'Elite' career-changers in the teaching profession (final accepted version 15 December 2014).pdf (591.86 kB)
Elite career changers entering the teaching profession: impact and challenges
journal contribution
posted on 2015-05-07, 10:40 authored by Christopher Wilkins, C. ComberEvidence linking teacher quality and the ‘performance’ of education systems has led to a
widespread emphasis on improving the quality of entrants to teaching. In the USA and UK
particularly, policymakers have encouraged entrants who have been highly successful in
other careers to switch to teaching, on the assumption that they bring distinctive
attributes/competences that will not only enable them to become successful teachers, but
to improve leadership and management cultures in schools.
This study analyses the numbers of ‘elite’ career-changers entering initial teacher education
(ITE) in England, and compares their completion rates with those of first-career entrants.
Secondly, through semi-structured interviews, it examines the experiences of career
transition of 24 ‘elite career-changers’. Theoretically underpinned by notions of motivation,
self-efficacy, and professional identity development, the findings suggest that careerchangers
are primarily influenced by altruistic and intrinsic motivations, and consider
previously acquired attributes to be significant positive influences on their self-efficacy.
Whilst they report high levels of resilience in adapting to contrasting professional cultures
and to the demands of teaching, they also report significant levels of frustration with a
perceived lack of acknowledgement from colleagues and school leaders of the potential
‘added value’ contribution they could make at a wider institutional level. These findings are
discussed in the context of the presumed system-wide benefits of attracting elite careerchangers
into teaching, arguing that whilst previously acquired attributes are enabling them
to become successful classroom practitioners, the schools may not be capitalising on
potential contributions at a leadership and management level.
History
Citation
British Educational Research Journal (2015)Author affiliation
/Organisation/COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE/School of EducationVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)