Teacher wellbeing is a critical factor influencing both individual and systemic educational outcomes. It is closely linked to teachers’ job and life satisfaction, instructional quality, and students’ achievements (Dreer, 2023; Ryan and Deci, 2016). Teachers who experience higher wellbeing show greater job engagement and are more likely to remain in the profession (Wang and Hall, 2021), whereas low wellbeing is associated with poorer instructional quality and reduced classroom management effectiveness (Klusmann et al., 2022), as well as a higher intention to leave the profession (Goddard and Goddard, 2006; Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2016). The promotion of teacher wellbeing is therefore not only important at the individual level, but also a systemic strategy for advancing educational quality.

Work-related wellbeing among teachers is commonly conceptualized as a multidimensional construct that integrates both positive indicators (e.g., job satisfaction, work engagement) and negative indicators (e.g., stress, burnout). Previous research has shown that teacher motivation plays a key role in predicting teaching as a career choice and teacher engagement (Fokkens-Bruinsma and Canrinus, 2014; Watt and Richardson, 2007). Sinclair (2008), p.80 defined teacher motivation as something that determines “what attracts individuals to teaching, how long they remain in their initial teacher education courses and subsequently the teaching profession, and the extent to which they engage with their courses and the profession”. Teaching internships provide critical opportunities for pre-service teachers to develop and strengthen career-choice motivation (König et al., 2016; Sinclair, 2008). The structure and duration of these internships vary depending on the university and its specific teacher education program. Typically, student teachers are supervised by school mentors; in some cases, they also attend accompanying university seminars or they are visited and supervised by university lecturers at their schools. Tasks in teaching internships are mostly differentiated into school pedagogical tasks (getting to know the school as an institutional environment and the professional areas of responsibility) and teaching-learning research tasks (lesson planning, conducting lessons and reflecting on the lessons carried out; Arnold et al., 2014). Research on pre-service teachers’ career-choice motivation during teaching internships presents a multifaceted picture: König et al. (2016) reported that within initial teacher education, intrinsic motivation tends to increase, extrinsic motivation remains stable, and altruistic motivation (the motivation to work with children or adolescents) may even decline. However, Bauer et al. (2020) found that career-choice motives remained relatively stable over the course of a 16-week internship.

In contrast to teacher motivation and engagement, burnout represents the negative pole of teacher wellbeing. Globally, the prevalence of burnout among teachers varies considerably (2.81–70.9%), with a median of 28.8% (Agyapong et al., 2022). Burnout is a prolonged response to chronic work-related stress and encompasses three core dimensions: emotional exhaustion, dissatisfaction with one’s own performance, and depersonalization or loss of empathy. Emotional exhaustion describes the feeling of being drained of energy and is assumed to be the first stage in the development of burnout (Maslach et al., 1996). There is empirical evidence that emotional exhaustion increases within early career phases of teachers (Dicke et al., 2015; Klusmann et al., 2012), underscoring its role as a central indicator of teachers’ occupational wellbeing.

Teachers face numerous job demands, including classroom management challenges (e.g., maintaining student motivation and discipline), high workload and administrative burdens, and role-related stressors such as ambiguity, external evaluation, and insecure contracts. Additional pressures stem from adapting to change, increased technology use, difficult working conditions, and strained social interactions or unhealthy competition among colleagues (Kyriacou, 2001; Lu et al., 2024). The stressors in the teaching internship differ from those in the later teaching profession, but there are also overlaps, like workload and time pressure. Additional stress factors perceived by student teachers are inconsistent role attributions, discrepancies in the organization of the internship, assessments of student teachers, and accompanying tasks at the university (Kokkinos et al., 2016; Krawiec et al., 2020).

According to Lazarus’ transactional stress model, stress arises when there is an incongruence between the demands of the environment and the resources of an individual. The appraisal of the situation and individual coping strategies determine the strength of the stress reaction (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). The Job Demands-Resources Model (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007) differentiates work characteristics into demands and resources. Available resources (e.g., social support, self-efficacy) may have a buffering effect by mitigating the negative impact of demands. Prolonged exposure to high demands without adequate resources can lead to elevated stress levels, emotional exhaustion and burnout, negatively impacting teacher engagement and motivation, what may lead to teachers leaving the profession (Collie, 2023; Klassen and Chiu, 2011).

Distinguishing between internal (personal) and external (contextual) resources is essential, as both can aid in managing stress during teaching internships in the early stages of a teaching career (Kücholl et al., 2019). Self-efficacy has been extensively researched as a key personal resource mitigating stress and burnout at work (Shoji et al., 2016). It describes the subjective conviction of being able to cope with new or difficult challenging situations based on one’s own competencies (Bandura, 1977). A correlation between high self-efficacy and low burnout symptoms was found both among teachers in the profession (Holmström et al., 2023; Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2007) and among student teachers during school internships (Fives et al., 2007). Bauer et al. (2020) reported that teacher self-efficacy significantly increased after a 16-week teaching internship in a pre-post study with a control group, suggesting that structured practical experience can meaningfully enhance confidence in professional abilities. During the pandemic, student teachers reported fewer practical learning opportunities as well as a lower development of self-efficacy (König et al., 2022). This suggests that reduced learning opportunities and weaker growth in self-efficacy are closely related. Recent findings also highlight the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between social and emotional competencies and burnout among early career teachers (Pikić Jugović et al., 2025).

