Abstract
Currently, there are a multitude of ways an individual can gain qualified teacher status in the UK. However, research has indicated that teacher attrition in the UK is on the rise.
Considering this, the aim of this study is to establish if there are any particular academic routes that prepare an individual for their career, or more specifically, their first term as a teacher, more than another.
Questionnaires were distributed using a multi-method approach to gain both qualitative and quantitative data. The initial information indicated that two academic avenues prepared an individual more than others. However, further thematic analysis highlighted that there is not one academic route that prepares an individual for their first term as a newly qualified teacher.
Although limitations in the research were noted, recommendations for future research would include better time management, consent for participation for schools prior to commencement, the addition of further questions and follow-up interviews.
Introduction
Teacher attrition is on a steady rise and has been for the last ten years (Lindqvist et al., 2014; Borman and Dowling, 2017). In an attempt to recruit more teachers, the UK government has established financial incentives such as bursaries or higher starting salaries. However, research suggests that the recruitment of teachers is not where the problem lies. Rather, the retention of these professionals (Cooper and Alvarado, 2006). The UK has a variety of placement providers for individuals looking to gain qualified teacher status (QTS), each claiming to equip individuals with the skills and knowledge required to become a teacher.
Therefore, the question; does one academic route prepare a newly qualified teacher (NQT) more than another, was established. In an attempt to achieve this aim, qualified teachers were asked to reflect upon their initial teacher training (ITT) experiences and provide feedback.
The literature review establishes key themes relating to this topic, including the relationship between preparedness to teach and an academic pathway, the connection between the perception of a good teacher and the positive motivational elements that encourage them to join the profession and finally, the comparison of academic routes such as PGCE and School Direct.
Two schools, one infant and one primary, participated with respondents completing questionnaires which applied a meta-analytical dissection of the data. Upon completion of the analysis, a comparison of the findings was conducted with the literature review.
Literature Review
This literature review will begin by exploring the various academic pathways an individual may take to gain qualified teacher status, comparing the initial entry requirements, as well as the financial implications that may affect an individual’s decision. An analysis of relevant and up-to-date resources will try to establish any issues or emerging themes surrounding motivations to join or leave the profession.
In order to take on the role of a teacher, an individual is required to have an appropriate degree and must undergo the needed experience to gain a qualified teacher status (QTS), which can be accomplished in a multitude of ways, such as ;
‘Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), Undergraduate teaching degree, School Direct, School-centred initial teacher training (SCITT), Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP), Future Teaching Scholars, Teach First, Premier Pathways, Now Teach, Researchers in Schools (RiS), Teaching without a degree (usually within a private school), Teaching in the further education sector’ (Prospects, 2017a).
Among the notable routes, the most popular routes that are ideal and are currently taken have been identified to be School Direct, which has been recognised as being favoured by individuals looking to change their careers (DfE, 2015). However, PGCE, being one of the routes available too, is a preference for younger individuals (Independent School Council, 2017). Furthermore, it has been suggested that there are two main factors when making this decision: financial implications and readiness to manage a classroom (Edustaff, 2015). An individual must pay themselves by bank or government loan to study towards a PGCE through a university whereas, with School Direct, there is the opportunity to earn an unqualified teacher’s salary as well as the possibility of a twenty to thirty thousand pound bursary (Department for education, 2017). There are some School Direct courses that give individuals the option to take courses, presenting them the opportunity to gain PGCE for an additional two thousand pounds. However, this fee is not eligible for a student loan, and as such, it cannot be granted to the individual (educate, 2017). The second factor is a readiness to manage a class, which involves the process of a PGCE student spending more time studying and less time in an actual classroom environment. This criterion is in opposition to School Direct dictated methodology and in denial of the fundamental training. Furthermore, it also suggests that there are various programmes listed that present an individual with an environment that offers limited work experience. This may cause the individual to have an inadequate experience to perform better towards classroom management skills. (Baeten and Meeus, 2016).
