Identity Tensions: Understanding a Previous Practitioner’s Decision to Pursue and Depart the Teaching Profession

Tiffany Karalis Noel

doi:10.3389/feduc.2021.586212

Abstract

Framed by symbolic interactionism, this study used narrative inquiry to share a teacher’s story about her decision to pursue and depart the teaching profession within four years of graduating from a traditional undergraduate preparation program in the Midwest United States. The participant, “Banjo,” participated in a qualitative analysis that consisted of four interviews conducted during the first year following her departure from the field. Findings revealed several conflicts surrounding Banjo’s sense of pre- and in-service teacher identity and teacher preparation experiences that ultimately influenced her decision to leave the teaching profession. Banjo’s story provides critical insights about how to prevent similar challenges among early-career practitioners and facilitate progressive change in preservice teacher education writ large.

Highlights

IntroductionResearch has shown that early-career teachers are at the greatest risk for leaving the field within their first 5 years of teaching (Shen, 1997; Darling-Hammond, 1999; Achinstein, 2006; Kersaint et al, 2007; Ulvik et al, 2009; Schaefer, 2013; Lindqvist et al, 2014; Schaefer et al, 2014; Kelchtermans, 2017; Newberry and Allsop, 2017; Hester et al, 2020; Perryman and Calvert, 2020; Ramos and Hughes, 2020; Zhu et al, 2020)
The present study used narrative inquiry to learn from Banjo, a previous early childhood practitioner, as she shared her experiences as a student, preservice teacher (PST), teacher candidate, and early-career teacher, all of which influenced her decision to leave the teaching profession after four years in the field
In order for teacher preparation and early-career mentorship to be receptive, responsive, and sustaining, it is imperative for teacher educators and mentors to learn about beginning teachers’ areas of concern and collaborate to initiate productive shifts in practice and identity development

Summary

Introduction

Research has shown that early-career teachers are at the greatest risk for leaving the field within their first 5 years of teaching (Shen, 1997; Darling-Hammond, 1999; Achinstein, 2006; Kersaint et al, 2007; Ulvik et al, 2009; Schaefer, 2013; Lindqvist et al, 2014; Schaefer et al, 2014; Kelchtermans, 2017; Newberry and Allsop, 2017; Hester et al, 2020; Perryman and Calvert, 2020; Ramos and Hughes, 2020; Zhu et al, 2020). This study used symbolic interactionism as a theoretical framework to better understand Banjo’s decision to pursue and depart the teaching profession within four years of graduating from a traditional undergraduate teacher preparation program. Symbolic interactionism is a distinctive approach used to study human group life and human conduct (Blumer, 1969). Researchers such as George Herbert Mead, John Dewey, W. As people make sense of their world through ongoing interactions, they employ a variety of aspects developed throughout the course of their lives in a multiplicity of contexts (Zeegers and Barron, 2015)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion