Abstract:

Pre-service teachers and interns experience difficulties arising from demands they encounter in the teaching field and academia and the complexity of teaching in an era where they must cope with the challenge of a changing educational reality. This creates a burden that may exert pressure in teaching situations. Sense of Coherence in Teaching Situations (SOCITS) is a personal coping resource that defines the extent to which preservice teachers/interns have a sense of confidence in the predictable, familiar teaching situations, and the belief that they can cope so that situations will be managed optimally. SOCITS has three components: comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness (Bracha & Hoffenbartal, 2015). This study identifies factors enhancing and inhabiting SOCITS in the teaching process among pre-service teachers and interns. Qualitative research was conducted among 136 pre-service special education teachers in their first and third years of teacher education and 144 interns from various programs in their induction year.

The analysis yielded two key findings:
(1) SOCITS’ enhancing and inhabiting factors: pedagogical factors, colleges/schools as an ecological system, personal and professional identity perceptions, and relationship with students.
(2) Similarities and differences between these factors among pre-service teachers and interns.

The study’s contribution is constructing a practical model enabling pre-service teachers, interns, teacher educators, and mentors to identify collectively the factors enhancing and inhabiting SOCITS and formulate adapted and personal programs for its promotion. This study contributes to the professional development and authenticity of pre-service teachers and interns and enables them to navigate the teaching field efficiently and purposefully.

Keywords:

Sense of coherence in teaching situations, SOCITS, SOCITS' enhancing and inhabiting factors, Pre-service teachers, Interns, Teacher education, Induction year.