A Qualitative Case Study on the ‘Reality Shock’ Experienced by Pre-service Secondary Teachers during Educational Volunteer Activities

This study aims to deeply explore the aspects of ‘reality shock’ experienced by secondary pre-service teachers during educational volunteer activities and to elucidate its educational implications. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach, the study analyzed the reflective journals and in-depth interviews of 31 participants from D University's program using the constant comparative method. The findings revealed that participants experienced multidimensional reality shocks stemming from collisions with learner realities, expanded teacher roles, and institutional contexts. Notably, ‘role ambiguit’, arising from the boundary status of volunteers, was identified as a core mechanism amplifying these shocks. However, participants actively responded to these shocks through ‘reflective practice’ mediated by journal writing, moving beyond emotional reactions toward critical analysis and strategic planning. Ultimately, this process served as an opportunity for transformative learning, enabling the pre-service teachers to reconstruct their professional teacher identities based on the complexities of the field and to develop teacher resilience. Based on these findings, this study suggests improvements for educational volunteer programs, focusing on mitigating role ambiguity, systematizing reflective practices, and strengthening mentoring systems.