Well‐Being Trajectories of Pre‐Service Language Teachers During the Practicum: An Ecological Analysis

Abstract Learning to teach is an emotionally challenging endeavor. Yet, despite increasing interest in teachers' well‐being more broadly, relatively little is known about how it unfolds over time within identity‐forming contexts such as the practicum, particularly in the case of pre‐service language teachers (PSLTs). Addressing this gap, the present practicum‐based study adopted an ecological approach to examine the well‐being trajectories of three Polish PSLTs during their mandatory school placement. Participants' well‐being during early teaching episodes was tracked over 2 weeks using same‐day video‐assisted retrospective ratings at five‐minute intervals. These ratings were complemented by in‐depth interviews conducted twice per week and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The findings suggest that PSLTs' well‐being exhibited considerable variability both within lessons and across teaching sessions. Interview data further indicated that these trajectories were shaped by the interplay between immediate classroom experiences and broader aspects of the practicum ecology. Mentoring relationships, role ambiguity, interactions with pupils, opportunities to enact pedagogical ideals, and tensions between university preparation and classroom practice shaped well‐being trajectories, although their influence depended on how participants interpreted, negotiated, and adapted to these experiences over time. Drawing on these findings, the paper proposes several implications for the explicit pedagogizing of practicum‐related challenges within initial teacher education to support PSLTs' well‐being during the practicum and beyond.