Student Teacher Perceptions of Preparedness for Teaching

Abstract

he teaching profession has been described as "essentially conflictual…dilemma-ridden and … constrained by factors beyond an individual teacher's control " (Cains & Brown, 1998, p. 97). Consistent with this perspective, it is not surprising that teachers often suffer from emotional exhaustion and stress. What may be surprising however are recent reports that teachers appear to be experiencing burnout much earlier in their careers than expected. Goddard and O'Brien (2003) discovered that teachers were reporting symptoms of burnout as early as in their first year of employment. This clearly has significant implications for teachers and the teaching profession in general and is an issue that needs to be addressed. The current study aims to examine how well Universities prepare their students for the teaching profession. Final year Primary Teaching students will be followed as they make the transition form University study to the workforce. Their perceived level of preparedness, their commitment to the profession, their expectations about the workforce, their teaching self-efficacy and their attribution style will all be examined as possible predictors of emotional exhaustion in their first year of teaching. This paper examines the results of the first stage of data collection. Transitions