Teacher Careers and Teacher Employment - Newly Qualified Teachers and Intermittent Employment

Warwick Taylor

Faculty of Education, University of Edinburgh

Edinburgh, Scotland

Paper presented at Teachers at the turn of the Millennium Conference, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic , September 23-25, 1998.

Key words

Teacher employment

Casualisation of work

Beginning teaching

Professional development

Empirical longitudinal research on teachers

Abstract

Drawing on data from a recent study of new teachers who started their first teaching in Scotland on short-term intermittent employment contracts, this paper esamines the experiences of these new teachers and the impact of such employment contracts on professional development. The paper reports on the range of contracts experienced by these new teachers and the strategies used to cope with broken employment so early in a career. What were the percieved costs and benefits to these teachers who started their careers in this way? What were the main development needs of this group of teachers?

The paper concludes with an exploration of issues raised by this research evidence for initial teachers training and for employers.

The study of people at work has occupied a central position in academic discourse over many years. For example, the so-called classical writers in sociology, Marx, Weber and Durkheim made major contributions to an understanding of the relationship between the labour force and the changes they perceived were taking place with the onset of industrialisation and the growth of the professions and associated bureaucratic work environments.

More recently Hughes, from the 1950's onwards stimulated a renewed interest in the study of work and occupations (Hughes1958) Numerous other writers, for example Caplow(1954) Becker,(1951,1961) and Etzioni(1969) extended the study of people at work across many occupational groups.

It is perhaps surprising that the study of teachers as an occupational group and how that occupational group experienced the labour process of working as teachers has, until recently, been under represented in the literature. Seminal works such as Becker's The Career of the Chicago School Master (1970) and Lortie's Schoolteacher:A Sociological Study (1975) were significant markers in the literature on teachers as workers. Lortie noted that ..."although books and articles instructing teachers on how they should behave are legion, empirical studies of teaching work, and the outlook of those who staff the school-remain rare".(Lortie 1975) With reference to British teachers, Ball and Goodson(1985) noted that "in the 1960 s teachers were shadowy figures on the educational landscape mainly known or unknown through large scale surveys or historical analysis of their position in society". More recent studies, as reflected in the work of Lawn and Grace(1987),Lawn and Ozga (1988), Ozga(1988), Draper et.al. (1991) Maclean (1992) Huberman (1993) and Lawn (1996) illustrate just how significant the study of teachers as workers has become.

The study of newly qualified teachers at work is an area of research activity which has seen some development in Scotland over the last decade. The 1991 Report (Draper et.al.1991) into the experiences of newly qualified teachers laid the foundation for further studies of teachers at work (Draper 1997) and the research reported in this paper is a small part of on -going work into the experiences of Scottish teachers and their working lives.

Scotland is unique in Europe in having a General Teaching Council (GTC) which is a non-governmental agency. (It is important to note that the Scottish educational system is legally and administratively separate from England). One part of the remit of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC) is to ensure that new entrants to the profession undertake a probationary period of 2 years (380 working days) before being given full registration. Teachers who have yet to acquire final registration are known as "probationer teachers". It is not possible to be employed in a public funded and most privately funded schools as a class teacher without first being pre-registered with the GTC.

The significance of the GTC from the perspective of the research enterprise is that a data base of all registered teachers is held in a central location with all practicing teachers being required to renew their registration with the GTC annually. The data drawn upon in the paper are derived from GTC sources and it is with their support and the permission of individual teachers that so much is now know known about the work experiences of teachers in Scotland. The possibility of longitudinal studies of teachers over periods of say 5,10 and 15 years becomes a possibility when a data base such as is held by the GTC can be accessed. Work profiles,career paths, patterns of employment mobility, relationships between paid work and personal life can be explored over time. Such data can provide training institutions and national policy makers with the kind of evidence which supplies broadly based information on the context and experience of teachers' work and their career aspirations.One major problem is that conducting longitudinal studies require a level of funding which is very seldom available over a long period of time.

The Research - method and sample

Three studies are drawn upon in this paper based on the GTC data base of registered teachers.

1. The Teachers on Probation (TOP) study analysed the employment patterns of recent probationer teachers through a review of the records of the 1386 teachers who constituted virtually all those teachers who become fully registered with the GTC during 1995/6. From these records it was possible to extract data on the number of schools in which teachers had taught during their period of probation.

