Future teachers’ wisdom and difficult life experiences

Webster’s H.E.R.O.(E.) model of wisdom was used to explore if students, future teachers, of the same age but in two cohorts differed in wisdom and its dimensions and if their wisdom differed depending on how difficult they considered their lives to be. 116 students were included in the 2012 cohort with an average age of 21.54 years, and 115 students participated in the 2022 cohort with an average age of 21.17 years. Wisdom was measured with Webster’s Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS). The results revealed no differences between the two cohorts in wisdom and its five dimensions in the H.E.R.O.(E.) model. The students that estimated their lives as more difficult scored higher on total wisdom results and on the majority of its dimensions (experience, reminiscence/reflection, and openness), except for emotion regulation and humour.