Early career teacher peer support through private groups in social media

This paper describes the support that Australian early career teachers are accessing through private groups within social media. It presents findings from 22 interviews with teachers who indicated that Facebook was a source of support. Participants describe using private online groups for: (a) support during casual employment; (b) accessing collegial support from pre-existing connections, in particular those formed during initial teacher education; and (c) support to deal with challenging situations such as a hostile work environment. The paper suggests that further research needs to be conducted into how private media groups might support the needs of early career teachers.     

Graduate feedback on a teacher education program and school district support: An argument for a continuum of professional learning

This phenomenological study aimed to explore how early career teachers were supported in their transition from teacher education to professional practice. It involved interviewing seven recent graduates from a post-degree teacher education program on their perceptions of both the program and their local school district in supporting them as early career teachers. Results involve numerous recommendations for supporting these teachers during their induction into the profession leading to the articulation of a continuum of lifelong professional learning that includes teacher education, induction and mentorship, and professional development. Key responsibilities for school districts, principals, and teacher education faculty are included.     

Special Issue Introduction: Career and Life Planning Key Feature Within Comprehensive Guidance Programs

Career and life planning is viewed as a process that starts early in the elementary school through adult life and it should be at the heart of any guidance program. This journal discusses the value and process ideas at each of the school and grade levels. The authors also discuss how parents, employers, and teachers enhance the career planning process by expanding student options, encouragement, motivation, mentoring, and providing career life experiences. Career planning is viewed as a structured and expected series of events and activities a student would go through as a part of their school experience. It forwards the idea that to assure all youth have a plan for life transition and success takes state department of education policy and support, local district expectations, time, and resources, and students who see the value in participating. The counselor is viewed as the key agent in such a program and needs to demonstrate that early, continuous and high quality life planning improves not only academic achievement, but life and employment success.     

Non‐Career Teachers in the Design Studio: Economics,Pedagogy and Teacher Development

As the economic pressure to teach more students with fewer (and less costly) instructors has increased in higher education, the utilisation of non‐career teachers has become more prevalent. Design education has not escaped this phenomenon; non‐career teachers, such as graduate and undergraduate students or design practitioners, have become commonplace in design education, including the design studio. The studio, however, is a unique teaching and learning environment in higher education. It poses distinct socio‐academic challenges for both students and teachers. The utilisation of non‐career teachers in studios raises a number of ethical and pedagogical questions. Teacher development is one serious concern. Here, the authors articulate the major challenges confronted by non‐career studio teachers, especially student teaching assistants, and strategies for their development.     

From LSA to teacher: the value of classroom experience in shaping a ‘teacher’ identity

Routes into teacher training have expanded in recent years, accompanied by a growing interest in schools ‘growing their own’ teachers from amongst support staff. However, little attention has been paid to their transition to the role of teacher. This article investigates influences on identity development and the extent to which personal values are reconciled with professional demands and socially constructed facets of educational practice. Participants were nine staff in one secondary school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties who had undertaken the transition from LSA (learning support assistant) to teacher. Qualitative data were obtained through an online survey and focus group discussion. Findings show that extensive opportunities to experiment with provisional and possible selves, immersion in educational discourse, classroom agency and staff collaboration engender a ‘teacher’ self-concept and positive motivations for LSA career development, and that self-esteem and self-efficacy are strengthened by how an individual’s values align with those of the setting in which they work. Findings may inform school leaders as to the value of training teachers ‘in-house’ and support career development decisions of LSAs, a pathway of potential significance given the current pressures on teacher recruitment and retention.     

The Role of Mentoring Support and Self-Management Strategies on Reported Career Outcomes

This study examined the contribution of self-management strategies to job outcomes for employees involved in mentoring relationships. Participants (n = 158) reported their use of three types of self-management strategies, the level of support functions provided by their mentors, and their job satisfaction and perceived career success. Results showed that individuals who used self-set career goals reported greater job satisfaction and perceived career success; those who engaged in positive cognitions also had higher job satisfaction; and those who used behavioral self-management strategies reported greater perceived career success. Mentoring and self-management strategies each contributed uniquely to satisfaction and perceived career satisfaction. After controlling for amount of instrumental support provided by the mentors, positive cognitions remained predictive of perceived career success, and participation in self-set career goals were related to higher levels of job satisfaction. Moderator analysis showed that the self-management strategies appeared to be useful in the absence of certain types of mentor support.     

