SummaryThis project aims to investigate the ways in which Australian induction policies support precariously employed early career teachers to effectively manage student classroom behaviour. This project expects to generate new knowledge of workforce development and induction experiences of early career teachers employed on casual and short-term contracts.
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Background
Australia is facing a teacher shortage crisis, and schools are struggling to find enough teachers to teach their students (AEU, 2021). Fuelled by rising student numbers, an ageing workforce and declining enrolments in initial teacher education programs, the shortage of teachers, particularly those on short-term and casual contracts, is dire and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (AEU, 2021; Sullivan, Johnson, & Simons, 2019). For example, in 2021, 80% of schools in Tasmania could not fulfill requirements for casual teachers.
The first few years of a teacher’s career as they transition from pre-service teacher education into the profession is known as the ‘induction phase’ (Kelchtermans, 2019). This phase is characterised by ‘hopefulness, energy and enthusiasm, a high degree of motivation and commitment, as well as some new approaches to pedagogy and classroom management’ (Johnson et al., 2016, p. 38). However, it is also known as a time when many new teachers experience stress and praxis shock, leading to teacher burnout (Clandinin et al., 2015). Early career teachers face unrealistic expectations that they will perform like more experienced teachers from the first day of employment (e.g. Johnson et al., 2016). |
Chief InvestigatorsProfessor Anna Sullivan,
University of South Australia Associate Professor Stuart Woodcock, Griffith University Dr Neil Tippett, University of South Australia Professor Andrea Reupert, Monash University Professor Simone White, RMIT Professor Michele Simons, University of Western Sydney |
