Investigation of social studies teacher candidates' technostress levels and their attitudes and opinions towards distance education in terms of various variables

The study aims to examine the technostress levels of Social Studies teacher candidates and their attitudes and opinions toward distance education based on different variables. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used. In the quantitative part, a correlational survey model was applied, while in the qualitative part, a phenomenological design was used to explain the findings in more depth. The study was conducted with 712 teacher candidates studying in Social Studies departments at universities offering distance education during the 2023–2024 academic year. Quantitative data were collected through the "Attitude Scale Towards Distance Education," the "Scale for Opinions on Distance Education," and the "Technostress Levels Scale." Qualitative data were gathered using a semi-structured interview form. The results showed a moderate negative link between teacher candidates' attitudes toward distance education and their technostress levels. Positive attitudes toward distance education helped reduce technostress, while a strong positive link was found between their opinions and attitudes. The qualitative findings pointed out the difficulties teacher candidates faced with distance education technologies and how these challenges affected their stress levels. These connections suggest that technology use in distance education can directly impact teacher candidates' success and attitudes. Also, technostress is one of the factors that shape their attitudes toward distance education.