Beyond ‘what works’: understanding teacher identity as a practical and political tool

Drawing on previous research that focused upon the formation and mediation of teacher professional identity, this paper develops a model for conceptualising teacher professional identity. Increasingly, technical-rational understandings of teachers’ work and ‘role’ are privileged in policy and public discourse over more nuanced and holistic approaches that seek to understand teacher professional identity – what it is to ‘be’ a teacher. This article seeks to offer an alternative view, presenting the idea that an understanding of the processes by which teacher professional identity is formed and mediated is central to understanding the professional learning and development needs of teachers and advancing a richer, more transformative vision for education. I argue that instrumentalist notions of teachers’ work embedded in neo-liberal educational agendas such as those currently being advanced in many western countries offer an impoverished view of the teaching profession and education more broadly, and suggest that the concept of teacher professional identity holds the potential to work as a practical tool for the teaching profession and those who work to support them in the development of a more generative educational agenda.     

A case study of early career secondary teachers’ perceptions of their preparedness for teaching: lessons from Australia and Spain

This paper presents an international comparison of Australian and Spanish secondary teachers’ perceptions about the effectiveness of their pre-service education and their learning as in-service teachers. It aims to identify, firstly, the extent to which beginning teachers believe they are prepared for their careers through their teacher training and, secondly, what teachers have learned as practicing teachers. A qualitative case study was conducted to uncover whether similar issues raised by early career teachers were identified in different contexts. Data were collected through interviews with secondary teachers (N = 11) from Australia and Spain in their third year of full-time teaching. Findings suggest similar positive perceptions towards their practicum experiences, transition to beginning teachers and professional development. However, differences were found in their early career experiences regarding professional learning and their development of identity. Implications of the study are discussed by identifying strategies to improve pre-service education for secondary teachers.     

Teaching in inclusive classrooms: efficacy and beliefs of Canadian preservice teachers

This study provides a Canada-wide snapshot of the self-efficacy and beliefs of 1490 preservice teachers in relation to inclusive teaching using the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice and the Beliefs about Learning and Teaching Questionnaire. At the time of data collection, these preservice teachers were in the final stages of their teacher education programmes. Based on the results of surveys in 11 Faculties of Education, men have higher self-efficacy than women for managing behaviour in the classroom, elementary preservice teachers have higher self-efficacy in collaboration than those teaching in secondary schools, those enrolled in the 1-year post-degree programme show lower self-efficacy than those enrolled in programmes of other durations, and those who have experience with people with special education needs show higher self-efficacy than those who do not. Differences illustrated that women were more inclusive than men, 1-year post-degree preservice teachers were less inclusive than others, and those who have experience with people with special education needs are more inclusive than those who do not. Recommendations for teacher education and limitations surrounding the practical significance of the findings are discussed.     

Invited to academia. Recruited for science or teaching in Education Sciences

In the context of higher education in Sweden, we see how major policy change is forming the field of Education Sciences. This change has promoted an increased focus on competitiveness, while reducing inefficiencies in mass-education. It has given legitimacy to specific recruitment strategies and career paths, but can also explain what determines how career capital is accumulated. The aim of the present study is to describe how academics experience recruitment and positioning processes in their career. How do academics gain career capital and symbolic value in career and use it to gain recognition? The results illustrate three career paths, identified as “the invited”, “the useful” or “the uninvited”. Thus, the present article describes a Matthew effect in recruitment, where young PhD students are positioned early on as either promising researchers, teachers, or as substitutes who are sorted out from both research and education.     

