How stressful was the COVID-19-Semester?

Burnout of Pre-Service Teachers in a One-Semester School Internship during COVID-19-School Closures in early 2020

Abstract

School closures due to the COVID-19-pandemic in early 2020 had an impact on field experiences in teacher education. Especially pre-service teachers in long-term internships faced an increased amount of complete closures and distance/remote teaching at this time. Even though there were some re-openings, the extent and type of learning opportunities were different from the conditions of typical long-term internships. University-based accompanying courses also were held in formats of remote teaching. Such situations of uncertainty and rapidly changing conditions can lead to increased stress. How did the conditions during the lockdown in spring 2020 affect the pre-service teachers’ experience of stress in long-term internships? For an empirical evaluation, a comparative analysis of two representative cohorts of pre-service teachers at the University of Paderborn was conducted. As part of regular online surveys, burnout experiences of teacher students in the COVID-19-influenced cohort (N₁=344) and the previous cohort under typical conditions (N₂=268) were assessed both at the beginning and at the end of a one-semester internship using the Maslach-Burnout-Inventory for Students. Results show a large decrease in emotional exhaustion over the course of the COVID-19-internship. Also, exhaustion during the COVID-19-internship was significantly lower compared to a typical internship. Mentor support in school was confirmed as a beneficial factor in reducing burnout. The perception of uncertainty regarding their own professional development was stated as the subjectively most relevant stress factor in the COVID-19-internship.