Research in novice teachers has been wide and rich because they are experiencing a special period in their career life after spending their childhood in school and freshly graduating from teacher education. At the workplace, novice teachers might be specially treated because they are the newcomers, but they may want to realize some professional ideals. Research in novice teacher’s professional agency and professional identity needs to be enriched. Professional agency can be understood as initiatives taken at the workplace, and professional identity can be a “self” as a professional. Both professional agency and professional identity are complex when socio-cultural contexts and subjective factors are intertwined. However, they are related and interdependent—professional agency externalizes and negotiates professional identity, whereas professional identity internalizes and influences professional agency. By comparing ten novice teachers from China and Finland, the overall aim of this thesis is to investigate the degree of professional agency as well as professional identity from a developmental perspective so that the socio-cultural contexts, especially the education systems in Finland and China, and subjective factors can be understood. In this thesis, five novice teachers from China and five novice teachers from Finland were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. By adopting thematic analysis, the author has found that how those novice teachers’ voices on professional agency and professional identity are similar or different. The result shows that Finnish novice teachers enjoy a relatively higher degree of professional agency at the workplace, and they seem to be more well-prepared by according to the testimonies in the interviews. Early-childhood teachers’ wellbeing in Finland and China need to be considered in the future educational reforms and development.

National attention given to heightening the quality of educators, calls attention to the practices used by programs to prepare teachers (CAEP, 2013). The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) requires evidence novice teachers “apply the professional… skills and dispositions preparation experiences were designed to achieve” (p.13). Grounded in reflection, teacher inquiry serves as a pedagogical practice to prepare teachers to systematically learn from their problems of practice (Shulman, 1986; Yendol-Hoppey & Franco, 2014). Despite evidence teacher inquiry leads preservice teachers (PSTs) to focus on student learning with the goal of improving practice (Capobianco, 2007; Dawson, 2006; Taylor & Pettit, 2007), research has yet to identify how beginning teachers approach their problems. Using a narrative methodology, this qualitative study interviewed two first-year teachers to glean insight into the problems of practice they identified, the inquiry related skills and dispositions that surfaced when they approached problems, and the barriers and facilitators to resolving challenges experienced in their elementary school context (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). Findings include (a) novices identified problems related to instructional methods, collaborating with stakeholders and teaching special need students; (b) inquiry skills and dispositions were most evident when approaching problems related to students’ needs and instructional methods; (c) critical learning and emotional intelligence surfaced, though with varying levels of depth, depended on the identified problem of practice; (d) novices demonstrated awareness their instructional practices impacted students; (e) novices sought ways to drive change in practice; and (f) critical learning and reflective dispositions supported novices to regulate emotions. The study suggests several implications for school administrators, mentors, and teacher educators, such as (a) leading novices to see beyond classroom management; (b) emphasizing essential problem solving skills; (c) supporting novices when the nature of the problem of practice inhibits asking investigative questions; (d) communicating boundaries for novices to drive change; (e) fostering critical learning with reflective focus on student needs; (f) cultivating the symbiotic relationship between emotional intelligence, critical learning, and reflection; and (g) promoting the novice teacher researcher in a traditional novice teacher culture.

Alors que de nombreuses études scientifiques pointent l’intérêt de mettre en place des dispositifs de formation exploitant le visionnage de vidéos, il existe peu de preuves empiriques quant aux retombées de ce type d’aménagement sur l’activité professionnelle des enseignants novices. Cette étude a donc pour objet premier d’analyser les activités de formation exploitant le visionnage de vidéos et leurs effets sur l’activité professionnelle d’enseignants novices. Cette étude s’inscrit dans un programme de recherche sur la formation professionnelle dont les soubassements épistémologiques sont issus d’une anthropologie culturaliste principalement inspirée de la philosophie analytique de Wittgenstein (2004). Elle a été menée dans le cadre d’un dispositif innovant de formation par alternance articulant des séquences d’enseignement en établissement scolaire et de formation exploitant le visionnage de vidéos menées à l’université. Les principaux résultats de cette étude et leur discussion mettent en exergue que le visionnage de vidéos constitue un moyen privilégié d’alimenter certaines capacités normatives permettant aux enseignants novices d’analyser leur enseignement ou celui d’autrui, de le planifier, et de le réaliser de façon plus adéquate en classe. Dans certaines circonstances, l’expérience vécue lors du visionnage de vidéos leur permet en effet de « s’approcher » de l’expérience d’enseignement sans toutefois s’y substituer. Parallèlement, cette étude montre que le recours au visionnage de vidéos complexifie parfois l’activité de chacun des formateurs impliqués dans le dispositif et plus largement la mise en place d’un véritable collectif de formation. / Many studies have demonstrated the interest of video-based training, but few have provided empirical evidence of its impact on the professional activity of novice teachers. The principal aim of this study was thus to investigate the activities in a video-based training program and assess their effects on the teaching activity of novice teachers. This study is part of a much broader research program on vocational training. The field of cultural anthropology, much inspired by Wittgenstein’s analytical philosophy (2004), provides the epistemological foundations for this work. The study was conducted within an innovative framework with alternating sequences of classroom teaching in the schools and video-based analysis at the university. The main results and the discussion provide evidence that video viewing aids in the development of certain normative capacities, thereby better equipping novice teachers to analyse their own or others’ teaching activity, as well as to plan and carry it out more effectively in the classroom. In certain circumstances, the experience lived during these video viewing sessions allows them to “approach” the experience of teaching without, however, actually substituting for it. The study also shows that using video sometimes increases the complexity of trainers’ activity and, more broadly, the construction of a veritable training collective.

