Following the presentation of the results above, the discussion that ensues aims to compare them with those of similar studies.
The present descriptive study highlights that secondary school teacher candidates preparing for the state examination have lower levels of stress than pre-school and elementary school teacher candidates. The results of secondary school teacher candidates stand in contrast with those of pre-school and elementary teacher candidates, in that the former group must study a greater number of topics (Orden EDU/3138/2011). Nonetheless, these results may be accounted for the fact that when the data was collected, the state examination for preschool and elementary school teacher candidates was imminent (Resolución de 25 de marzo de 2022). On this matter, the study undertaken by Zandi et al. (2021) indicates that when an examination is approaching, the levels of stress and anxiety increase due to self-imposed expectations to get good grades.
With reference to the burnout syndrome, pre-school and elementary school teacher candidates had higher levels of both mental exhaustion and depersonalization. By contrast, secondary school teacher candidates were found to have a greater sense of personal accomplishment. Concerning these findings, Khoshhal et al. (2017) state that during the preparation for a test, the onset of disruptive states is promoted driving individuals to emotional exhaustion (Ji et al., 2022). Similarly, getting good grades have been found to lead to an increase in personal accomplishment as well as in the academic self-concept (Paechter et al., 2022).
As to resilience, secondary school teacher candidates showed higher levels. Concerning these findings, Liu et al. (2021) assert that when a test with a long-term preparation is approaching, the levels of resilience are higher. This is in line with Yuan (2017), who claims that when exams are coming up, they adversely affect candidates’ performance. Moreover, pre-school and primary school teacher candidates were found to study fewer hours. The long-term preparation for an exam results in an increase in mental and emotional exhaustion having an effect on the study hours and in turn affecting the preparation for a test in terms of attitude and performance (Author et al., 2022).
With respect to the effects suggested through the structural equation modeling, the evidence points to a positive effect between resilience and stress among preschool and secondary school teacher candidates. Conversely, a negative effect was observed between both variables among elementary school teacher candidates. Concerning these findings, Anyan et al. (2020) conclude in their study that resilience helps to prevent the effects generated by disruptive states such as anxiety and stress. This effect helps young people to enhance their academic performance and achieve better outcomes (Trigueros et al., 2020). Furthermore, in their study, Ursu and Mairean (2022) claim when a positive relation between disruptive states and resilience is evident, further development in emotion regulation on the subjects’ side is needed given that disruptive states exert a stronger effect on resilience.
In respect to the effect of the burnout syndrome, a positive effect on stress was observed. The results of the present study coincide with those obtained by Author et al. (2022), who assert that the burnout syndrome increases the levels of stress because of the academic and job dissatisfaction that this state generates. Likewise, it has been observed that the burnout syndrome promotes other adverse states for peoples’ mental health as it increases the levels of anxiety (Daumiller et al., 2021). The results of the present study also point to a negative effect of the burnout syndrome on the number of study hours among preschool and secondary school teacher candidates. By contrast, they suggest a positive effect among elementary school teacher candidates. Concerning these findings, a study conducted by Olson et al. (2015) concludes that resilience is a factor that benefits the preparation for a test. This capacity helps to mitigate the disruptive states that stem from the preparation process, and thus it helps to enhance performance (Olson et al., 2015).
With regard to the effect of the burnout syndrome and the number of study hours, this study identified a negative effect. Similar results were obtained by Author et al. (2022), who contend that the burnout syndrome affects the preparation for a test. Similarly, Zheng et al. (2022) conclude that the burnout syndrome promotes emotional exhaustion. A positive effect on the number of study hours was also observed. Results elsewhere found by Agyapong et al. (2022) suggest that undue stress can contribute to resignation from a given activity due to a feeling of distress or incompetence. Finally, a negative relation between the burnout syndrome and resilience was observed in this study. Similar results were obtained by Zhang et al. (2020), who claim that resilience is a mitigating factor that helps to prevent the onset of disruptive states.
Limitations And Future Lines Of Research
Even though this study examines the proposed hypotheses and objectives, it faced a series of limitations that had implications for the investigation.
Firstly, these limitations have to do with the type of study. Given that this study is not longitudinal but cross-sectional, the variables can only be examined at a concrete point in time. The second limitation has to do with the instruments used for the data collection. In spite of the use of validated instruments by the scientific community, they inherently have errors of measurement.
For future lines of research, a program may set out to train teacher candidates sitting the state exam to mitigate disruptive states that stem from the preparation.