| Abstract: | Fifty primary and 52 secondary teachers were interviewed about their concerns and fears as first‐year teachers in Catholic schools. Teacher variables of gender and maturity, as well as school variables such as socio‐economic status (SES), non‐English speaking background (NESB), school size and primary/secondary level were examined as sources of difference in expressed concerns and needs. Ranked concerns associated with meeting individual differences were ranked highest followed by ‘Content’, ‘Control’ and ‘Motivation’, ‘Teaching Migrants’, ‘Record Keeping’ and ‘Communication’. Open‐ended responses differed from ranked responses with ‘Efficacy’, ‘Control’ and ‘Content’ the most frequently mentioned fears. In general, no significant differences were found between rankings of concerns for primary/secondary levels or for teacher gender. However SES, NESB and teacher tender were significantly related to concerns for certain subsets of data. |
