Fear of poetry among pre-service teachers in Nigeria

This study investigated the attitude of preservice teachers in a Nigerian university towards poetry. A research question was posed in this regard. Consequently, a questionnaire was developed for preservice teachers to indicate on a scale of 1-5 (lowest to highest) their level of confidence in teaching poetry. A rating of 1 - 2 was considered low, 3 was considered moderate, while 4 - 5 was considered high. The result revealed that 4 participants (5.97%) expressed high confidence to teach poetry, 4 participants (5.97%) expressed moderate confidence to teach poetry. The majority, that is, 59 participants (88.06%), however, had low confidence to teach poetry.
The qualitative data shows a transcript of the interviews of volunteers from the sample that responded to the questionnaire. Pseudonyms are used. The result revealed that participants’ developed the phobia for poetry (metrophobia) from their experiences of learning poetry at the secondary school level and beyond.