Teacher emotions and emotional exhaustion among regularly and non-regularly trained novice teachers: self-perceptions and external evaluations

Introduction Entering the teaching profession represents a critical phase in teachers’ professional development, marked by high emotional intensity, structural demands, and evolving identity processes. Despite growing recognition of the importance of teacher emotions for instructional quality and teacher well-being, little is known about how emotional experience and emotional exhaustion interact during the first year of teaching, particularly across different career entry pathways. Methods A nationwide online survey was conducted in Austria approximately 3 months after the start of the school year. The sample included 729 novice teachers (mentees) and 202 trained mentors ( N = 931). A dual-perspective design combined mentees’ self-reports with mentors’ external evaluations, investigating the affective profile of novice teachers and potential differences between regularly and non-regularly trained entrants. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analyses, group comparisons, and regression models. Results Positive emotions were reported more frequently than negative emotions during the induction phase, a pattern also reflected in mentors’ evaluations. Negative emotional experiences were positively associated with emotional exhaustion, whereas positive emotions were negatively associated. These relationships emerged across both perspectives, although associations involving negative emotions were weaker in mentors’ reports. Unexpectedly, regularly trained novice teachers reported higher levels of negative emotions and emotional exhaustion than non-regular entrants. Discussion The findings challenge deficit-oriented views of the induction phase by highlighting the prominence of positive emotional experiences alongside affective vulnerability. They underscore the importance of emotion-sensitive approaches in teacher education, mentoring, and induction policies, highlighting the affective complexity of the first year of teaching.