Qualitative Study on Teachers’ Anxiety and Burnout: A Panacea for Qualitative STEM Education Objectives in Nigeria

Nigeria is one of the developing nations with milestone developments in science and technology over decades. From independence in 1960, there have been massive investments in education by the Federal Government as to meet up the set national educational goals to derive for the national developments. All areas of learning or disciplines were accorded utmost priorities with appropriate curricula, in particular, science and technology were the most concern of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is the focus of several countries of the world of today. Significantly, the 21st century skills are highly required to drive the STEM education towards the scientific and technological advancements commensurate to the dynamic contemporary world. The paper reviewed the extent to which teachers’ characteristics, specifically, anxiety and burnout serve as shields to the attainment of the STEM education objectives in Nigeria. It buttressed further the implications of the two constructs in relation to the teaching of STEM across the learning institutions and projected how, if not controlled, could go a long way in undermining and crippling the attainment of the stated STEM objectives. The authors finally recommended among others that the stakeholders in STEM education should moderate the teaching workload among science teachers in high schools and provide more incentives to them as to ensure effective teaching and learning of STEM, which invariably could lead to the smooth transition towards the attainment of STEM education objectives in Nigeria, and the world in general.