Strengthening pre-service teachers’ coping strategies: A theory of change for stress management in teacher education

Objective: Teaching internships represent a critical phase in teacher education but are frequently associated with high and overlapping demands. Coping and stress-management skills are essential for pre-service teachers to prevent long-term consequences such as emotional exhaustion. However, many university curricula lack needs-based interventions addressing the specific stressors of teaching internships. This study aimed to develop a theory of change (ToC) to guide the development of context-sensitive stress-management interventions for pre-service teachers. Design: Mixed-methods design. Setting: German pre-service teachers completing their internship semester in teacher education. Method: A problem analysis based on findings from surveys ( n = 698) and interviews ( n = 4) with pre-service teachers was used to identify core stressors and intervention needs. In addition, two dialogues with professionals in teacher education and psychology informed and refined the intervention design. A review of existing stress-management interventions for teachers and other relevant occupations complemented these findings. Results: The analysis revealed key stressors including workload from simultaneous academic and teaching demands, organisational challenges, performance pressure, and financial strain. Based on these findings, the ToC outlines how awareness of personal stressors, improved time management, and structured problem-solving can strengthen coping and reduce emotional exhaustion. The resulting group-based intervention consisted of two 2-hour sessions combining cognitive-behavioural strategies with relaxation exercises while fostering social support. Conclusion: The identified ToC offers a conceptual foundation for a targeted health-promotion intervention in teacher education. By addressing stressors specific to the internship semester, it offers a basis for future evaluation and sustainable integration into initial teacher education and training curricula.