Previous research into the ‘problems’ of early career teachers
Considerable research has been carried out on early career teachers’ ‘difficult’ experiences as novice professionals. For over three decades, researchers have sought to identify the causes of early career teachers’ problems and to make recommendations to address them. In some cases, graphic metaphors have been used to convey the seriousness of teachers’ situations as they ‘battle’ to survive ‘in the trenches’ (Bezzina, 2006). An overview of Australian and international research reveals several recurring themes:
it is frequently claimed that teachers’ pre-service education does not equip them with sufficient knowledge, skills and dispositions to meet the demands of classroom teaching (Ramsey, 2000; House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training, 2007; Roehrig & Luft, 2006). This is particularly so in the area of classroom management (Robertson, 2006);
early career teachers confront a serious mismatch between their ‘idealistic motivations’ and the daily realities of classroom teaching (Abbott-Chapman, 2005);
too few early career teachers experience a quality induction program (Algozzine, Gretes, Queen & Cowan-Hathcock, 2007). Most are left to ‘sink or swim’ and learn by ‘trial and error’ in their first year of teaching (Howe, 2006);
there are both personal and contextual conditions that influence the retention of successful early career teachers (Peters & Le Cornu, 2007a, 2007b);
school structures and cultural practices are ‘deskilling teachers and robbing them of the enthusiasm to proceed with their job creatively’ (Kanpol, 2007, p 1);
school leaders are frequently too busy or lack the skills to effectively support early career teachers (Quinn & Andrews, 2004; Andrews, Gilbert & Martin, 2007); and
the consequences of this are high levels of individual stress and burnout (Howard & Johnson, 2004; Goddard & O’Brien, 2004; Noble & Macfarlane, 2007) which lead to unacceptably high levels of early career attrition (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training, 2007).