Investigating Stress Levels in Male Pre-service Teachers in Teacher Education Programs

Abstract

The present paper investigated the issue of male teacher shortage from the perspective of male pre-service teachers' stress level in completing teacher education programs. Using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and an online questionnaire, there were six significant findings: a) male pre-service teachers had higher stress levels than the general population, b) males preferred to undertake their placement in middle or above level schools, c) the age of male preservice teachers was strongly correlated with their stress levels, d) over half of male pre-service teachers were not aware of or had no access to support, e) optimistic male pre-service teachers had higher stress levels than pessimistic males; and f) male pre-service teachers found collaborative group work more stressful than other tasks. Stakeholders such as teacher educators, male teachers, and policy makers will find this paper useful in terms of understanding male preservice teachers' stress levels and the implications for provision of support in teacher education programs and the retention of male teachers.