“Reality Shock” of Beginning Teachers? Changes in Teacher Candidates’ Emotional Exhaustion and Constructivist-Oriented Beliefs

Beginning teachers often feel disillusioned and stressed during their first years of teaching. In the present study, we investigated changes in teacher candidates’ constructivist beliefs and emotional exhaustion. We assessed 163 German mathematics teacher candidates 3 times: at the beginning of, in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of teacher education Vol. 71; no. 3; pp. 292 - 306
Main Authors Voss, Thamar, Kunter, Mareike
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.05.2020
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Attitude Change
Beginning Teacher Induction
Beginning Teachers
Constructivism (Learning)
Emotions
Foreign Countries
Individual Differences
Mathematics Teachers
Measures (Individuals)
Occupational stress
Psychological Patterns
Teacher Attitudes
Teacher Burnout
Germany
teacher beliefs
teacher induction
beginning teachers
emotional exhaustion
preservice teacher education
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Summary:Beginning teachers often feel disillusioned and stressed during their first years of teaching. In the present study, we investigated changes in teacher candidates’ constructivist beliefs and emotional exhaustion. We assessed 163 German mathematics teacher candidates 3 times: at the beginning of, in the middle of, and after they completed the induction program. The results revealed a statistically significant decrease in constructivist beliefs and an inverted U-shaped change in emotional exhaustion with an increase at the beginning of the induction program and a decrease afterward. We also found that personal (i.e., math enjoyment) and social (i.e., instrumental support from peers and a constructivist-oriented mentor teacher) resources buffered the decrease in constructivist beliefs and the increase in emotional exhaustion.
ISSN:0022-4871
1552-7816
DOI:10.1177/0022487119839700