‘It feels like its sink or swim’: Newly Qualified Teachers’ Experiences of their Induction Year
Keywords:
Teachers; Newly Qualified Teachers; Induction Year; Professional Development; Teacher IdentityAbstract
This study examined the experiences of a small group of
Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) during their NQT year. A focus
group was used to explore the NQTs’ understandings of their role and
the influence of the NQT year on the development of their professional
teacher identity. Data were digitally recorded, transcribed and
organised into themes. The data indicate that the participants had
developed a strong sense of their own accountability for their own
professionalism and for improving the academic performance of their
pupils. They had been initiated into the discourse of performativity that
is entrenched across the education system. Consequently, some, but not
all, NQTs had rejected their personal educational philosophies and had
embraced a socially assigned identity which embraced the principles of
performativity.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.17.11.7
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