Pre-service teachers’ adaptability to blended teaching and its predictors

Abstract

Blended teaching (BT) in pre-service teacher (PST) education has significantly increased, particularly owing to the impact of COVID-19. However, there is limited literature on how pre-service teachers (PSTs) adjust to this mode of teaching. This study provides new longitudinal evidence on the adaptability of PSTs (n = 1285) and its predictors, including perceived social support, blended teaching behaviors, and demographics, over the course of one semester of multiple transitions in teaching format. The findings indicated a decrease in both behavioral cognition and affective adaptability, with the latter significantly decreasing. Perceived support and teacher educators’ blended teaching behaviors significantly predicted initial levels and changing rates in both adaptability domains. Female PSTs reported higher initial adaptability and a less pronounced decrease than male PSTs. Implications are drawn regarding the need for specific interventions to promote PSTs’ adaptability to uncertainties and improve teacher educators’ pedagogical techniques in blended teaching contexts.