In the evolving landscape of education, the career adaptability of pre-service teachers has garnered increasing scholarly attention, highlighting the critical need to fortify their professional confidence and resilience from the earliest stages of their training. Recent longitudinal research spearheaded by Wang et al. (2025) delves deeply into this crucial developmental phase, offering groundbreaking insights into the influences of internship experiences and emotion regulation strategies on career adaptability. Their work illuminates the nuanced interplay between the challenges emerging teachers face and the psychological mechanisms that underpin their capacity to navigate a demanding professional terrain. The implications are vast, urging teacher education programs worldwide to rethink how they prepare the next generation of educators.
One of the most striking revelations from this study is the documented decline in career confidence experienced by pre-service teachers as they progress through their training. This diminishing self-assurance poses a serious threat, as prior research by Gordon et al. (2023) underscores the indispensable role of career confidence and self-efficacy in determining teachers’ perseverance when coping with professional adversity. High levels of confidence have been correlated with a willingness not only to tackle complex pedagogic challenges but also to innovate and experiment with untested instructional strategies. Thus, the erosion of this vital psychological resource during the formative stages of a teaching career could have long-lasting deleterious effects on both educators and their pupils.
The genesis of this confidence erosion appears multifaceted, rooted in a constellation of stressors familiar to many in the educational profession. According to studies reviewed within the research, stressors such as mounting performance pressures, disruptive student behaviors, tenuous relationships among colleagues, communication barriers with parents, and restricted workplace autonomy form a hostile environment that pre-service teachers must confront early on (Lazarides et al., 2020; Pyhältö et al., 2011). This cocktail of challenges not only amplifies stress but saps emotional reserves, creating a vicious cycle that undermines the development of career resilience.
Within this context, Wang and colleagues advocate for the implementation of robust mentoring systems embedded within teacher education curricula. These programs would ideally offer personalized support to pre-service teachers, equipping them with strategies to manage high demands during internships and initial employment phases. Effective mentorship can act as a buffer against stress, providing both emotional support and practical advice, which fosters a secure environment where novice teachers feel valued and understood. By reinforcing professional confidence through mentor relationships, teacher education can facilitate smoother transitions into the workforce, mitigating early career attrition.
Moreover, the study calls attention to systemic reforms extending beyond mentorship to the very environments in which pre-service teachers undertake internships or early employment. Reducing unnecessary administrative burdens and excessive workloads within these settings is paramount, as these pressures significantly exacerbate stress and hinder the cultivation of a flexible and reflective teaching style. By fostering workplace cultures that prioritize teacher well-being and professional growth, schools can cultivate adaptability, encouraging new educators to experiment with pedagogical approaches without fear of punitive repercussions.
A particularly notable dimension of Wang and colleagues’ findings is the role of emotion regulation strategies in shaping career adaptability. Cognitive reappraisal—an emotion regulation tactic involving the reinterpretation of challenging situations to alter their emotional impact—emerged as a powerful factor positively influencing all facets of pre-service teachers’ ability to adapt professionally. This technique enables teachers to reframe obstacles as opportunities for growth rather than threats, enhancing curiosity, sense of control, and sustained focus amid uncertainty. The endorsement of cognitive reappraisal aligns with burgeoning evidence from psychology that it facilitates long-term emotional resilience, which is critical in teaching environments fraught with unpredictability.
Conversely, the study elucidates the limitations of expressive suppression, another common emotion regulation strategy characterized by inhibiting the outward expression of emotions. While suppression may serve as a short-term coping mechanism that allows pre-service teachers to maintain composure under immediate pressure, reliance on this approach over time can have pernicious effects. Persistent emotive suppression may increase internal stress and reduce the capacity for authentic engagement and exploration, ultimately stalling professional development. This distinction between transient and sustained emotion regulation strategies highlights the complexity of psychological coping mechanisms in educational contexts.
