Levels of wellbeing, resilience, and physical activity amongst Irish pre-service teachers: a baseline study

Niamh O'Brien, Martin Lawlor, Fiona Chambers, Gavin Breslin, Wesley O'Brien

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9 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

The current study examines the wellbeing, resilience and physical activity (PA) levels among Irish pre-service teachers. Participants were a sample of 128 higher education students (29% male; 71% female; mean age range 18–27 years old) who completed a self-report questionnaire, using a combination of established instruments for wellbeing, resilience, and PA. Descriptive data revealed that 39.1% presented with low levels of resilience, and 74% were not meeting the PA guidelines for health. One sample t-tests further revealed the sample population of higher education students had lower wellbeing (t (127) = −3.05, p = .003) and resilience (t (127) = −6.48, p = .003) levels, when compared to the population normative data. Results from the existing study suggest that a structured mental health and PA education awareness intervention for Irish pre-service teachers may be warranted, specifically to increase the lower than expected levels of resilience. The existing sample of pre-service teachers are at a critical time of transition, as they move forward into a profession where self-awareness of wellbeing is required at the beginning of their careers to sustain health both inside and outside of the classroom.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-18
Number of pages18
JournalIrish Educational Studies
Volume38
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 14 Dec 2019

Keywords

  • wellbeing
  • resilience
  • physical activity
  • pre-service teachers
  • intervention

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