Assessing the Concerns and Professional Development Requirements of Beginning Teachers in their First Term of Teaching

Abstract

Beginning teachers in Queensland Catholic primary schools were surveyed before, during and after their first term of full‐time teaching practice in order to identify predominant concerns and professional‐development needs. Anticipatory concerns about personal adequacy dissipated quickly after teaching began, allowing concerns over student‐learning needs and class control to emerge. By the end of the first term, teachers were beginning to feel more confident and relaxed in their role. Most had maintained a preference for discovery/inquiry methods of teaching although issues such as students’ classroom behaviour, the availability of teaching resources and time pressures were beginning to exert an influence on their choice of teaching styles. The results are interpreted in the context of beginning teacher induction programmes, and recommendations are made regarding areas in which beginning teachers need particular assistance during their first teaching term.