The implications of these findings extend into the practical domain of teacher training itself. Therefore, embedding cognitive reappraisal training modules into teacher education programs could be a transformative step to promote long-term resilience and career adaptability. By equipping pre-service teachers with tools to reinterpret setbacks positively, these programs could foster a mindset tuned towards adaptive learning and innovation, essential qualities in the ever-evolving educational landscape. Such training not only supports personal well-being but also fundamentally enhances instructional effectiveness in diverse classrooms.
Furthermore, the necessity of shifting the narrative around uncertainties and challenges in teacher development is emphasized. Instead of viewing these inevitable professional experiences as threats that undermine confidence, teacher education should guide pre-service teachers towards perceiving them as dynamic opportunities for inquiry and mastery. This cognitive shift is critical in cultivating a sense of agency and control, indispensable for maintaining motivation and professional enthusiasm. The cultivation of such attitudes is corroborated by research from Celik and Storme (2018), who detail how reframing challenges enhances teachers’ intrinsic motivation and sustained focus.
In parallel, the research advocates for an integrative approach to stress management in teacher education that combines emotional regulation with systemic support structures. While individual strategies like cognitive reappraisal are vital, they must be complemented by organizational policies that minimize avoidable stressors—such as workload excess and relational conflicts—within training and employment settings. This dual-pronged approach ensures that pre-service teachers are not only psychologically equipped but also practically empowered to thrive as they transition from novices to confident professionals.
The longitudinal nature of Wang et al.’s research lends particular weight to their conclusions, revealing how career adaptability develops and fluctuates over time in relation to both experiential and psychological variables. By tracking pre-service teachers across critical internship periods and initial career stages, the study offers a dynamic view of how adaptability unfolds and how interventions might best be timed and tailored. This temporal dimension is crucial for crafting teacher education programs responsive to evolving needs rather than static protocol-driven trainings.
Moreover, this study aligns with a broader global dialogue about teacher retention and attrition, which remain pressing challenges for educational systems internationally. Enhancing career adaptability and emotional resilience among pre-service teachers is a strategic fulcrum to counter attrition trends, particularly given the intensive pressures faced by early-career educators. Thus, Wang et al.’s findings contribute materially to policy discussions about sustaining an effective and motivated teaching workforce.
Importantly, the study resonates far beyond initial teacher training institutions, inviting school leaders, policymakers, and educational psychologists to reconsider their roles in supporting novice teachers. The intersection of emotion regulation and work environment design underscores the need for collaborative, cross-sector efforts to cultivate cultures of support and continuous professional growth in schools. By doing so, educational ecosystems can better nurture adaptability, resilience, and innovation—traits essential for meeting the challenges of 21st-century education.
In essence, the research by Wang and colleagues punctuates an urgent call for holistic reform in teacher education, advocating for integrated strategies that encompass psychological support, environmental adjustments, and systematic mentoring. Their findings simultaneously authenticate enduring psychological theories of career adaptability and emotional regulation, while offering pragmatic blueprints for fostering sustainable careers in education. As the demands on teachers intensify globally, such insights are both timely and imperative.
In conclusion, this seminal study shines a spotlight on the pivotal role of career confidence and emotion regulation in shaping the trajectory of pre-service teachers. It underscores the necessity of reimagining teacher education programs to include high-quality mentoring, reduced workload environments, and training in adaptive cognitive strategies that promote long-term resilience. Such reforms promise not only to enhance teacher well-being but also to invigorate the profession as a whole, ensuring that educators are equipped to inspire and transform learning in increasingly complex world contexts.
Subject of Research:
Development of career adaptability in pre-service teachers influenced by internship experiences and emotion regulation strategies.
Article Title:
Longitudinal development of career adaptability in pre-service teachers: the impact of internship experiences and emotion regulation strategies.
Article References:
Wang, H., Ruan, Q., Liu, X. et al. Longitudinal development of career adaptability in pre-service teachers: the impact of internship experiences and emotion regulation strategies. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 681 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04966-x
Image Credits: AI Generated
