Teaching profession requires teachers to be prepared with skills and knowledge to overcome challenges related to subject matter, students, colleagues and personal matters. In order to become an outstanding teacher, one has to undergo formal as well as informal professional development experiences. This study aims to explore the challenges faced by…

Findings of a longitudinal multiple case-study on early career teachers (following-up, semi-structured interviews at four moments during the first year of teaching) are presented to substantiate and analytically unravel their professional development (encompassing a technical, a moral, a political and an emotional dimension) as resulting from the…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of 30 university-prepared math and science teachers from their pre-service program into their teaching positions to better understand the conditions that attract and retain them in high-need schools. The paper uses the framework of job preview and information-rich hiring to highlight the influence of the…

The international literature is clear that a professional school culture and supportive administrative arrangements are essential to the retention and development of quality teachers. In this paper the research and conceptual understandings underpinning this statement are elaborated, with discussions of the nature of quality teaching, teachers'…

Across Australia and internationally, the vexed problem of staffing rural school remains a major issue affecting the educational outcomes of many rural students and their families. TERRAnova, (New Ground in Teacher Education for Rural and Regional Australia), is the name of a large Australian Research Council funded (2008-2010) project involving:…

The primary purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent that 24 working conditions impacted upon the reality shock of four groups (N=211) of beginning teachers (elementary, secondary, specialized, and special education) who were teaching in three types of schools (rural, urban, and suburban). For only two working conditions were the…

This paper describes the range of variation in the key working conditions of 13 new teachers in 6 different high schools in California. A prologue tells the stories of "Alex" and "Michael" to show how two equally promising young teachers may encounter working conditions as different as a cradle is from a crucible. The second…

This study sought to understand how first year physical education teachers perceived their workplace, how they believed it affected their first year of work, and how they understood the role of that workplace in shaping their induction into the social and organizational context of the school. Interviews were conducted with 12 physical education…

A study investigated from a national perspective factors that influence the attrition and retention of newly hired secondary business teachers in the public sector. It also identified factors important to determine a business teacher's interest in continuing or not continuing in the teaching profession. The survey developed for the study consisted…

Based on previous research on the influence of community context on the needs and concerns of first year teachers and on the implementation of induction program components, this study sought to determine the effects of the community context on the lives of beginning teachers as related to their teaching experience in the classroom. Data were…

This study gathered information from 94 first-year teachers (graduates of Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada) regarding their attitudes towards teaching, methodological and technical competencies, and the adequacy of their teacher preparation. The teachers were asked to give background information that included degree received, type of…

Findings of a study that determined factors of beginning teachers' work and career choice commitment and retention are presented in this paper. The data consisted of a nationally representative sample of first-year K-12 public and private, full- and part-time teachers derived from the 1987-88 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The final subsample…

How beginning secondary schools teachers shift from university-based to school-based practices was investigated. Thirty-one subjects were followed over a 3-year period through their preparation programs and into their second teaching year. Findings suggested that beginning teachers use conscious selection, processing, and use of information for…

This paper examines findings from a study that investigated the reasons for high teacher attrition rates in South Carolina public schools. Surveys of 359 former teachers and interviews with respondents indicated that the primary issue in teacher attrition was lack of support for beginning teachers from the building and district level…

This study explored the elements in the school environment which predict beginning teachers' burnout at the end of the first year of teaching. Two surveys were administered to 45 first-year teachers, one in the fall semester and the other several weeks before the end of the school year. The surveys queried the teachers about their current working…