Fostering Well-Being over the Radio? An Empirical Study Investigating the Effects of an Audio Podcast-Based Intervention Program on Student Teachers’ Well-Being

Abstract

Student teachers’ abilities to positively influence their own well-being are an important resource not only for their academic success at university but also for their future impact as educators in schools. Thus, universities should assume responsibility for educating student teachers on how to reflect on and influence their personal well-being. In this paper, an empirical study is presented that investigates the effects of an audio podcast-based intervention on student teachers’ well-being. The online course was developed with the aim of fostering both the general and job-related well-being of student teachers during a 15-week pedagogical field experience. The course comprises a series of nine narrated audio podcast episodes and administers three positive psychological interventions: gratitude, kindness, and savouring. To investigate the effectiveness of the course, a quasi-experimental design was used. Life satisfaction, happiness, teacher engagement, job satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion were measured using online questionnaires at four intervals over a 15-week period. The sample consisted of 117 German student teachers, of which 82 participated in the intervention and 35 in the control condition. Results suggest small but statistically significant gains in mean life satisfaction and happiness scores of the participants in the intervention group. Furthermore, significant gains in emotional exhaustion in the control group were not present in the intervention condition, suggesting that the course provides a buffer to emotional exhaustion. Against the expectations, indicators of job-related well-being (i.e. teacher engagement, job satisfaction) did not significantly change over time in either group. The relevance and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Witnessing well-being in action: Observing teacher well-being during field experiences predicts student teacher well-being

“…In particular, the findings of this study highlight that observational learning might be a promising route in supporting student teacher well-being. In addition to other support measures like dedicated university courses, mentoring, and self-help interventions (e.g., Goodday et al, 2019;Hobson, 2020;Dreer, 2021), methods of observational learning, like targeted classroom observations, should therefore be considered in teacher well-being education. This might be particularly valuable if student teachers are able to observe in-service teachers with high rates of occupational well-being, which emphasizes the importance of choosing a quality school for conducting field experiences.…”

“…Furthermore, they are supported to engage in activities that potentially enhance their well-being within the professional context. In the third phase, student teachers are supported in reflecting their impressions and experiences and to seek ways of integrating their insights into their future professional practice (for more information see Dreer, 2021). As part of their course requirements, student teachers had to conduct three classroom observations with three different teachers at their internship school during the second phase of the course.…”

“…The latter is dependent on knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy beliefs which can develop through training, intervention, and experience (McCallum and Price, 2016). There is widespread scholarly agreement that practical phases during initial teacher education involve experiences relevant to future teachers' well-being and well-being education (e.g., Price and McCallum, 2015;Cherkowski and Walker, 2018;McCallum, 2020;Dreer, 2021). Because such phases enrich classroom learning by providing authentic experiences and learning opportunities, teacher education programs worldwide mandate field experience in their curricula (Zeichner, 2012).…”

Well-being and mentoring in pre-service teacher education: an integrative literature review

“…Mentee well-being, which has so far been linked to being mentored (as opposed to not having a mentor), a healthy relationship with one's mentor and certain mentoring styles that support well-being are also dependent on other factors from the school environment. For example, a welcoming school climate, leadership support and assistance from the delegating universities must also be considered (Dreer, 2021a; Kuhn et al. , 2022).…”

Audio innovation and songs to spur change in global health: evidence from a national crowdsourcing open call for youth social innovation in Malaysia

“…In the context of health promotion, audio interventions can directly improve health outcomes. Past work has shown that audio interventions such as natural sounds may improve stress recovery,13 while podcasting and radio can promote weight loss14 and mindfulness 15. Audio interventions also provide us a way of storytelling and centring the voices of those who are marginalised.…”