Teacher induction is internationally recognised as a biographically dense professionalisation phase, in which trainee teachers are expected to transform academic knowledge into professional practice while simultaneously developing a stable professional identity (Keller-Schneider & Hericks, 2011; Schubarth & Wachs, 2020). In Bavaria, Germany, this phase takes the form of a highly structured and comparatively long (appr. 2 years) preparatory service, characterised by intensive school-based practice, continuous formal assessment, and legally regulated support structures. While this model is designed to ensure professional competence and quality assurance, research consistently shows that the preparatory service is also associated with high and sustained occupational strain among trainee teachers (Schubarth & Wachs, 2020).

This strain can increase the risk of emotional exhaustion, which is highly prevalent among teachers and has been linked to reduced job satisfaction, declining professional engagement (Hakanen et al., 2006), and an increased likelihood of developing dropout intention (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2016). These intentions typically emerge gradually as part of a process of distancing from the professional role (Maué et al., 2024)

Social support is widely regarded as a central resource for buffering strain and supporting professional learning during teacher induction. Defined as interpersonal interactions aimed at alleviating stress and mitigating distress in situations of heightened demands (Knoll & Schwarzer, 2005), social support can take emotional, informational, and instrumental forms, each of which has been shown to foster coping, well-being, and professional development in early career phases (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Richter et al., 2011).

In Bavaria, Germany, such support is institutionally embedded in formal induction structures, most notably through mentoring, which is a mandatory component of the preparatory service. Mentors, as experienced teachers, are formally tasked with supporting trainee teachers’ professional learning through guided lesson observation, feedback, reflection, and supervised teaching, thereby functioning as key support persons within the induction system (Lenhard, 2004).

Despite the prominence of formal mentoring, trainee teachers are embedded in broader social support networks that extend beyond institutionalised structures, including peers, colleagues, family members, and friends, each may fulfil different supportive functions (Malderez et al., 2007; Richter et al., 2011). Research highlights that such networks are central to professional learning and development, as they provide access to pedagogical knowledge, feedback, and emotional reassurance (Celik & Ekinci, 2012). However, the effectiveness of social support depends not merely on its availability but on whether and how it is actively mobilised through help-seeking processes shaped by relational safety and anticipated social costs (Roberts, 1988), particularly for actors with supportive and evaluative responsibilities (Tellez, 1992). From this perspective, dropout thoughts can be understood as situations in which patterns of support mobilisation become visible. Existing research has largely focused on individual support actors, particularly mentors, while paying comparatively little attention to how different sources of support interact within broader networks during such critical situations.

Rather than assuming that formal mentoring automatically constitutes the primary support resource, this paper situates mentoring within a broader support ecosystem and examines how different actors are combined, differentiated, and selectively activated in response to dropout thoughts. In doing so, it contributes to international debates on how professional learning and development of new teachers are shaped under conditions of strain. Against this background, the paper addresses the following research question: How do trainee teachers organise and utilise their social support networks when experiencing dropout thoughts during teacher induction, and what role do formal support structures such as mentoring play within these networks?

The study draws on quantitative survey data collected as part of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh Bavarian Graduate Study (BAS) from 2023 to March 2026. The targets are graduates of teacher training programs at six universities in Bavaria, one year after graduation, when most of them are in their teacher training phase. The restriction to trainee teachers in Bavaria ensures institutional homogeneity, as the structure and regulation of the preparatory service differ substantially across German federal states. Follow-up surveys examine longitudinal developments one year after the two initial data collections. Data collection is ongoing, and response rates have not yet been reported; historically, they have been approximately 25%. Dropout thoughts are assessed through one item that capture whether respondents had considered discontinuing the preparatory service and how frequently they had such thoughts. In line with established research, dropout thoughts are conceptualised as cognitive considerations of leaving the training programme or the teaching profession. Formal mentoring is captured with regard to its use as a source of support and the perceived characteristics of the mentoring relationship. Respondents further report which actors they turned to when experiencing dropout thoughts, including mentors, seminar leaders, peers, colleagues, family and friends. Perceived social support is differentiated into emotional, informational, and instrumental support, following established conceptualisations in teacher education research (Richter et al., 2011). This support is assessed through 14 items adapted from the COACTIV-R study, focusing on emotional, informational, and instrumental support, communication partner and observational learning. These items were designed by Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung (2010) and adjusted to address the support of mentors and other people of the support network in the context of thoughts on dropping out. While previous studies have established the validity of the original instruments, the modifications made for this study have not yet been empirically tested for validity and reliability. To examine support utilisation, the study adopts an ego-centred network perspective, focusing on support that was actually activated in the context of dropout considerations. Descriptive analyses are complemented by multivariate regression models examining associations between dropout thoughts and patterns of support use.

Preliminary findings from this study indicate that dropout thoughts are a common experience during teacher induction, reinforcing international research that conceptualises such thoughts as part of a gradual process of professional strain. From a professional learning perspective, these moments represent critical situations in which trainee teachers reassess both their development and the resources available to them. Rather than relying on a single support actor, trainee teachers appear to draw on multiple sources of support, reflecting the networked nature of professional learning in early career phases. In line with studies from Malderez et al. (2007) and Richter et al. (2011), different actors fulfil distinct support functions: informal relationships tend to provide emotional reassurance, while professional actors contribute primarily informational and instrumental support. This functional differentiation suggests that support during induction is not interchangeable, but distributed across relationships according to their perceived safety, expertise, and role expectations. A key insight from the preliminary analyses concerns help-seeking behaviour. Formal support structures, such as mentors and seminar leader, are institutionally available and professionally relevant, yet they are not consistently mobilised when trainees experience dropout thoughts more frequently. This could be because help-seeking is a deliberate and situationally contingent process shaped by anticipated social costs, perceived evaluation risks, and relational safety. In induction systems where mentors and seminar leaders combine supportive and assessment-related roles, trainees may prioritise relationships that allow for emotional openness over those associated with formal judgement. From an international perspective, these findings suggest that professional learning during induction is shaped by complementary support practices embedded in broader networks, rather than by formal mentoring alone. Effective induction systems therefore depend not only on mentoring structures, but also on relational conditions that determine the accessibility of support in moments of uncertainty.

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