The U.S. Department of Education predicts that more than 2.2 million teaching positions in kindergarten through 12th grade will need to be filled over the next 10 years. Given the demand for classroom teachers, 48 states and the District of Columbia have created alternate route (AR) teaching certification programs to recruit individuals who have…

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…

During induction, beginning physical education teachers assume new roles and responsibilities and must deal with a number of problems common to their workplace (wash-out, reality shock, isolation, marginalization, workload and role conflict, and deprofessionalization). Proactive professional development strategies for combatting these problems and…

In 2007, the state of Mississippi conducted a web-based survey of all school-based licensed educators in which they were asked to share their perceptions of the state of teacher working conditions in Mississippi. This report of the Mississippi Teacher Working Conditions Survey, Project CLEAR Voice (Cultivate Learning Environments to Accelerate…

This collection of papers presents the reflections of five beginning public school teachers from the greater Boston area on their first years in teaching. They share lessons garnered from teaching, writing, and reflecting together on their introductory experiences. As their first months in teaching passed, they found themselves working in some…

Argues for the significance of "personal theories" in teaching. Profiles first year teaching of four teachers who had completed program of self-inquiry and reflection about their own developing conceptions of education. Describes their personal theories of teaching before employment and the nature and impact of their teaching…

It is difficult to retain teachers who work in isolated communities, in very poor communities and communities where parental levels of education are not high. This paper describes the creation of a "New Teacher Academy" in one such unstable school district. Working closely with the new teachers in the district, a program was created based on peer…

Induction has become an increasingly popular strategy for school districts across the country that seek solutions for high attrition rates among teachers who are new to the profession. In Illinois public schools, the attrition rate among new teachers can be as high as 40 percent after only five years on the job. Such turnover levels are costly for…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to examine career persistence and job satisfaction of beginning teachers. Design/methodology/approach: Four hundred and fifty-one tenth grade students from a nationally representative sample, who aspired to be teachers, were examined over a ten year period regarding their career choices. Students who…

In keeping with repeated calls to investigate high early career turnover within the teaching profession, the present study investigated the hypothesis that a significant positive association between burnout and turnover intention would be observed in teachers at the beginning of their careers. A sample of 112 Australian teachers working in their…

Cathy, Kelly, and Lisa are early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers in inclusive, classroom-based programs. Each of them worked with paraprofessionals, primarily their assistant teachers, during their first year as ECSE teachers, and that experience resulted in difficulties of varying degrees. For Cathy, those difficulties were most…

Attempting to address the unique situation of beginning teachers and respond to increasing interest in teacher training, certification, support systems, and teacher empowerment, the Select Seminar for Beginning Teachers drew together 11 new teachers, 4 returning teachers, and 5 administrators from 16 school districts in upstate New York. This…

This article shares the results of a study that explored the need, and consequential birth, of a new teacher support group for newly graduated elementary education majors. Constructed of a university supervisor and five newly graduated novice teacher's, this study examines their first semester as classroom teachers. Research related to the…

In this article, we report findings from a study in which the daily lives of novice and experienced secondary mathematics teachers in Victoria were tracked. Two novice and two experienced teachers were also interviewed. Data collection focused on the activities the teachers undertook in and out of working hours, and their reactions to them. 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…