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FOR THE LOVE OF TEACHING: COMMITMENT OF BEGINNING SECONDARY TEACHERS IN SEYCHELLES

Authors: Odile de Comarmond Dr Jane Abbiss Dr Susan LovettUniversity of Canterbury

NZARE Conference – 28th – 30th November 2012University of Waikato

Hamilton, New Zealand

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HOW COMMITTED ARE BEGINNING TEACHERS IN SEYCHELLES?

Brief outline of the context of the study

Aim and Significance MethodologyKey findings

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LOCATION OF SEYCHELLES

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WHY INTEREST IN TEACHER COMMITMENT IN SEYCHELLES?

• Fewer people entering the teaching profession

• Observed challenges in retention of teachers

• Teacher voice about their commitment in the profession and their trajectories

• Explore possible link between TC and performance, satisfaction and retention

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DEFINING TEACHER COMMITMENT commitment’- “ a strong belief that

something is good and you should support it”( Macmillan English Dictionary, 2007)

‘Teacher commitment’- (Ebmeier and Nicklaus, 1999)

part of a teacher’s affective or emotional reaction to their experience in a school setting and the level of personal investment to a particular school or group of pupils.

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GAP IN LITERATURE Recent study on teachers professional lives

by Day et al., (2007) revealed that teachers’ commitment fluctuate over the years based on the personal and contextual circumstances;

My study is built on previous literature, but in a different context–that of a developing country

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CURRENT PAPER Part of a larger study on commitment

of secondary teachers across career stages

Focus on Newly Qualified Teachers, one of the case studies of the main study

Interest in beginning teachers as a concern for both the local context and worldwide

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METHODOLOGY

Qualitative study with two main approaches: case study and phenomenography;

Phenomenography is an approach to explore “variations in experiences and perceptions of a phenomenon” (Marton, 1981) and organise the findings in categories of description.

Individual interviews have been the main data gathering tool

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PARTICIPANTS

Name (pseudonym)

Gender Teaching experience

Subject

Lise F 9 months ScienceMandy F 2 years Social ScienceMarcus M 3 years Social ScienceJohn M 2 years MathematicsTeddy M 9 months Technology

and EnterpriseJoel M Left after 9

monthsScience

Rana F Left after 1½years

French

7 NQTs (5 were still in the system and 2 had left)

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KEY FINDINGS 1: MOTIVATION TO TEACH Passion for the profession “I joined for the love of teaching-this is the job of my dream”

(Marcus) Inspired by others “My mother is a teacher, so I was inspired by her” (John) Shortage of teachers in the country “I knew there was a shortage of teachers in the country”

(Lise) Love for children “I really love children” (Mandy)

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KEY FINDINGS 1 CONT... Desire to make a difference “I really wanted to make a difference in the lives of

students” (Marcus) New life style “Now that I have a child, teaching suits my new life style”

(Lise) Career advancement “Teaching opened up a new career opportunity for me”

(Teddy) Opportunity for further training “I was looking forward to go overseas for further training”

(Lise) School holidays “I like the holidays as I can spend time with my child” (Lise)

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KEY FINDINGS 2: CONCEPTIONS OF TEACHER COMMITMENT

•Referential aspect:•Sense of belonging to the school

•Structural aspects•Professional responsibility

•Participation in school life

•Referential aspect:•Focus on content knowledge and teaching competencies

•Structural aspects•Planning for instruction•Subject knowledge•Pedagogical skills

•Referential aspect:•Personal qualities, belief, values and attitude

•Structural aspects•Being resilient•being patient and humble•Having the passion for the profession

•Referential aspect:• Teaching as a moral obligation•Structural aspects•Pastoral care•Care for students’ learning

Category 1Altruism

Category 2Personal qualities

Category 4Connectedne

ssCategory 3Professional

content knowledge

Professional spectrum

Personal spectrum

Teacher commitment

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KEY FINDINGS 3: PUSH/PULL FACTORS Stayer: 1 teacher (John)- “I will remain until I can no longer work. This is how I am

feeling right now.” (John) Undecided- 1 teacher (Teddy) “I am still learning the job, because teacher education only

gives you the basic” (Teddy) Planning to leave: 3 teachers (Marcus, Lise and

Mandy) “If I get a job tomorrow I will go.” (Marcus) “I am planning to leave when I fulfil my bonding agreement”

(Lise) “I am planning to move to private schools” (Mandy) Left: 2 teachers (Joel and Rana) “The leadership of the school was not supportive...” (Rana) “The workload was too much...” (Joel)

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KEY FINDINGS 3 CONT...: FACTORS INFLUENCING COMMITMENT AND TRAJECTORIES

Sustained CommitmentPersonal qualities (n=7)Self-efficacy (n=1) Family and collegial support (n=7)Positive students' relationship (n=1)Students' motivation (n=2)Leadership support (n=1)Salary (n=1)

Factors weakening commitmentStudents' misbehaviour (n=7)Students lack of interest in learning (n=7)Lack of leadership support (n=5)Lack of parental support (n=6)Heavy workload (n=6)Lack of resources (n=6)Code of conduct (n=3)Salary (n=1)Training plan (n=5)Health issues (n=1) Perceptions of teaching (n-7)

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WHAT DO THE FINDINGS SHOW? Motivation to teach→understandings of

TC↔teachers’ professional lives Complexity of TC: Not just personal traits, but

intersection of personal values, attributes, and social, and structural systems

Majority planning to leave +Personal values and attributes, support -Reality shock and disillusion dominant -Students’ behaviour and attitude

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WHAT NEXT? To address disillusion and reality shock ─

include personal identities of teachers in ITE

Supporting NQTs (induction, mentoring)

Students’ behaviour: NQTs need support from school leadership and the system

Workload→frustration, stress and burnout

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WHAT NEXT? Build on the core values and personalities of

teachers

But this alone is not sufficient-need to provide the environment that will nurture these values to develop the professional identities and the sense of efficacy of these teachers

Concerted effort (policy, school leaders and teachers) to find ways to sustain commitment of these teachers and retain them in the profession

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THANK YOU

QUESTIONS/SUGGESTIONS?

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SOME REFERENCES Day, C., Sammons, P., Stobart, G., Kington, A., & Gu,

Q. (2007). Teachers matter: Connecting work, lives and effectiveness. New York: Open University Press.

Marton, F. (1986). Phenomenography-A research approach to investigating different understandings of reality. Journal of Thought, 21(3), 28-49.

Ingersoll, R. M., & Smith, T. M. (2003). The wrong solution to teacher shortages. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 30-33.

Ebmeier, H., & Nicklaus, J. (1999). The impact of peer and principal collaborative supervision on teachers' trust, commitment. Journal of Curriculum & Supervision, 14(4), 351.

Cameron, M., Baker, R., & Lovett, S. (2006). Teachers of promise: Getting started in teaching. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.