Abstract:

The rapid shift in teaching conditions in 2020 and 2021 had a significant influence on initial teacher education. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, pre-service teachers predominantly attended online courses and had limited teaching practice in schools. This study focuses on the relationship between changes in initial teacher education that occurred due to COVID-19 pandemics and pre-service teachers' self-perceived professional preparedness.

The primary objective of this research was to investigate the pre-service teachers' professional preparedness and its relation to their burnout and satisfaction with online learning experiences. Within the research plan in mind, the study focused on:
(1) the pre-service teachers' professional preparedness;
(2) the pre-service teachers' burnout;
(3) the level of pre-service teachers' satisfaction with online learning; and
(4) a relationship between pre-service teachers' self-perceived professional preparedness, burnout, and satisfaction with online learning.

The survey included 111 students enrolled in pre-service teacher education programs in Croatia. Participating pre-service teachers were attending online courses and had limited teaching practice in schools. The questionnaire designed for this study included general demographic questions (gender, year in school and study area) and three separate scales: Maslach Burnout Inventory – student survey – MBI-SS (Schaufeli, Martínez, Marqués-Pinto, Salanova & Bakker, 2002), the student satisfaction with online learning scale – SSOLS (Dzubian, Moskal, Thompson, Kramer, DeCantis & Hermsdorfer, 2015), and the pre-service teachers' preparedness scale – PSTPS (Manasia, Ianos & Chicioreanu, 2019).

For this study, the scales were translated in Croatian and later translated back to English. The Croatian versions of the scales were analyzed by use of both exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis. The data was analyzed using frequency, mean score, and standard deviation on a descriptive level. In addition, the Pearson coefficient of correlation was used on the p<.001 level and p<.05 level to determine the correlation between the different dimensions of pre-service teachers' burnout scale, the pre-service teachers' satisfaction with online learning and the pre-service teachers' professional preparedness scale.

The results indicated a negative correlation between exhaustion and cynicism dimensions of pre-service teachers' burnout and the agency dimension of pre-service teachers' satisfaction with online learning. Nevertheless, there is a positive correlation between the professional efficacy dimension of pre-service teachers' burnout and the agency dimension of pre-service teachers' satisfaction. Furthermore, the study data indicated a statistically significant correlation between the professional efficacy aspect of pre-service teachers' burnout and both professional knowledge and professional practice dimensions of the pre-service teachers' professional preparedness. In addition, there is a significant correlation between the agency aspect of pre-service teachers' satisfaction with the online learning and professional knowledge and professional practice dimensions of the pre-service teachers' preparedness.

In the discussion and conclusion section of the study, the authors explain findings in the context of the current literature and suggest possible implications for teacher education and further research.

Keywords:

Pre-service teachers, student burnout, satisfaction with online learning, professional preparedness.