Additionally, job-specific characteristics and competencies may serve as personal resources for coping with stress (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). These resources can support prospective teachers during their initial practical phase and may help to reduce stress reactions. One focus of teaching internships is linking theoretical knowledge and practical action (Holzäpfel et al., 2019; Schubarth et al., 2016). Practical school components in teacher training have the potential to help student teachers gain more realistic professional expectations through practical experience and insights into the professional field (Košinár et al., 2016). Reflexivity, flexibility, and resource awareness are described as important characteristics of professional teaching, as teachers must continually deal constructively with new challenges in the teaching profession (Bonnet and Hericks, 2014). Reflective practice in teacher preparation has the potential to enhance student teachers’ educational knowledge, skills, and dispositions by encouraging critical contemplation on actions in the school environment (Slade et al., 2019). Furthermore, reflection opportunities in teaching internships can have an effect on the teacher self-efficacy (Bauer et al., 2020).

Social support has been identified as a significant resource in protecting individuals from the adverse effects of stress. It has been defined as “efforts to aid individuals or that encourage their sense of attachment to significant groups” (Hobfoll, 2001). For teachers, support from superiors and a positive relationship with colleagues are predictors of lower emotional exhaustion, higher job satisfaction, and higher career motivation (Mijakoski et al., 2022; Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2011). Close guidance and support from mentors and university lecturers are also important for student teachers in practical phases, as this protects against burnout symptoms and contributes to higher satisfaction and motivation (Fives et al., 2007; Hobson et al., 2009). During the traineeship, support from fellow trainees may help mitigate emotional exhaustion. Trainee teachers were less stressed if they received advice or specific help from their fellows or if there was an exchange of teaching materials (Richter et al., 2011). Social support may also contribute to the enhancement of self-efficacy (Fives et al., 2007; Kücholl et al., 2019; Richter et al., 2011). Kücholl et al. (2019) assume that students are more likely to develop self-efficacy and confidence in their own abilities if these abilities are discussed with mentors in the context of feedback. It is also important to ensure transparency regarding the tasks, objectives, and support services of the internship in order to clarify the relevance of the internship and provide guidance for student teachers (Schubarth et al., 2016). Stress at the workplace can be reduced if there is a high level of transparency for employees through clear guidelines and information (Kaluza, 2023).

Teaching internships mark student teachers’ initial exposure to both practical teaching experience and teaching-related stress. During this period, routines and strategies for managing work demands may be established and developed. An imbalance between demands and resources, combined with a lack of coping strategies during these early practical experiences, may lead to unprofessional behavior, higher stress levels and emotional exhaustion (Dicke et al., 2018; Darius et al., 2021; Drüge et al., 2014; Fives et al., 2007).

The present study focuses on stress-protective resources during teaching internships that help student teachers reduce stress and prevent burnout in the early stages of the teaching profession. Using a structural equation model (SEM), the study examines both internal and external resources associated with lower levels of emotional exhaustion and higher career choice motivation among student teachers during their 16-week internship semester at the Freiburg University of Education (Germany). The findings aim to highlight the importance of considering stress-protective resources in the planning and organization of the internship to support teachers’ wellbeing and promote sustainable teaching practices.

The literature-based structural path model (see Figure 1) includes all constructs, each incorporated in the model individually, measured by its respective scale. The constructs can be grouped as follows:

The following hypotheses are tested using the path model:

The present study developed and validated a path model to examine how personal and contextual constructs relate to “emotional exhaustion” and “career motivation” among student teachers during their internship semester. “Reflection,” “transparency,” and “occupational insight” together explained 40% of the variance in student teachers’ “emotional exhaustion” and 46% of the variance in their “career motivation. The associations proved to be both significant directly and indirectly, mediated by “self-efficacy” and “internship satisfaction.”

The scales were developed in alignment with the objectives of the ISP and have been used in the university’s evaluation since 2013, with wording adjustments and some additional items over time. In the present study, to ensure appropriate measurement models and item-construct-fit, six items had to be removed from their theoretically assumed item groups: The focus of the “reflection” construct now tends to be more on reflection related to teaching practice, while the construct “theory practice link (practical experience)” is now more clearly centered on understanding and application of learning theories in teaching. The construct “transparency” now emphasizes expectations regarding internships, whereas “university mentoring support” focuses on content-related support. Taken together, these revisions resulted in an acceptable model fit.

Consistent with Hypothesis 1, “reflection,” “occupational insight” and “university mentoring support” showed negative associations with “emotional exhaustion” and positive associations with “career motivation” indicating that these constructs may serve as valuable resources within the internship context. Effective reflection methods for student teachers include portfolios (Nguyen, 2021) and video-based reflection (Hamel et al., 2019). Furthermore, mentor feedback on lesson plans and lessons conducted plays a crucial role in supporting the reflection process and enhancing self-efficacy (Mok et al., 2023). However, neither of the “theory-practice link” constructs nor “internship group support” showed any significant direct or indirect association with the outcome variables.

