“Psychosocial Resources in German Student Teachers – a Starting Point for the Prevention of Teacher Burnout?“

Abstract

Background:Teachers are among the occupational groups most severely affected by psychological strain. Therefore the prevention of stress should start as early as during teacher training. Referring to the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (Lazarus, 1966) the current study explores the degree of psychosocial resources of German student teachers and their level of psychological strain to identify starting points for early prevention.Methods:The cross-sectional study was conducted using an anonymous online survey. It comprised of well-established questionnaires assessing on the one hand psychosocial resources (social skills, self-efficacy, uncertainty tolerance and mindfulness) and on the other hand psychological strain (Irritation Scale by Mohr, 2007). N = 805 student teachers completed the survey.Findings & Discussion:Student teachers already perceive a higher-than-average degree of psychological strain (Irritation) that correlates significantly with the level of reported psychosocial resources.Uncertainty tolerance and self-efficacy of the participants are significantly below the norm. Multivariate analyses are planned to obtain a more differentiated basis for prevention.