This dissertation studied the work-life stories of seven graduates of teacher education programs who did not enter the teaching profession. The study's intent was to achieve an understanding of the social, cultural, historical, and personal factors that led to the decisions of fully qualified teachers to enter into work other than that for which they had been prepared. All participants were women who had graduated from teacher education programs in Canadian universities in the past twelve years but who had never held continuing teaching posts. Their current occupations included: daycare worker, university recruiter, receptionist, graduate student, realtor, computer helpdesk, and office manager. The interviewer and each participant met for single two-and-a-half-hour sessions that were recorded and later transcribed and analyzed using syntagmatic and paradigmatic analysis. These complementary methods of analysis examine a dialogic interview as if it is a complete story; with a starting point, markers of transition, a turning point, and a conclusion; along with symbols and other expressive motifs that fill in a story and help
the teller illustrate his or her experience as it is being told. In addition, the concepts of secular vocation as formulated by Hansen (1995), and reality shock as described by Veenman (1987) and others were used as a foundation upon which to base the analysis.
Analysis of participants' stories suggested that the desire to teach began in childhood and was described by participants as a `calling' or a `gift.' Family and related social influences appeared to reinforce and expand participants' sense of a desire to teach, as well as being helpful, or of service to others, that often accompanied this notion. Subsequent collapse of the vocation left participants with a feeling of loss, or of a calling not fulfilled. Analysis further indicated participants' decisions not to continue in the teaching profession were prompted by outside agents, including parents, spouses, and other significant persons. Although participants expressed disillusionment with teaching, often appearing before the end of one's teacher education program, in every case the decision to abandon teaching was not made until initiated by an outside agent.
The discovery in the present project that this small group of individuals would narrate
very similar stories about their journey into and out of the teaching profession is
noteworthy. Although an analysis of the stories individuals tell about their occupational
decision-making may not allow researchers to make the same generalized assumptions
that a quantitative study might, it provides us with a rich understanding of the influences and backgrounds that gave rise to these decisions, and suggests a positive relationship between occupational identity and family, social, and cultural influences
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/2255 |
| Date | 22 February 2010 |
| Creators | Paulson, James Neil |
| Contributors | Martin, Yvonne Marjorie |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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