Studying Career Science Teachers' Personal Histories: A Methodology for Understanding Intrinsic Reasons for Career Choice and Retention

Career choice and retention of nineteen secondary science education graduates were studied using a biographical approach. Autobiographical papers written as preservice teachers and rewritten as career teachers were compared for intrinsic reasons for vocational choice. Comparisons were made between early vocation teachers and those who chose science teaching later in their higher education studies. Participants beginning college as science education majors wanted to teach for student learning and to shape their students' lives. Participants beginning college as science majors wanted to continue learning science while also enhancing their students' science literacy. Ten participants' data from both groups showed great similarities in self as teacher across autobiographical papers. Teaching for impact on students appeared to support retention in this study. Implications for development and potential retention of future science teachers are discussed.     

Teacher support of student engagement in early childhood: embracing ambivalence through playworlds

Ambivalence is a relatively little advanced concept for studying young people’s engagement in education. We present a case study in which a teacher of a kindergarten-first-grade classroom works within an activity called a playworld to engage a child who had been excluded from certain classroom practices, after having been perceived by his teachers as disengaged and disruptive. Playworlds are defined as adult–child joint play activities inspired by Vygotsky’s theories of play, art, and imagination. We argue that when the teacher embraced this child’s ambivalent participation, ambivalence itself appeared to be an important component of an evolving process of personally meaningful engagement. We showcase those elements of the playworld activity that may support early childhood teachers in embracing ambivalence.     

'Raising the bar': views on play and training in the Move & Walk pedagogy

In this study 20 beginning special education teachers were asked to describe their experiences in general education settings. To provide data, each teacher completed approximately three electronic reflective journals during a school year and also participated in a phone interview, which was aimed to give in-depth information regarding the participants’ comments in the journals. The participants described their experiences in regard to collaboration with mainstream teachers, the delivery of the curriculum and the understanding of their role with reference to identity. They reported some good experiences but also many difficulties in their attempts to support pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and enhance their learning and participation in mainstream schools. Challenges in collaboration, the delivery of the curriculum and the development of teachers’ identity at the beginning of a career in special education are discussed. We argue that the teachers’ experiences are associated with the legislative educational system and the school culture which does not encourage collaborative practices but rather promotes individualism and leads to exclusive practices.     

Relations of Early Childhood Education Teachers’ Depressive Symptoms,Job-Related Stress,and Professional Motivation to Beliefs About Children and Teaching Practices

Research Findings: This study used teacher questionnaires to investigate the relationships of early childhood education teachers’ depressive symptoms, professional motivation, and job-related stress to their beliefs about children and teaching practices. Teachers (N = 207) were recruited from early childhood education programs in the southern United States. Path analyses showed that teachers who exhibited fewer depressive symptoms were more likely to have a career orientation to their jobs and indicated feeling less job-related stress. Teachers with a career orientation to their jobs were also more likely to have child-centered beliefs and endorse developmentally appropriate teaching practices. Teachers’ job-related stress, however, was not related to beliefs about children or teaching practices. Practice or Policy: These results suggest that teachers’ psychological and job-related well-being are linked to their beliefs about children and teaching practice in early childhood education. It is therefore important to provide support systems and preventive programs for teachers to enhance their well-being.     

Supporting inclusion in early childhood settings: some possibilities and problems for teacher education

Aotearoa New Zealand, like other countries, has legislation and policies that support inclusion and promote the participation of all children and families in early childhood education. We might expect therefore to see a culture of inclusion resonating through policy and practice in early childhood settings. There are early childhood teachers who support such legislative and policy goals, who are committed to inclusion, and who are developing more inclusive early childhood services. Yet, it is also evident that discrimination and exclusion is experienced by many. Teacher education plays an important role in supporting inclusion and assisting teachers’ development of knowledge, skills and attitudes that will support them to teach all children. In this paper, we write as a group of teacher educators and demonstrate the challenges we took up to move beyond traditional approaches to inclusive education and to open up theoretically and practically diverse possibilities for thinking and doing inclusion differently in early childhood teacher education.     