2. A follow-up survey of 193 teachers, representative by number of schools taught in, by sector whether primary or secondary, by subject taught for secondary teachers was conducted. Information was sought on types of contract held, satisfaction with professional development opportunities and future career intentions. The results of the follow up study relating to professional development are reported elsewhere (Draper 1997)

3. Of the 193 teachers in the follow-up study, sixty had begun their first employment as probationer teachers on short-term intermittent (supply) contracts. The General Teaching Council(GTC) funded an investigation into the experiences of twenty-six of these teachers, seeking insights on the impact of being a probationer on supply, including the strategies developed to cope and the perceived advantages and disadvantages of beginning a teaching career in this way.

Employment patterns during probation

The data available on the 193 probationer teachers showed that while half of the cohort finishing had spent all their time in one school, 15% at the primary and level and 12 % at the secondary level had served their probation in six or more schools. Furthermore, a considerable number of probationers had broken service within individual schools. One teacher for example taught in 3 different schools but experienced 23 separate periods of teaching service, with gaps between them. Another, the most extreme example found, had 122 separate periods of employment in 52 schools.

It is worth noting that the TOP study showed that there were several different patterns of employment that could be experienced during probation. These were:

permanent employment

long term temporary-> permanent employment

short term supply -> long term temporary -> permanent employment

long term temporary

short term supply-> long term temporary

short term supply.

Changes in employment during probation

Those probationer teachers who began their first teaching job on permanent contacts usually stayed in the same school throughout their probationary period. Change is a feature of temporary employment and the analysis of the representative sample of the 193 teachers in the TOP study revealed the following pattern of employment during probation.

first contract / contract held at end of probationaryperiod
permanent contract / 36% / 65%
long term temporary / 36% / 29%
short term supply / 28% / 6%

It would seem therefore that only one-third of the group began probation with the certainty of a settled period of employment over their probationary period. Some two-thirds embarked on careers as teachers without any permanent contract and one -quarter of the entire group began on short term supply contracts.The picture does change during probation with an increase in permanent contracts and a decrease in supply contracts. However it is noteworthy that at the end of probation one -third are still without a permanent contract.

Not only do these probationer teachers have a range of employment contracts, but a range of broken (intermittent) employment patterns exist. These include continuous employment moving serially from school to school, part-time in one or more schools(sometimes almost continuous full-time in total), intermittent employment in a few schools, intermittent employment followed by a stable period in one school later in probation.

Support systems for new teachers have been predicated on probation in a single school and /or department. With some probationer teachers experiencing a range of employment contracts it is unlikely that schools can meet the needs of probationer teachers moving unpredictably from school to school.

What did probationer teachers say about their experiences of supply teaching?

It is perhaps a truism to say that starting a new job is fraught with uncertainty. To start your first teaching job as a probationer supply teacher, working in a variety of schools, carries addition problems and demands. Probationer teachers share the same situations as experienced supply teachers, but without the experience to help them cope with the daily demands of the job.

It is clear from the detailed analysis of the information provided by the twenty -six probationer teachers that they had developed a set of strategies to help themselves cope with the responsibilities of their work. The demands of the job created a sense of a "need to survive" in an environment where support from other teachers and school management was not always available.

For professional survival:

  • Take a bag of resources for use with every class
  • Take essentials (scissors, rulers, pencils etc)
  • photocopy class resources up dated on a regular basis.
  • Always create a aura of professional competence and commitment
  • Stay late, tidy up , always finish pupil assessments on time.
  • Recognise that there are short-term coping strategies which will have to be learnt and these are more to do with keeping classes busy than being about long-term pupil progress and achievement.

For maintaining confidence:

  • Think positively
  • Do not become involved in school "politics"
  • Keep other interests active outwith teaching- try and create a balance between work and personal interests.
  • Don't take it too seriously!

Probationer teachers in this study were also ask to comment on the advantages and disadvantages of being a probationer tea

cher on supply.

Perceived advantages of being a probationer on supply

Variety in the range of working environments.Experience of a range of schools and their management,and pupils from different social backgrounds.

Personal/professional development.This included developing an adaptability to any work situation and demanded a need to be well-organised.

