Teaching practicum has been regarded as a central and indispensable component of initial teacher education. It is commonly expected to bridge theory and practice by enhancing pre-service teachers’ instructional skills, fostering professional learning, and supporting the development of teacher identity (Lawson et al., 2015). Beyond its pedagogical functions, however, the teaching practicum also represents pre-service teachers’ first sustained encounter with the complexities of real educational settings. Entering classrooms as temporary and relatively powerless members of the school community, pre-service teachers are exposed to unpredictable student behaviors, heavy workloads, institutional routines, and emotionally demanding interactions (Pakpahan, 2023). As a result, the practicum often becomes an emotionally charged experience in which enthusiasm, uncertainty, anxiety and frustration coexist(Hastings, 2004; Ji et al., 2022).

To explain how pre-service teachers respond to the emotional challenges embedded in real educational contexts, two theoretical perspectives have been particularly influential. The first is reality shock theory, which conceptualizes the tensions that arise when idealized expectations formed during teacher education collide with the realities of school practice (Veenman, 1984; Gaede). Research informed by this perspective has documented how such collisions may lead to emotional distress, professional disillusionment, and, in some cases, withdrawal from the teaching profession (Kim & Cho, 2014). The second is emotional labor theory, which highlights how teachers are required to manage and regulate their emotions in accordance with occupational norms and institutional expectations, often suppressing negative feelings in order to perform professionalism and care (Hochschild, 1983).

While both perspectives have significantly advanced understanding of pre-service teachers’ practicum experiences, they leave important questions unanswered. Reality shock research has tended to emphasize emotional disruption and destabilization, offering limited insight into how pre-service teachers emotionally adapt to ongoing challenges without necessarily disengaging from teaching. Emotional labor research, in contrast, has focused primarily on normative emotion management and performative regulation, often assuming relatively stabilized professional identities and paying less attention to pre-service teachers whose identities and career trajectories remain uncertain. Consequently, there is limited understanding of how the complexity of real educational settings shapes pre-service teachers’ emotional orientations during the practicum. In particular, little is known about how pre-service teachers simultaneously experience emotional engagement and distancing as they navigate everyday teaching realities.

In the context of China, the teaching profession is undergoing a significant transformation. Once regarded as a "prestigious" career, teaching is now increasingly seen as a less ideal profession. Teachers in China, particularly those in public schools, have historically enjoyed job security, stable income, and public respect, which contributed to their high social status (Liu & Onwuegbuzie, 2014; Song, Gu & Zhang, 2020). However, the reality for many teachers has shifted dramatically. The workload and pressures on teachers have increased significantly, with more than 90% of teachers working beyond the legally mandated 8-hour workday and often taking on non-teaching tasks (Lin & Huang, 2024). Furthermore, the "Double Reduction" policy (aimed at reducing student homework and off-campus tutoring) has added additional after-school responsibilities for teachers (Chen & Lin, 2024). Parental expectations have also escalated, with schools often being blamed for students' performance (Tencent Education, 2025). These changes have created a stark contrast between the idealized view of teaching and its current realities, diminishing the profession’s appeal and making it a more complex career choice.

Addressing this gap, the present study examines how pre-service teachers adjust their emotional orientations toward teaching through their encounters with the complexities of the practicum context. Drawing on and extending insights from reality shock and emotional labor theories, this study focuses on the process through which pre-service teachers negotiate emotional engagement and emotional distancing in response to real educational conditions.

This study adopted a qualitative approach to explore pre-service teachers’ emotional experiences during the teaching practicum (Creswell & Poth, 2016). The practicum was arranged in the first semester of the participants’ fourth year and lasted for 10 weeks. Fifteen pre-service teachers in their senior year participated in the practicum and were placed in two primary schools in Hangzhou, China: eight in School A and seven in School B. Both School A and School B are prestigious primary schools in the city. During the practicum, participants were assigned a range of tasks by the host schools, including observing classes, revising students’ homework, assisting with student management, and conducting at least five teaching sessions. Each participant was assigned one or two mentors according to the schools’ arrangements. The participants’ majors included Chinese (n = 6), mathematics (n = 5), and English (n = 4). Participants were recruited through convenience sampling (Patton, 2014), as one of the researchers served as their internship coordinator. All participants provided informed consent and were assured of confidentiality and their right to withdraw from the study at any time. Detailed demographic information for each participant is presented in Table 1, with pseudonyms used to protect their identities. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted within two weeks after the completion of the practicum. Each interview lasted between 35 and 60 minutes. The interviews focused on participants’ expectations prior to the practicum, their emotional experiences and coping strategies during classroom teaching, and perceived changes in their professional identity following the practicum. During the interviews, the researcher paid particular attention to participants’ emotional reactions and encouraged them to share their experiences and attitudes in depth. Sample interview questions included: “What specific challenges or difficulties did you encounter during the practicum?”, “How did you feel when you faced these challenges?”, and “How did you cope with these emotions and difficulties?” All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Initial coding was conducted to identify patterns related to emotional engagement, emotional distancing, and emotional adjustment (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Through iterative discussion between two researchers, the codes were refined and organized into higher-order themes to enhance analytical reliability. Member checking was conducted by inviting participants to review the preliminary findings to ensure accurate representation of their experiences (Lincoln, 1985).

This study demonstrates how pre-service teachers emotionally adjust to the complexities encountered during the teaching practicum. Their emotional experiences reflect the dynamic interplay between emotional engagement and emotional distancing. Participants reported their greatest emotional investment occurred in teaching and interacting with students, especially when receiving positive feedback. Meanwhile, they employed emotional distancing as a strategy to protect themselves from overwhelming negative emotions. This emotional adjustment illustrates how pre-service teachers balance emotional engagement and distancing, maintaining a sustainable relationship with teaching and reinforcing their professional identity. This study extends reality shock theory by highlighting emotional distancing as a strategy for coping with shocks, aiming to prevent negative emotions from affecting other aspects of teaching and professional involvement. While prior research has conceptualized reality shock as a destabilizing experience that undermines pre-service teachers’ professional confidence and commitment (Voss & Kunter, 2020), the findings suggest that reality shock does not necessarily lead to disengagement or attrition. Instead, they actively step back at an early stage, adopting an observer-like stance that provides an emotional buffer—this helps them distance themselves from emotionally overwhelming situations and maintain professional engagement in other aspects of teaching. This study contributes to emotional labor theory by redefining emotion adjustment as actively maintaining emotional well-being, rather than merely complying with passive, obligatory normative regulations. Existing research has focused on how teachers regulate emotional displays using various strategies in accordance with professional feeling rules and institutional expectations (Gross, 1998; Aldrup et al., 2024; Zhang et al., 2025). However, our findings show that pre-service teachers actively distinguish between meaningful, emotionally satisfying activities and those that cause emotional distress, instead of regulating emotions passively according to these rules. Based on this distinction, they take deliberate actions: engaging enthusiastically in meaningful activities, while distancing themselves from emotionally distressing ones or rationalizing them.

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