Abstract:

The teaching profession is increasingly shaped by profound social, institutional, and pedagogical transformations that have redefined its scope, complexity, and public significance. In contemporary educational contexts, teachers are expected not only to demonstrate subject knowledge and pedagogical competence, but also to respond to diverse student needs, administrative requirements, parental expectations, and broader societal pressures. In this context, understanding how students enrolled in teacher education programmes perceive the challenges of the teaching profession is particularly important, as these perceptions may influence their professional identity, sense of efficacy, and willingness to enter and remain in the profession.

The aim of this study is to examine the attitudes of student teachers towards the principal challenges of the teaching profession and to explore how they interpret the demands, responsibilities, and social position of teachers in contemporary schooling. The study is based on a mixed-methods research design that integrates quantitative and qualitative approaches to provide a comprehensive and analytically robust understanding of the research problem. The research was conducted at three universities in Croatia, at faculties offering teacher education programmes, ensuring a relevant and diverse sample of participants.

The empirical focus includes several interrelated dimensions of professional challenge, such as workload, classroom management, administrative burden, emotional demands, communication with parents, professional accountability, and the perceived discrepancy between societal expectations placed upon teachers and the level of institutional recognition and support they receive. Particular attention is given to the extent to which student teachers feel adequately prepared during their university education to cope with these challenges and to develop competences necessary for sustainable and reflective professional practice.

The results will reveal a nuanced and partly ambivalent perception of the teaching profession. On the one hand, student teachers are likely to recognise teaching as a socially meaningful, ethically significant, and personally fulfilling profession. On the other hand, they may perceive it as highly demanding, emotionally burdensome, and insufficiently valued within broader social and institutional frameworks. Concerns related to disciplinary issues, excessive administrative responsibilities, communication with parents, and limited societal appreciation of teachers are expected to emerge as especially salient. Qualitative findings should further illuminate how these perceptions are shaped by prior educational experience, teaching practice, and public narratives about the status of teachers and the realities of school life.

By combining quantitative indicators with qualitative insights, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how future teachers conceptualise the opportunities and constraints of the profession they are preparing to enter. The findings may offer valuable implications for improving teacher education programmes, particularly in strengthening practical preparation, reflective capacity, professional resilience, and critical awareness of contemporary teaching demands.

Keywords:

Student teachers, teaching profession, professional challenges, teacher education, mixed-methods research, professional identity.