Being a Novice Teacher in Two Different Settings: Struggles, Continuities, and Discontinuities

Abstract

Drawing upon empirical research, the article explores the ways in which a cohort of novice teachers learned and developed over a 2-year period. It examines the interplay of personal and contextual influences on teachers’ development over time and on the (transformation of their professional identities. A combination of methods for data collection was used. Findings suggested that novices felt overwhelmed by the amount and variety of duties that they were expected to perform at school. This, along with the lack of support and guidance, forced them into “learning while doing.” Most teachers developed according to a narrow and individual perspective, which was accompanied by a shift from a more inductive and student-centered approach to a more traditional one. However, some teachers seem to have developed in positive ways over time. Personal biographies associated with perceptions of school culture and leadership help to explain both similarities and differences among teachers. Implications of the findings for teacher education and induction are discussed.

Describing Problems Experienced by Spanish Novice Physical Education Teachers

“…For many novice teachers, the first year is difficult because the difference between the ideals they had during their education and what actually occurs in the schools is greater than they expected. Further, in many cases, novice teachers feel overwhelmed by the quantity and variety of tasks that they must perform at school [7].…”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff:” Understanding teacher resilience at the chalkface

“…Among these are protective factors that include attributes such as altruism (Brunetti, 2006;Chong & Low, 2009), strong intrinsic motivation (Flores, 2006;Kitching, Morgan, & O'Leary, 2009), perseverance and persistence (Fleet, Kitson, Cassady, & Hughes, 2007;Sinclair, 2008), optimism (Chong & Low, 2009;Le Cornu, 2009), sense of humour (Bobek, 2002;Jarzabkowski, 2002), emotional intelligence (Chan, Lau, Nie, Lim, & Hogan, 2008), willingness to take risks (Sumsion, 2003) and flexibility (Le Cornu, 2009). Such attributes may assist early career teachers to 'bounce back' despite the challenges of the first years of teaching.…”

“…Strong interpersonal skills that enable the development of social support networks (Howard & Johnson, 2004;Tait, 2008) have also been noted. Finally, and perhaps most obviously, teaching skills such as using a range of instructional practices (Bobek, 2002;Klusmann, Kunter, Trautwein, Lüdtke, & Baumert, 2008), knowing students and responding to their needs (Flores, 2006;Kaldi, 2009), professional reflection (Goddard & Foster, 2001;Le Cornu, 2009) and having a commitment to ongoing professional learning (Patterson, et al, 2004;Sumsion, 2004) have been related to teacher resilience. Furthermore, not only having the skills, but having high levels of efficacy for teaching (Brunetti, 2006; and being confident in teaching abilities (Kaldi, 2009;Woolfolk Hoy & Burke Spero, 2005) also play a role in teacher resilience.…”

Making conceptual connections visible to students in professional programmes: The case of initial teacher education

“…While students may potentially accumulate this practical knowledge through classroom observations and reflections on their teaching experiences, individual experiential learning tends to be highly idiosyncratic. Leaving the accumulation of practical knowledge to personal classroom experiences means that there will invariably be gaps in students' knowledge which may unnecessarily constrain the development of their teaching practices (Flores 2006). The inclusion of aspects of practical knowledge in university-based coursework ensures that all students have access to a common set of principles for practice.…”