The problem addressed in this qualitative study is the rise in teacher job dissatisfaction and low rates of retention, which has resulted in a significant increase in teacher vacancies in school districts across the United States. The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the lived experiences of early-career secondary teachers with…

Starting a career in music education is difficult; there are many challenges that first-year band directors face. These challenges can include praxis shock, isolation, stress, and high workloads. First-year band directors may need mentoring support as they transition into the profession. There are different types of mentor programs that a school…

Concerns over teacher retention and resilience led to a coaching project designed to support and nurture a group of Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) in a University school partnership. Research interviews were conducted with the group to ascertain the issues that they had faced during the year and impact of the coaching experience. The NQTs…

Established in 1992, Ofsted is championed by government ministers as the guardian of educational standards in schools and colleges. Ofsted has never produced any research on the validity of its inspection judgements. Ofsted has no evidence, other than rising percentages of schools being awarded positive Ofsted grades, to support its assertion that…

In this empirical, qualitative study, Teach For America (TFA) corps member teachers' lives are examined through the lens of George Posner's seven "frame factors," namely, (a) temporal, (b) physical, (c) cultural, (d) economic, (e) organizational, (f) political-legal, and (g) personal, which offer insight into the contextualized TFA…

This survey research with follow-up interviews explored sixty-two Taiwanese novice elementary school English teachers' perceptions of critical friendship models as an avenue for professional development. The major conclusions were drawn. First, these participants had consistent and static perceptions of critical friends as 'sharing ideas and…

A primary goal of teacher education programs is to equip teacher candidates with the necessary skills to navigate the social and cultural realities and complexities of the classroom while seamlessly integrating theory and practice. As our classrooms become more socially, economically, and culturally diverse it is important for teachers to evolve…

Early-career teachers are referred to in the literature as being in their first few years of teaching experience (Ballantyne & Zhukov, 2017; Dabback, 2018). This research aims to identify current issues that affect the aspirations of early-career secondary school music teachers, including what motivates and engages them in their work and what…

Concerns regarding high rates of teacher stress and burnout are present globally. Yet there is limited current data regarding the severity of stress, or the role of intrapersonal and environmental factors in relation to teacher stress and burnout within the Australian context. The present study, conducted over an 18-month period, prior to the…

In looking at four broad factors related to teacher assignments in the Los Angeles School District--instructional load, homophily, colleague qualifications, and professional culture--researchers of urban education policy at the University of Southern California discovered three main lessons for practice: First, that teacher working conditions are…

The main purpose of the present study was to illuminate the factors that enhance or inhibit job satisfaction among second-career teachers (SCTs) in their initial period at school. Data was gathered from questionnaires filled out by 80 novice SCTs and a comparable group of 82 First-Career Teachers (FCTs). Personal interviews were conducted with…

Namibian preservice high school mathematics teachers' (N=4) and teacher educators' (N=3) beliefs about mathematics learning difficulties (MLD) were investigated to document the beliefs developed at the end of the teacher education program, the views and practices that might be emphasized in the program, and possible changes in these beliefs during…

This longitudinal study of six first-year teachers focused on conceptualizations of inquiry-based pedagogy, self-efficacy for inquiry-based teaching, and its actual enactment. Data included a self-report survey of self-efficacy for inquiry-based instruction, individual interviews at the beginning and end of the year, and five distributed classroom…

The secondary classroom is a place where girls and boys have very different experiences (Sadker, 2002; Pinar, Reynolds, Slattery, & Taubman, 2008). This feminist, phenomenological study sought to understand the experiences of beginning teachers in rural secondary schools, specifically regarding gender and gender equity in their classrooms. Ten…

Novice teachers' professional contexts may have important implications for their effectiveness, development, and retention. However, due to data limitations, descriptions of these contexts are often unidimensional or vague. Using 10 years of administrative data from the Los Angeles Unified School District, we describe patterns of new teacher…