An exploration of the role of creative industries experience in the pedagogical practice of second-career teachers

Abstract

Internationally there is a growing emphasis on the role of the creative industries in future economies and on related career strategies for young people. There is no research however which explores how teachers with prior creative industries experience can have an impact on this. This study explored the accumulated capital, knowledge and skills, and educational philosophy of six second-career teachers, three with creative industries experience, as they underwent the transition from student to probationer teacher. It consisted of a small-scale, longitudinal, qualitative research design, analysed through a professional and cultural capital theory lens. The findings indicated that the students’ accumulated professional and cultural capital had limited value in the field of teaching with the exception of one who was able to draw on their digital knowledge. For those with existing capital in the form of knowledge and skills in the expressive arts, the participants perceived this to be considered of lower value within the field, with few opportunities to apply this to practice. The study highlights an issue with how prior experience and accumulated capital is valued within the field, which potentially also has an impact on the diversity of the teaching profession and of the curriculum that is delivered in practice.