‘three up’: a case study of teachers of information and communications technology in their third year of teaching

Abstract

This article reports on a cohort of teachers of information and communications technology at the end of their third year of teaching. It forms part of a longitudinal study which has tracked nine teachers through their initial teacher training and into their first years of teaching in secondary schools and colleges in the United Kingdom. The article focuses on these teachers' professional development and their sense of satisfaction with their work. It reports on continued satisfaction with teaching, arising out of experience in the classroom and reflection on working with pupils. However in this, their third year of teaching, ‘dissatisfiers’ are emerging for some teachers, chiefly negative experiences in their relationships with senior management. The article argues that at a time of teacher shortages, support for professional development needs to take a higher priority and to be a more a salient factor for teachers when making choices about schools in which to work.