New research led by Professor Simone White, Dean of the School of Education at RMIT University, has investigated the ‘enablers and constraints’ facing career change teachers (CCTs) as they undergo the transition into the classroom.
Earmarked as a key solution to the national teacher shortage crisis, White says CCTs are ‘highly sought after’ by policymakers, largely because they come with a previous degree and can be ‘fast-tracked’ into schools and are generally seen as being highly capable.
They are also a cohort that warrant serious attention in the research space, she flags.
White’s study found that CCTs can initially struggle with the lack of autonomy and flexibility that teaching affords.
“This is a tricky one, because I think a lot of people don’t realise that teaching is highly regulated, even in terms of your working environment,” she tells EducationHQ.
“If you’re working with young people, you can’t leave them to go off to the bathroom for example.
“We’re not even talking bureaucracy. We’re actually just talking the ways in which schools are structured and the work occurs.”
White says the daily ‘rhythms and routines’ of a school workplace are entirely different to those from which most CCT are familiar with.
It might be a ‘basic shift’, but these can land as a huge surprise to many, the researcher says.
“Someone who might be quite used to working in an office, for example, or even leading a team, [might be] thinking, ‘I can’t I even take my own bathroom breaks?’
“You actually have different accountabilities and responsibilities to young people and children that are different to working with adults…”
Many participants interviewed in the study reported that CCTs can hold an idealistic view of teaching.
They spoke about ‘highly motivated people who want to make a difference to young people’s lives but have unrealistic and romantic notions of the students they will be teaching’.
One educator explained:
“So you’ve got that enthusiasm, but then you have to try and help them navigate their expectations and navigating expectations can be challenging because how they idealise and romanticise the situation might be very, very different to the reality of being in a school and feeling lost when you can’t get on top of the classroom management or, you know … you’re [really] sort of navigating the level of exhaustion around … having to sort of over plan to make sure that you feel confident.”
And then there’s the highly regulated curriculum to contend with, too, White notes.
“Sometimes we have people coming in with very idealistic views, usually based on a famous movie where there’s the lone teacher making their own sorts of ideas up.
“There is creativity in teaching, that is the joy of teaching and there is the challenge of learning how you can ensure the curriculum is delivered and meet the learning needs of all the students."
Navigating staffroom politics and existing power dynamics in schools can also be a testing task for CCTs, the study found.
Some CCTs also step into schools motivated to teach because they want to address a problem they might have themselves experienced, or they have highly specific ideas about the kind of impact they want to have, White adds.
“But schools are workplaces and environments [where there] are curriculum, assessment, particular pedagogy. It’s just really understanding that.”
Navigating staffroom politics and in-house power dynamics can also be a testing task for CCTs who are learning on the job, White says.
“There’s micro politics in every single work environment, and schools are no different.
“Some career change teachers are confronted with how do they best bring their best selves to the school environment, and they’re sometimes not quite sure how to navigate that.”
Those switching into teaching are naturally likely to be older, with a great deal of life experience and knowledge in a certain field – and this can create some interesting dynamics when working with mentor teachers in schools, White suggests.
“You know, how does someone who’s been teaching for a long time [and is mentoring] somebody who’s older and maybe has experience in a particular discipline or background, how do you sort of navigate that space together?”
Career change teachers might be conceived of as ’novice experts’, which brings some complexity to the mentoring experience, White says.
“Even with all their experience...they are still new to the teaching profession.
“And so sometimes, there’s a challenge for them in that because they bring a lot of experience and expertise, there’s the thought that, ‘well, they’ll just pick it all up by osmosis’.
The study warns that moving more of the responsibility for teacher education to schools and mentor teachers via employment-based programs is a “very difficult proposition to sustain”.
“Teachers’ workloads and administrative duties are already high, and schools are not well placed to provide the flexibility CCTs are often expecting while they are completing their degrees and beyond,” it notes.
Ultimately, CCTs’ relationship with their school mentor can ’make or break’ their success in the profession, the research found.
“Participants identified that schools to date were not well placed to value CCT experiences and expertise, and mentors could play a greater role in this regard.”
The research forms part of a larger Australian Research Council (ARC) project, with further research into mentor education and support the next phase of work required.
