The Reality of Beginning Teachers: Trials and Tribulations

Abstract

New or beginning teachers are well received by the education profession, yet for a large portion of new teachers the assessment of how successful their transition into the first year of teaching has been tends to be overtly negative. Research reports that the often traumatic and difficult nature of new teachers' experiences is not a new phenomenon, and is a problem shared by many new teachers nationwide and in the western world. Consequently, the retention rate for new teachers is decreasing at an alarming rate and it is currently reported that 33% of beginning teachers in New South Wales (NSW) do not expect to be teaching in public schools within the next 10 years. While literature about how to teach is prolific, managing the real lift situation for many new teachers is often more daunting than first envisioned. This paper reports on the experiences of the University of New England (UNE) teacher education graduates in their first year of teaching based on their postings to an online support network launched by UNE in 2005, entitled the 'Professional Development Support (PDS)' project. Analysis of the postings revealed that these beginning teachers sought support from the network on a number of specific topics at different times of the school year. This paper presents the nature and patterns of their inquiries and puts forward recommendations for teacher education programs in response.