, while qualitative data were examined through content analysis. The findings indicated no statistically significant differences in appointment anxiety across demographic variables (p > .05), whereas a significant difference emerged based on department preference (p < .05). The regression model was not statistically significant (R² = .026, p = .415), suggesting that the examined variables were not significantly associated with appointment anxiety.Qualitative findings revealed that teacher candidates perceived distance education as insufficient, particularly regarding practical training and assessment processes, and reported feelings of professional inadequacy and uncertainty about the future. The integrated results suggest that appointment anxiety may be more closely associated with structural and process-related limitations of distance education than with individual characteristics.These findings highlight the importance of contextual factors and underscore the need for practice-oriented instructional designs and comprehensive support mechanisms in teacher education.