This article reports on findings from research aimed at examining new teachers' change over the first two years of teaching through their own perceptions, the perceptions of their students and analyses of the school culture in which they worked. Overall, a general pattern was found: most teachers developed according to a narrow, individual and classroom-oriented perspective, which was accompanied by a shift from a more inductive and student-centred approach to teaching towards a more traditional and teacher-centred one. However, it was found that four teachers did develop and change in positive ways over time. Issues of personal biography associated with perceptions of school culture and leadership explain both similarities and differences amongst teachers. Implications of the findings for teacher socialisation and induction are discussed. (Contains 3 figures.)