Introduction to Teachers' Career Trajectories

Abstract

Teachers’ career trajectories and work lives are at the centre of this anthology, with the contributions exploring a variety of aspects related to choosing and having a career in teaching. Whilst the focus is therefore primarily on teachers themselves and not so much on the schools or the educational systems in which they are employed, there can be little doubt that extensive reforms of the organization of schooling during recent years have had a significant impact on the teaching profession. The comprehensive studies of teachers’ careers by Lortie (1975), Sikes et al. (1985), Huberman (1993), and Fessler & Christensen (1992) provided new knowledge which remains influential to this day. However, since these results were published, innumerable studies have documented that teachers’ work has changed dramatically. We therefore feel that the time is ripe for a book which can provide the reader with an overview of current leading research into teachers’ career trajectories and work lives. The various contributions collected here offer different perspectives on teachers’ career trajectories and work lives both regarding the methodological approaches used in the empirical studies described and concerning the themes discussed. By presenting different perspectives, the anthology not only provides insight into many of the issues facing educational policymakers, but, perhaps more importantly, the challenges teachers deal with in their everyday working lives. Despite considerable differences in both the organization, and the pedagogical traditions at the centre of their national educational systems, many countries would appear to be facing similar problems and challenges concerning teachers’ careers, professional develop ment, recruitment and retention, etc. This may explain why, even though the various contributors present different national contexts, the issues described resonate far beyond national boundaries. In this introduction, we will begin by examining the concepts of teachers’ career trajectories and work lives and by outlining what characterizes this field of study. Thereafter we will describe the key issues affecting the teaching profession, presenting the various chapters along the way.