Teaching is a Story Whose First Pages Matters – Four Type Narratives From The Beginning of a Teaching Career
Keywords:
student supervision, peer support, collegiality, professional growth, professional supportAbstract
From a broad perspective, the entire time spent in teacher training can be characterized as a period of professional growth. Specific professional growth and development are realized when the students enter the advanced stage of master's studies to independently practise their profession in their own class of pupils. The uncertainty of a novice teacher and, on the other hand, the ‘burden of competence’ gained from teacher training make this induction phase very sensitive and critical, as all the competencies they have obtained during teacher training should culminate in this specific phase.
The development of a student into an independent teacher is a growth story in which each person's identity, experiences of teaching, and the knowledge structures gained from teacher training determine how they experience their growth, how their multiple skills develop, and how their individual growth story evolves.
In this study, we look at the writings of primary school teacher students who have just entered working life. In their writings, the students who are in the beginning of their teaching career highlight their experiences, critical points, decisive moments, meaningful experiences, and professional growth in different ways. What can we, as teaching practice supervisors, learn from our students’ experiences? What conditions and actions strengthen or destabilize the teacherhood of a newly graduated teacher? This study examines these questions through type narratives specific to narrative research by summarizing the students’ experiences in four different type narratives.
Downloads
References
Brown, S. L. & Okun, M. A. (2014). Using the caregiver system model to explain the resilience-related benefits older adults derive from volunteering. In M. Kent, M. C. Davis, & J. W. Reich (Eds.), The resilience handbook: Approaches to stress and trauma Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. 169–182.
Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001). Helping Novices Learn to Teach: Lessons from an Exemplary Support Teacher. Michigan State University. Research Article. Volume: 52 issue: 1, s. 17– 30.
Herrington, J., Reeves, T. C., & Oliver, R. (2010). A guide to authentic e-learning. London, UK: Routledge.
Husu, J. & Toom, A. (2016). Opettajat ja opettajankoulutus – suuntia tulevaan. Selvitys ajankohtaisesta opettaja- ja opettajankoulutustutkimuksesta opettajankoulutuksen kehittämisohjelman laatimisen tueksi Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriön julkaisuja 2016:33.
Hyvärinen, M. & Löyttyniemi, V. (2005). Kerronnallinen haastattelu. In J. Ruusuvuori. & T. Tiittula. (Eds.) Haastattelu: tutkimus, tilanteet ja vuorovaikutus. Tampere: Vastapaino, 189–222.
Hänninen, V. 1999. Sisäinen tarina, ääni ja muutos. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto.
Kaasila, R. (2008). Eri lähestymistapojen integroiminen narratiivisessa analyysissä. In R. Kaasila, R. Rajala. & K.E. Nurmi. (Eds.) Narratiivikirja: Menetelmiä ja esimerkkejä. Tampere: Juvenes Print, 41–66.
Kim, J.S. (2008) Examining the Effectiveness of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: A Meta-analysis. Research on Social Work Practice, 18(2), 107–116.
Koirikivi, P. & Benjamin, S. (2020). Mitä resilienssi on? Koulutus, kasvatus ja oppiminen. 23.2.2020. (Retrieved 15.11.2021.) https://www2.helsinki.fi/fi/uutiset/koulutus-kasvatus-ja-oppiminen/mita-resilienssi-on
Levine, R. V. (2003). The power of persuasion. How we are bought and sold. New Jerswy: John Viley and Sons.
Meriläinen, M., Piispanen, M., Valli, P. & Valli, R. (2012). Learning while working – from a pre-service teacher's point of view. In L. Gómez Chova, A. López Martínez, I. Candel (Eds.) Torres: INTED 2012: International Technology, Education and Development Conference 4934– 4942. INTED A4.
Meriläinen, M. & Piispanen, M. (2018). Ubiquitous Learning in Appropriate Learning Environments. International Journal of Technology and Inclusive Education, 7 (1), 1215–1223.
Nummenmaa, A-R. (2003). Harjoittelun ohjauskeskustelu – metodisia huomioita. 47, 51. In R. Silkelä (Ed) Suomen harjoittelukoulujen vuosikirja 1, 2003. Joensuu: Joensuun yliopistopaino, 47– 51.
Polkinghorne, D.E. 1995. Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. In J.A. Hatch. & R. Wisniewski. (Eds.) Life History and Narrative. Qualitative Studies Series 1. London & Washington, D.C.: The Falmer Press, 5–23.
Poulin, M. J., Brown, S. L., Dillard, A. J. & Smith, D. M. (2013). Giving to others and the association between stress and mortality. American Journal of Public Health, 103:9, 1649–1655.
Soini, T., Pietarinen, J., Toom, A. & Pyhältö, K. (2016). Haluanko, osaanko ja pystynkö oppimaan taitavasti yhdessä muiden kanssa? Opettajan ammatillisen toimijuuden kehittyminen. In H. Cantell & A. Kallioniemi (Eds.), Kansankynttilä keinulaudalla – Miten tulevaisuudessa opitaan ja opetetaan? Jyväskylä: PS-Kustannus. 53–75.
Soini, T., Pietarinen, J., Toom, A. & Pyhältö, K. (2015). What contributes to first-year student teachers’ sense of professional agency in the classroom? Teachers and Teaching, 21(6), 641–659.
Waugh, C. E. (2014). The regulatory power of positive emotions in stress: A temporal-functional approach. In M. Kent, M. C. Davis, & J. W. Reich (Eds.), The resilience handbook: Approaches to stress and trauma. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. 73–85.
Zautra, A. J. 2014. Resilience is social, after all. In M. Kent, M. C. Davis, & J. W. Reich (Eds.), The resilience handbook: Approaches to stress and trauma Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. 185–196.
