'Getting the Pieces Together': Negotiating the Transition from Pre-service to In-service Teacher

Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, Volume 38, Issue 4, pages 331 – 344. (November, 2010).

The current article examines the difference in knowledge growth between beginning teachers who commence teaching in fragmented teaching situations in the first two years of teaching, and their colleagues who have stable, secure and continuing employment during this time.

The authors argue that the employment context in which beginning teachers take up their profession has a significant, but hitherto largely unacknowledged, effect on the capacity of teachers to develop the craft of teaching (Elbaz, 1983); on their continuing commitment to the profession; and on their self-confidence and self-image as teachers.

The authors conclude that long-term, secure employment in one school, with full responsibility for a class of students and access to effective mentoring, is necessary if beginning teachers are to move beyond 'survival' to developing competency in the first two years of teaching.

Reference
Elbaz, F. (1983). Teacher Thinking: A study of Practical Knowledge. London: Croom Helm.