Avoidance of negatives. There was no evening work, little responsibility after school for school work and if the school is not a place you what to be in there is always the possibility to leave without contractual difficulties.

One teacher summed up the views of many by commenting:

I learned a variety of teaching methods and was able to see the ways in which different schools work. I was able to pass on the positive aspects of teaching that I saw from school to school. I am now able to understand how a good general supply teacher feels. I learned a lot of survival techniques.

Disadvantages of being a probationer on supply

Not feeling a part of the school staff. Difficulty in building relationships within the school.

Adequacy of the assessment of progress as required by the GTC.

Professional development problems. Difficulty in assessing support when needed.Not having the opportunity to take part in staff development opportunities.Lack of opportunities for continuing professional development. Lack of continuity in work.

Emotional costs- lack of confidence, anxiety, stress. Uncertainty about the future.

Financial difficulties.

Uncertainty of a regular income. Travel costs if schools are distant from home.

For many supply teachers in this study continuous professional development was not easy.

I didn't belong anywhere; didn't feel anyone monitored my progress; having to change approaches; could not get into the rhythm of working; contact with parents was limited; did not get to know children.

The emotional costs to the individual probationer teacher on supply is summed up in the following comment.

When I had lack of confidence I felt lonely,I had no-one to talk to as a teacher.

Emerging Themes

Some of the themes that emerged from this study are redolent of more conventional experiences of probation. What is particular to the individuals in this study is that they are supply probationers who have had to contend with the vagaries of both supply teaching and being a probationer. Four themes are briefly commented on.

1. Narrowness of experience resulting from being a probationer supply teacher.

This includes, for example, the absence of having a classroom which is essentially your own. Not being able to engage in long -term planning especially with regards to curriculum development. Not being able to witness the growth and progress of children and to experience the satisfaction which can come from that. Not having the opportunity to have an involvement with the school beyond the classroom.

2. Lack of opportunities for professional support and development

The ideal or expected experience of probation offers the potential for continuous support, assessment and feedback

This study shows that it is often the case that systems for support do not cater for probationer teachers with intermittent employment contracts. There seems to be a disparity between the type of professional development that a supply probationer is likely to experience in comparison with what can reasonably be expected by a probationer with a more "normal" employment experience.

Support for probationer teachers in Scottish schools is generally very good.

Structured programmes of support are available for new teachers, giving them the opportunity to discuss problems and issues with designated senior staff. By definition most probationers on supply contracts are not in a position to follow structured support programmes over a period of time in one school. Informal support from other class teachers was also difficult to obtain as lack of continuous employment meant that most of the sample in this study were not in any one school long enough to get to know colleagues.

3.Assessing supply probationer teacher competence

It is a requirement that all probationer teachers must be assessed at an interim and final stage in their probation and reports compiled by the headteacher submitted to the General Teaching Council.

The interviews conducted during this study of probationer teachers indicate that the evidence base from which headteachers write the final report was very narrow. How, for example, might a headteacher judge the classroom management and organisational skills of a probationer who has always been on short term supply contract and teaching classes in already established classrooms?

4. Consequences of casualisation of teachers work - Who survives?

This includes the need to consider an orientation to the job which had a survival strategy as a key component. The teachers in this study were the survivors who managed to obtain enough work to complete probation and had the endurance to manage themselves in a variety of schools where support may not have been as extensive as it would have been had they been on a more permanent contract in the one school. If some probationer teachers on supply survive and some drop out, what are the skills and qualities of the survivors?

Could it be that that some potentially good teachers who are not strategicin their approach to supply teaching do not complete the probationary period? Just what are the skills and qualities of those who drop out and who are lost to the profession.?

Throughout the period of initial teacher education and training students are encouraged to take their own professional development very seriously, to learn quickly from their mistakes and be able to move on and see the benefits of reflective practice in the

classroom. For a probationer with intermittent work this a very difficult guideline to follow. A finding from this study shows that the casualisation of employment had an impact on professional and, more specifically, classroom practice. Probationer teachers on supply appear not to be too adventurous when with what they presents as lessons to classes. A good supply teaching strategy is to prepare lessons that are simple, that do not require too much in the way of resources, and can be easily photocopied for the next class they teach. There is little call for variety in the lessons the probationers plan since they are likely to be teaching in different schools from week to week.