Class Size Affects Preservice Teachers' Physiological and Psychological Stress Reactions: An Experiment in Virtual Reality

• In Event: Factors and Stakeholder Perspectives on Technology Integration

Abstract

Despite the time-honored tradition in teacher stress research of treating class size as a job-related stressor, the underlying premise that class size directly impacts teachers’ stress reactions remains unsubstantiated. In this experimental study targeted at pre-service teachers, we utilized a standardized virtual reality (VR) classroom to examine whether class size directly affects both the physiological (heart rate) and psychological (subjective rating) stress reactions among 65 pre-service teachers. Results from linear mixed-effects modeling (LMM) shown that average heart rate (HR) and subjective stress ratings were both significantly higher in the large class size condition. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the effects of classroom features on pre-service teachers’ emotional experiences and long-term well-being.

Authors

• Yizhen Huang, University of Potsdam

• Eric Richter, Universität Potsdam

• Dirk Richter, University of Potsdam

• Thilo Kleickmann, Kiel University