高校教师入职教育指导思想、问题及对策分析

教师入职教育的含义是新教师在从职前教育阶段向职业阶段的过渡时期所接受的全部指导、培训活动以及自身的实践探索。高校教师入职教育核心的指导思想就是转变受教育者的观念,完善其人格。本文针对我国高校教师入职教育存在的问题提出了相应的对策。     

Drama and arts-based professional learning: exploring face-to-face,online and transmedia models

Australian and international research has identified that many generalist teachers have limited confidence and experience in teaching the Arts in the early years of schooling and education. There is also a significant gap in the provision of quality professional learning programs for teachers. Research has identified that appropriate training and professional learning programs need to provide teachers with practical experiences, informed by sound pedagogical theory and some form of ongoing support and potential for collaboration and shared learning. This article reports on the development of a professional learning programme which sought to support arts-focussed professional development of early years teachers. The project, known as The Open Storybox, lead to the development of a model which could be called a ‘transmedia’ learning model, as it utilises different media, and flows of content across digital platforms and technologies as well as the embodied and material.     

A love towards a thing eternal: Spinoza and the classroom

There is a growing concern about the struggles of early career teachers and an understandable questioning of the preparation being offered by teacher education courses. Are our preservice teachers being given workable strategies and techniques to allow them to survive the early years? Is it strategies and techniques that are primarily at issue here? Could it be that there is something more fundamental, to do with an underlying philosophical understanding about human nature, the desire to learn and the need to relate? I want to suggest that instruction about strategies and techniques is too often built on an insecure and incompatible foundation of assumptions about the nature of the world of sentient beings and their relationships. Ontology matters. Philosopher Spinoza divided the world of thought into ideas that were adequate – contributing to our well-being, potency and happiness – and those that were inadequate – leading us to feel weak, at the mercy of outside forces, and sad. I want to argue, with Spinoza, that inadequate ontologies lead to a sense of impotence and frustration, and that adequate ideas – a stronger ontology – can underpin and sustain a more durable pedagogy. I explore this idea by looking at some classroom events through a Spinozean lens.     

Engagement with a teaching career – how a group of Finnish university teachers experience teacher identity and professional growth

The aim of this qualitative study was to identify teachers’ ways of experiencing their identity and development challenges as teachers in the social and professional context of university. Identity and development as a teacher were examined based on interviews and drawings of career paths collected from a group of university teachers representing diverse scientific fields at one research-intensive university in Finland. Based on the findings, a typology of teacher identities and classification of development themes were constructed, illustrating the experiences and drawing on the themes found in the data and comparing them to Huberman’s teachers’ career cycle as well as Åkerlind’s views on university teachers’ changes. The findings showed that those who have reached a goal-reflective and stabilised teacher identity recognise development challenges, especially in the areas of self-development and facilitation of student learning, while those who have a constructive-conflicting or unsolved teacher identity struggle with the many pressures of teaching practice and reaching teacher comfort. The learning trajectories of the studied university teachers were varied and lasted considerably longer than suggested by teachers’ career cycle views.     

Increasing the supply of secondary teachers in sub‐Saharan Africa: a stakeholder assessment of policy options in six countries

Over the next decade many countries of sub‐Saharan Africa will face a demand for qualified secondary school teachers that current systems for teacher recruitment, training, deployment and retention will be unable to meet. While strategies for increasing teacher supply to meet this shortage have been suggested, less attention has been given to investigating the acceptability of these potential solutions by those educators closest to the school and classroom level and who often serve as gatekeepers to policy implementation. Kingdon’s multiple streams model is the framework used in this study to assess the feasibility of key strategies widely offered as possible solutions to resolve the projected teacher shortage. This study investigated the responses of 114 secondary school teachers, headteachers and education officials across six countries to policy options for increasing teacher supply. While none of the groups supported options to increase the supply through changed teacher training, there was support among all three groups for options that affected retention, including increased in‐service training and distance education, more mentorship for new teachers and more opportunities for teachers to network with each other. These findings suggest that policy‐makers in sub‐Saharan African countries need to build political support among education stakeholders to find the most feasible and viable solutions to address the large teacher shortages through both increasing supply and retention.