Contrary to expectations, “transparency” was directly associated with lower career motivation, despite its indirect positive association via the mediators. This might reflect a dual role of transparency in student internships. As Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2006) emphasize, clear and transparent feedback, as well as explicit information about learning goals, can help learners understand expectations and prepare effectively for tasks. From the perspective of self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2016), transparency supports autonomy when presented as constructive guidance, but it may also undermine motivation if perceived as controlling or evaluative. Together, these perspectives highlight the importance of differentiating how transparency is communicated, and which kinds of information are emphasized. Future research could build on these findings by examining which forms of transparency—such as clarity about learning goals versus detailed workload expectations—support student motivation and which might unintentionally increase stress or reduce perceived autonomy.

In accordance with hypothesis 2 “internship satisfaction” and “self-efficacy” were identified as mediators, explaining a substantial proportion of the variance in the outcome constructs “emotional exhaustion” and “career motivation.” The regression weights of the antecedent constructs for internship satisfaction, and self-efficacy were positive, as expected (hypothesis 3). Previous research supports the assumption that students who are satisfied with their internship experience tend to show greater confidence and motivation regarding their future career path (König et al., 2016; Wolf et al., 2021). However, other studies found that career motivation is a relatively stable construct, which is difficult to change (Bauer et al., 2020). This discrepancy might suggest that “internship satisfaction” may only temporarily boost “career motivation,” its long-term impact may depend on additional factors. According to Bandura’s social-cognitive theory, expectation of self-efficacy is a decisive factor in whether people engage in activities to cope with stressful situations or whether they avoid obstacles (Bandura, 1977). Self-efficacy is a well-researched construct and has been consistently linked to both burnout symptoms and job satisfaction in studies involving teachers and trainee teachers (Fives et al., 2007; Klassen and Chiu, 2010; Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2007). For example, Bing and colleagues found that self-efficacy accounted for 20% of the variance in burnout symptoms among English-as-a-foreign-language teachers (Bing et al., 2022). However, it is important to note that Bing and other studies used a specific measure of self-efficacy focusing on facets such as student engagement, instructional strategies and classroom management. In contrast, our study assessed general self-efficacy, as the 16-week ISP represents a protected practice space, in which students cannot yet be expected to have developed strong self-efficacy beliefs in these domain-specific areas. Consistent with our findings, the study by Bauer et al. (2020) showed a correlation between opportunities for reflection and self-efficacy. Moreover, problem-oriented coping strategies, like active problem-solving, may increase self-efficacy (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984).

Many studies have described a protective effect of mentoring on stress and emotional exhaustion among teacher candidates (Fives et al., 2007; Hobson et al., 2009; Kücholl et al., 2019). In our study, “university mentoring support” showed an indirect effect on “emotional exhaustion” mediated by “internship satisfaction” but no direct effect. While most studies focus on school-based mentors (i.e., supervising teachers), our study investigated the mentoring provided by university lecturers. According to Power and colleagues, a distinction can be made between emotional and practical support (Power et al., 1988). We assume that student teachers receive different forms of social support from school and university mentors, which may help explain why university mentoring support showed no direct effect on emotional exhaustion in our model. Given that student teachers spend 16 weeks at their internship school, they likely build closer relationships with school staff, who may provide more emotional support. University lecturers, by contrast, typically visit students only once a week and may offer mainly practical support such as theoretical input and feedback, which may be perceived as less relevant than hands-on classroom experience (Holtz, 2014). Empirically supporting this assumption, Gröschner et al. (2013) found that during a five-month teaching internship, school-based mentoring was rated as significantly more satisfactory than university-based mentoring. However, perceptions of university mentoring in subject didactics and educational sciences predicted increases in self-assessed competencies over the course of the internship, whereas the school-based mentoring predicted no increases in self-assessed competencies. This finding underlines the relevance of university mentoring in supporting student teachers’ professional learning and competence development during their internships. Future research could further examine how support from school mentors and university lecturers differs, and how the different forms of supervision relate to the professional development of student teachers during their internship. Understanding these differences could help optimize the complementary roles of school and university mentoring in reducing stress and supporting teacher competence development.

Furthermore, the results of this study can be compared to those of Skaalvik and Skaalvik (2011), who used a structural equation model to investigate predictors of teacher burnout. Their model explained 38% of the variance in emotional exhaustion, 45% in job satisfaction, and 52% in the intention to leave the profession—values comparable to our model, which accounted for 31 to 47% of the variance in emotional exhaustion and career motivation. However, while their model predicts job satisfaction and the intention to leave the profession through various school context variables, mediated by emotional exhaustion and the feeling of belonging, our model uses internship satisfaction as a mediator between internship-specific conditions (lesson reflection, occupational insight, mentoring, transparency) and the outcomes emotional exhaustion and career motivation. This comparison underlines the added value of our model, which focuses on internship-specific factors relevant to emotional exhaustion and career motivation at an early stage of professional development.