Comparing Stress Levels of Graduate and Undergraduate Pre-Service Teachers Following Their Teaching Practicums

The Relationship between Mindful Attention Awareness, Perceived Stress and Subjective Wellbeing

“…However, what is well documented is that university students experience elevated levels of psychological distress compared to the general population [ 4 , 6 ]. The results support the findings from similar studies with Australian university students (e.g., [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]). The results highlight that all three sub-groups were above the reported norm population score however, those nearing the end of their ITT reported higher perceived stress.…”

“…The participant sample reflected the demographics of those entering the profession (based on the Queensland College of Teachers report [ 89 ]. The participant sample was dominated by undergraduate students, reflecting the participant samples from previous studies investigating PST stress (e.g., [ 5 ]). The experience of PSTs is influenced by a myriad of factors operating at the macro (institutional) and micro (classroom) levels.…”

“…“Average stress” levels are reported as a score of 13 and “high stress” as >20. The PSS has been included as an evaluative measure in MBIs for teacher wellbeing [ 79 , 80 ], PST wellbeing [ 73 , 74 , 81 ] and PST stress [ 4 , 5 , 82 ]. The PSS has been included in MBIs in the health sciences [ 83 , 84 , 85 ].…”

“…It has been suggested that universities need to provide support for students because mental health concerns can have a broad range of impacts on a student’s quality of life [ 2 , 3 ]. In Australia, it has been reported that pre-service teachers (PSTs) are experiencing elevated stress levels when age-matched with the general population [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has presented additional challenges for PSTs [ 7 , 8 ].…”

“…Higher levels of stress were reported on the first placement and students experiencing high levels of stress received lower overall performance ratings, while students that established a positive working relationship with their supervising teachers reported lower overall levels of stress. When investigating the experiences of postgraduate ( n = 151) and undergraduate ( n = 159) PSTs, Geng and colleagues [ 5 ] reported postgraduate PSTs perceived stress (measured with the Perceived Stress Scale; [ 12 ] were significantly higher than undergraduate PSTs and that the two groups experienced different stressors. In a recent study including students from the Faculties of Health and Education in an Australian university ( N = 552), the education students ( n = 172) shared stressors included study commitments, academic stress, work-life balance, practicum structure, financial pressure and interactions with supervising staff on practicum [ 13 ].…”