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The importance of practical activities has been outlined in many articles and research studies. This study presents the way in which two novice and two expert teachers conduct practical activities in their intermediate phase in Natural Sciences and Technology (NST) classrooms and the challenges they face. This study was conducted in primary schools because researchers such as Mihret (2014, p.2) believe that "primary level science education is a cornerstone to lay a foundation to get young citizens interested in science". This study utilised a qualitative case study approach. The data was collected through classroom observations, open ended interviews and document analysis. The population of this study consisted of primary school teachers teaching Natural Sciences and Technology. The participants included two novice teachers and two expert teachers. The conceptual framework that guided this study emerged from the literature review. The conceptual framework of this study was based on concept of practical activity and the four pillared cognitive design framework. The findings of this study indicated that the way that novice and expert teachers conduct practical activities differ and they face different challenges when conducting practical activities. Novice teachers conduct teacher centred activities, they do not allow their learners to conduct independent practical activities, they use practical activities as a way to remind learners of the work done in the classroom and they mostly use previously developed worksheets during practical lessons. Expert teachers on the other hand conduct learner centred practical activities, they allow their learners to work independently and they do not always use worksheets in their practical activities. The findings also indicated that novice teachers face more challenges in their practical lessons than expert teachers. Novice teachers find it difficult to manage their learners' behaviour during practical lessons, they did not have confidence in their learners and they did not have effective disciplinary strategies. However, both novice and expert teachers had a challenge managing their time during their practical lessons. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

Each year, thousands of novice teachers are hired, and within a few years, many of these teachers decide to leave the profession. Job-embedded practitioners, teachers who have yet to fulfill their academic requirements at their universities to become fully licensed teachers and are taking an alternative route to obtain their teaching licenses, comprise a large proportion of those novice teachers. Local and state school districts spend thousands of dollars trying to recruit new teachers to balance high attrition rates. With current teacher shortages nationwide, schools must find novel mechanisms to combat teacher attrition, rather than constantly hiring new teachers to fill vacancies. Increasing teachers’ sense of self-efficacy is vital to reducing the high rate of turnover. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of novice teachers who are job-embedded practitioners on how prepared they were for employment and how well they believe they are currently doing. Understanding and increasing new teacher efficacy are essential for school districts nationwide. To address this purpose, individual interviews with 10 novice job-embedded practitioners were conducted. These interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. The novice job-embedded practitioners interviewed in this study described their teaching self-efficacy as a work in progress and highlighted key barriers and facilitators to their self-efficacy. They also described benefits and drawbacks of their teacher preparation programs, highlighting curriculum changes that would significantly enhance their self-efficacy.

Teachers all over the country are leaving the profession at an alarming rate and by understanding the attitudes and perceptions of both first- and second-career teachers as well as novice and veteran teachers on various areas of teaching, we can begin to identify better and more specific ways to mentor and support all teachers regardless of their age, stage, and life experiences when they enter the profession. The population of the study was limited to 677 kindergarten- through eighth-grade teachers in Sevier County, Tennessee. The study revealed that whether a teacher is novice, veteran, first-career, or second-career, there is no difference in their perceptions concerning the teaching career, no difference in their perceptions regarding the various aspects and challenges of teaching and no difference in their perceptions of how teachers are perceived by colleagues. One difference was found, indicating that novice and veteran teachers have a different perception of their mentoring experiences, with novice teachers rating their mentoring experiences as more positive than veteran teachers. The majority of teachers participating in the study was happy with their chosen career and would encourage others to enter the field. Findings indicated they shared ideas with colleagues and were willing to share in return. Most said that they felt they made a difference in their students’ lives. Student behavior and time were issues of concern to the teachers in the study. Some teachers pointed out that they sometimes were not able to teach because of a student's behavior and that recent problems in society and at home have made this issue worse. Some said the paperwork associated with teaching was overwhelming, and they had difficulty completing the necessary tasks outside of instruction within a normal school day. In spite of the problems, the majority of educators said they would do it all over again.

