Förderung sozial-emotionaler Kompetenz von angehenden Lehrkräften: Konzeption und Evaluation eines Trainingsprogramms

The social nature of the teaching profession places high demands on teachers’ social-emotional knowledge and abilities. Particularly teachers starting off their career report disrupting students and social conflicts as the most frequent stressors. The present study introduces a training program of social-emotional competence that aims to prepare student teachers for the social challenges of the profession. Here, theoretical knowledge and practical abilities are imparted in the areas of emotion knowledge, emotion regulation, and social abilities. The evaluation of the 13-session training was conducted using a quasi-experimental pre-post design with a total of N = 137 students in training group (N = 99) and comparison group (N = 38). Training effects were proven in all areas, particularly for emotional self-awareness (emotion knowledge) and the application of cognitive reappraisal (emotion regulation). However, in the area of social abilities, the training was only effective for conflict management skills. Taking into account the high level of acceptance among students, the results speak for the benefits of including such programs in teacher education.