Jurnal Cakrawala Pendidikan

This study examined teacher candidates' technostress levels and information and communication technology (ICT) competencies, the association between these constructs, and differences according to selected variables. A quantitative correlational survey design was used with 427 third- and fourth-year teacher candidates from nine programs at the Faculty of Education, Akdeniz University, in the 2024–2025 academic year. Data were collected with the Teachers' Technostress Levels Defining Scale, adapted for teacher candidates, and the ICT Competencies Scale for Teacher Candidates and were analyzed with simple linear regression, Mann–Whitney U, and Kruskal–Wallis H tests; group comparisons were treated as exploratory and adjusted with the Holm procedure. Mean technostress scores fell within the upper third of the possible range, and mean ICT competence scores fell within the lower third. ICT competence was negatively associated with technostress and accounted for 36.5% of its variance. Female candidates reported higher technostress than males, with small effect sizes. Technostress was higher and ICT competence was lower in the Science and Guidance and Psychological Counseling programs. Because the design is cross-sectional, these findings indicate associations rather than causal effects.

One of the major challenges university students often face before graduating is preparing to transition into the workforce, a task made even more demanding after the Covid-19 pandemic.This phenomenological study explores how final-year students describe their career preparedness experiences in the post-pandemic era. In-depth interviews were conducted with four final-year students at a Malaysian public university. They were selected through a purposive sampling technique. The interview data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed five themes related to the students’ career preparedness experiences: expectations and realities, exposure to real work settings, promoting positive outcomes via preparation, development of professional identity, and acquisition of critical skills. The study recommends collaboration with selected secondary schools in exposing students to various client issues before practicum and internship training to further develop their counselling competencies and increase their career preparedness level.