Teacher retention is a growing problem in the 21st century. Many veterans teachers are reaching retirement age and there are increasing numbers of new teachers entering school systems. School administrators across the state of Tennessee realize that there is a significant number of beginning teachers who are leaving the teaching profession within the first 3 to 5 years of their teaching careers. Beginning teachers are being surveyed to determine why many leave the profession. After gathering input from beginning teachers across Tennessee, school officials began to develop teacher mentoring programs designed to retain beginning teachers. The purpose of this quantitative study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Knox County Schools system's teacher mentoring program, New Teacher Induction (NTI), for beginning teachers. The participants in this study were novice teachers (with 1 to 3 years of teaching experience). Two hundred novice teachers were invited to participate. Thirty-eight (19%) participants responded to the first survey. Efforts were made to increase the response rate through reminder emails. Reminders emails were sent 3 times. Hard copies of the participant letter and survey instrument were mailed to the novice teacher group during the 2nd data collection to increase the participant responses. Thirty-one responses were collected during the second data collection. Sixty-nine (34%) teachers participated in this study. Findings of the study are congruent with the literature in terms of perceptions of beginning teachers regarding the effectiveness of their mentoring experience and recommendations for enhancing mentoring programs. Most of the novice teachers indicated that their mentoring experience was successful. Many of the novice teachers also said that they attribute their decision to return to their school the following year to their successful mentoring experience.

Teachers, especially beginning teachers, continue a trend of leaving the profession at alarming rates within the first 5 years resulting in excessive costs to school systems and diminished instructional quality. Some programs, however, have shown impressive results. The purpose of this qualitative study, using an emerging interview process, was to examine the perceptions of beginning teachers in their 1st or 2nd year and those of veteran 3- to 5-year teachers regarding the effectiveness of mentoring and other guidance they received as beginning teachers in a secondary school and to understand their vision of how mentoring should be structured for beginning teachers. Specifically, the study addressed satisfaction with 1st year experiences specially designed to support the personal and professional well-being of beginning teachers. The study included 8 beginning teachers, 7 of whom had received mentoring in their first year of teaching and 1 who had received no mentoring and 13 veteran teachers, 7 of whom had received mentoring in their first year of teaching and 6 who had received no mentoring. The study was conducted in a secondary school in rural East Tennessee. Findings of the study are congruent with the literature in terms of perceptions of both beginning and veteran teachers regarding effectiveness of their mentoring experiences and recommendations for enhancing mentoring programs. Most beginning and veteran teachers indicated that mentoring could be helpful given certain conditions such as motivational support, encouraging communication, routine guidance in day-to-day school operations and mentor/mentee compatibility. Some said they felt that their own mentoring experiences actually helped them to remain in the profession. However, obstacles to effective mentoring such as lack of adequate time, lack of physical mentor/mentee proximity, lack of mentor interest in the process, and lack of mentoring skills were identified. Recommendations of beginning and veteran teachers for enhancing mentoring program effectiveness include using only those teachers who have a real interest in mentoring, matching mentor/mentee personalities for compatibility, creating clear guidelines and providing dedicated time for mentoring, logistically arranging mentors/mentees in close proximity, and providing appropriate mentor/mentee training.

Many experts on English teaching in China argue that native-English-speaking teachers are too unfamiliar with Chinese culture and the Chinese language. Many of the resources available for these teachers do not address these issues and are not adequately tailored to the native-English-speaking teachers' specific needs. This 35 page guidebook in printable pdf form addresses three key issues with English teaching in China. First, the guidebook helps teachers understand how to bridge the gap that exists between their teaching styles and their Chinese students' learning styles. Second, the guidebook provides explanations of common errors Chinese students make in English because of interference from their native language, Chinese. Lastly, the guidebook answers some of the most common cultural questions that teachers have concerning China, Chinese students, and language teaching in China. The guidebook is available free to download at austinpack.wordpress.com.