Managing Stress During Long-Term Internships: What Coping Strategies Matter and Can a Workbook Help?

Comment 1: In the introduction, it is necessary to emphasize whether managing stress is important for teachers in education. Does stress exist in education, because there are indeed several tasks that must be completed in teaching. Or is it the unprofessionalism of teachers that causes them stress, so that it needs to be managed?

Response 1:  Thank you for pointing this out. It is indeed the combination of both: being a novice and the demanding framework of the preparation program, and more specifically, the structure of the internship and its demanding tasks, etc. This is laid out on page 3, from line 25 onwards. We have further explained this on page 3, line 35; “The combination of inexperience, demanding workload and limited support make this period particularly challenging (Zito et al., 2024). However, this period also pro-vides a crucial opportunity for pre-service teachers to develop and refine coping strategies (Cohen et al., 2013). Their stress levels are generally lower than those of fully practicing teachers and they can reflect on their experiences and improve their coping strategies within the supportive university environment (Klusmann et al., 2012).”

Comment 2: Is there a theory that states that strategic coping and workbooks affect stress management? It needs to be added to the background, to strengthen the research.

Response 2: Next to the JD-R model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) the transactional-stress model (Lazarus & Folkmann, 1984), Rudows teacher stress model (1994) and Baumert and Kunter’s competence model (2013) (see p.2. line 40) we added the quite recently developed AwAre model by Hascher et al. 2021. The model describes resilience as a dynamic process in which teachers develop strategies to cope with challenges and maintain or regain their well-being. It emphasizes the role of appraisals and emotions in the coping process - both key aspects in our study (e.g., positive self-instruction vs. rumination). Further, it emphasizes that resilience can be promoted through targeted interventions, which fits well with our approach to the workbook.

We included it on page 2, line 47 “The AWaRE model (Hascher et al. 2021) emphasizes the importance of both individual and external re-sources and how these influence the selection of appropriate coping strategies, which in turn influence teachers' well-being and resilience.”

And also on page 4, line 48 “Additionally, it aligns with the AWaRE model (Hascher et al., 2021), which highlights that fostering self-awareness and proactive coping strategies can enhance teachers’ ability to navigate stressors effectively.”

Comment 3: In the discussion, the position of the research findings among similar research in the world of education has not been seen. Researchers need to reveal this so that the impact of this research in global educational research can be seen. The latest references need to be added to strengthen the findings of this research.

Response 3: Thank you very much for pointing this out. In the discussion, we have tried to highlight and embed the significance of our study against the background of international studies in a short paragraph p.18 paragraph 3, line 33. “Research from several countries indicates that pre-service teachers recognize the need to integrate stress management into their training (Böke et al., 2024; Chan et al., 2025; Squires et al., 2022; Zito et al., 2024). This is particularly important given the lack of emotional and stress-related coping skills among pre-service teachers (Corcoran & Tormey, (2012; Dekeyser et al., 2025). However, as evidenced by this and other studies, pre-service teachers already demonstrate an awareness of their mental health and recognize its importance. This awareness provides a solid basis for the further devel-opment of targeted interventions. While there is a global trend towards an increased emphasis on mental well-being and stress management in teacher education, research on effectively integrating these strategies into practical phases remains scarce. This study is a first step in addressing this gap.”

Here, as in several other places, we have included more recent studies.; P. 19 line 19; p. 20 line 8; p.20 line 18; p. 21 line 32).

Comment 1: It will be suitable to define technical words since the beginning. A person who is not familiar with the subject will not understand what a coping strategy means.

Response 1: That is a very good point. Thank you! We defined coping right at the beginning, on page 1, line 44. “Coping refers to individuals' cognitive, emotional and behavioral efforts to manage stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). ”

Comment 2: It will be more appropriate to define stress and the difference between stress (a temporary situation) and burnout (a long-term or a chronic situation) in the introduction since you mention both concepts indistinctly. (see Maslach's works).

Response 2: We tried to make this more clear on page 1, line 47 with saying “This makes them vulnerable to burnout, a long-term condition resulting from chronic stress, which can eventually lead to resignation (García-Carmona et al., 2019; Woods et al., 2023).” And also on p. 2 line 27.

Comment 3: In this sentence on page 4, “research on practicing teachers suggests that interventions…. And mindfulness,” make sure that all those references speak about stress and not burnout because, for me, cognitive restructuring is a coping strategy for burnout instead of cognitive reappraisal, which is a coping strategy for stress.

Response 3: Thank you, we checked and removed one paper that was rather related to burnout. The rest of the cited articles are on stress and occupational well-being. See p. 4 line 4.

Comment 4: The literature review is redundant and can be reduced to be more readable.
It will be more adequate to place the research questions in the introduction section. The latter requires more focus on the development of the context.

Response 4: We have made the introduction more compact and shorter. We would like to keep the research questions at the end of the introduction, as this is the most logical way to derive them from the previous introduction.

Comment 5: Replicating the study across multiple universities and cultural contexts would strengthen the findings’ generalizability.

Response 5: Thank you. This is included on page 20, line 39. “The study should be replicated with a larger sample size in more different locations outside of Germany  …”