The Effect of Biofeedback Training On Anxiety in Physical Education Teachers Short Title: Biofeedback Training and PE Teacher's Anxiety

1.1. Introduction: Stress and anxiety are inevitable parts of the teaching profession. The main purpose of this research was to examine the usefulness biofeedback training (BFB) as part of the Learning-Modification-Application (LMA) approach as a tool for physical education (PE) teachers to cope with their anxiety. 1.2. Material and methods: A total of 57 PE teachers, age 25-59 years (M=40.5±9.02), volunteered to participate in the current study. The participants were graduate (MEd) students at an academic college in the southern part of Israel. The participants were randomly divided into three groups: LMA (n=20), BFB relaxation games (n=22); and Control (n=15). Two questionnaires were used to measure anxiety: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT). The research protocol included 21 sessions, each lasting 60 minutes. 1.3. Results: The results of this research show that practicing the LMA approach has a positive effect on state anxiety, t(19)=2.92, p=.009and trait anxiety t(19)=2.84, p=.0101. 1.4. Conclusion: It was found that PE teachers who practice the LMA approach experienced a stronger effect on state anxiety and sport competition anxiety compared to PE teachers practicing BFB relaxation games only.Practical implications for improving the coping skills of PE teachers with anxiety are discussed.