Generative AI in work‐integrated learning: Supporting pre‐service teachers' emotional labour and self management in Australian initial teacher education
Date
2026
Authors
Nguyen, N.N.
Barbieri, W.
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Journal article
Citation
British Journal of Educational Technology, 2026; 1-21
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Ngoc Nhu Nguyen (Ruby), Walter Barbieri
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Abstract
This study investigates how generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI) interacts with pre-service teachers' (PSTs) experiences of emotional labour, relational complexity and institutional navigation during work-integrated learning (WIL) placements. Using the Emotional Capital in Education (ECE) framework, the study explores how emotional capital is preserved, converted and depleted across diverse affective economies, and how gen-AI activities were taken up as culturally responsive scaffolds in this process. Drawing on survey and focus group data from 126 PSTs in an interventional initial teacher education (ITE) case study, the findings show that gen-AI activities were associated with rehearsal of emotional self-regulation, pedagogical preparation and professional confidence, particularly in emotionally ambiguous or culturally misaligned placements. These benefits, however, were uneven and shaped by institutional recognition, mentor attitudes and cultural legibility. The study contributes by showing how tailored, scaffolded use of gen-AI can help PSTs build emotional capital for placement in ways that align with disciplinary expectations and diverse cultural-emotional needs, pointing to future designs that foreground emotional as well as cognitive scaffolding in ITE.
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© 2026 British Educational Research Association.