Burnout risk among first-year teacher students: The roles of personality and motivation

• We identified predictors of burnout risk among first-year students.
• Neuroticism was related to unhealthy coping and experience patterns (WCEP).
• Extrinsic motivation for choosing teacher education was related to unhealthy WCEP.
• Extraversion and intrinsic motivation were related to healthy-ambitious WCEP.
• Study field (teaching; psychology) moderated effects of personality on WCEP.

The present study identified individual variables by which first-year teacher students' risk for burnout can be detected at an early stage. We analyzed a sample of teacher students (n = 559) and a control group of psychology students (n = 150) by using multinomial logistic regression analyses. We estimated the impact of personality (Five-Factor model) and motivation for choosing teacher education on work-related coping behavior and experiences (WCEP types: healthy-ambitious, unambitious, excessively-ambitious, and risk for burnout). Neuroticism and the extrinsic motivation of choosing teacher education (the assumed low difficulty of studies) were risk factors for unhealthy, stress-related coping behavior and experiences. In contrast, high levels of extraversion and conscientiousness as well as intrinsic motivation for choosing teacher education (subject-specific interest) were related to healthy-ambitious behavior. Relations of personality and stress-related WCEP types were partially moderated according to field of study (teaching versus psychology). Our results are of particular importance for improving counseling programs that advise prospective teacher students regarding their individual fit to the requirements and challenges of the teaching profession and for correcting false expectations about study demands.