Reality Shock Expectancy and Classroom Management Self-Efficacy Among Preservice Teachers: The Mediating Role of Professional Enthusiasm and the Moderating Role of Classroom Management Concerns

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of professional enthusiasm and the moderating role of classroom management concerns in the relationship between reality shock expectancy and classroom management self-efficacy among preservice teachers. The study was conducted during the 2025–2026 academic year with 741 preservice teachers enrolled in various teacher education programs at a public university in Türkiye. Participants were selected through simple random sampling from a population of 2,192 preservice teachers. Participants represented nine teacher education programs, including Guidance and Psychological Counseling, English Language Teaching, Preschool Education, Primary School Education, Social Studies Education, Turkish Language Education, Elementary Mathematics Education, Science Education, and Art Education. The proposed relationships were tested using Structural Equation Modeling. The findings indicated that reality shock expectancy was negatively associated with professional enthusiasm, whereas professional enthusiasm was positively associated with classroom management self-efficacy. In addition, the effect of reality shock expectancy on self-efficacy appeared to operate indirectly through professional enthusiasm rather than through a direct relationship. The results further revealed that classroom management concerns significantly moderated the relationship between reality shock expectancy and professional enthusiasm, such that the negative association between reality shock expectancy and professional enthusiasm weakened as classroom management concerns increased. Conditional indirect effect analyses also demonstrated that the indirect relationship varied depending on the level of classroom management concerns. Overall, the findings suggest that teacher self-efficacy is shaped not only by cognitive competencies but also by the interaction of affective and contextual processes, supporting the view that preservice teachers’ transition to the profession reflects a context-sensitive and dynamic process.