Furthermore, it has been seen that some individuals who are ranging between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five express a pressing concern towards the fact of neither having adequate experience nor were in agreement to teaching students who were merely five years younger than themselves. Among the other mentioned academic pathways, they present clear limitations in comparison to either the PGCE or School Direct method (Saroyan and Trigwell 2015). The prominent factor in this is related to the amount of time spent by an individual before they become eligible to acquire QTS. Considering this factor, investigative analysis of Future Teaching Scholars, Premier Pathways, and RiS reveals the actual length of the courses to be well-spanned over a two-year programme. This timeframe is relatively longer than that of a one-year PGCE and School Direct course (RiS, 2017; Future Teaching Scholars, 2017; Premier Pathways, 2017). Furthermore, it is a noteworthy fact that in between the three to six years timeframe, an undergraduate individual has either the opportunity to acquire a bachelor’s degree (B.Ed) or enrol in a master’s study programme. Aside from this, they also have the perfect opportunity to gain pedagogical knowledge, which may prove to be useful in the future (UCAS, 2018). Moreover, proving to be of great importance to an individual, these routes may benefit them along the lines of providing them with well-acquainted experience for their future careers. In addition to this, the courses of SCITT and GTP present a fundamental requirement for the individual to locate and arrange a placement for themselves in a school of their choice. In comparison, School Direct and PGCE facilitate the individual by organising a placement for their applicant (London School of Economics and Political Science, 2017).
However, this may result in two conditions, one being of lesser opportunities for individuals to avail from the local schools. Secondly, individuals may find themselves in an inescapable situation and may find themselves exhausted to call each and every school, to find a placement for themselves. Despite these conditions, most institutes may not provide the individual with a PGCE certification, which is known to be a well-recognised qualification around the globe, after their completion (TES, 2016). Consequently, this may cause the individual to become bound to the employment opportunities present in the United Kingdom only (Ratcliffe, 2014). In a comparative analysis conducted, the findings reveal results of there being a close to little or no difference between the newly qualified teacher (NQT) satisfaction in comparison to that of preparedness on the basis of an academic pathway (Gorard, 2017). The current secretary for education, Justine Greening, has recently announced plans to offer a further avenue into teaching: degree apprenticeships for graduates, taking approximately eighteen months to complete (McInnerney, 2017). This academic pathway was designed ‘especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds who are deterred from studying a traditional full-time programme by high tuition fees and student debt’ (Prospects, 2017b). Therefore, it could be argued that an individual’s choices may be primarily limited by their financial situation. Secondly, the individual’s personality and confidence may affect the academic route they take. Finally, pressure from family and peers may also have a bearing on the academic pathway an individual may take.
The research titled “Training to Teach: Motivating Factors and Implications for Recruitment” was carried out to examine why individuals opted for teaching as a profession (Moran, Kilpatrick, Abbott, Dallat & McClune, 2010). A sample of 466 Norwegian students was identified along with others who were from the United States, and the rest were from other places. The variance method was used as a means of analysis to compare the impact of different factors on the sub-groups that were present among the groups of teacher trainees. The analysis utilised questionnaires to gather the responses of the students who were participating in the teacher training programs. The results showed that the candidates who had been part of the training program had opted for teaching as a profession for intrinsic reasons, but there were extrinsic reasons as well, to a certain extent. The survey concluded that individuals were pursuing teaching as a profession due to the government’s teacher recruitment initiatives.
Research indicates that prior to making a decision on an academic pathway, an individual must first decide that they want to become a teacher (Richardson, Watt, 2005a). The decision criteria to take teaching as a professional career is quite unique to each individual. However, it is possible to classify these decisions into categories of intrinsic and extrinsic elements of motivation and to investigate the trends associated with each. For some individual, it can be the time they spend with their family, while some may settle on the lucrative financial reward they may get out of it. Richardson and Watt (2005) developed the Factors Influencing Teaching (FIT) scale and used it to establish that more participants wanted to become teachers for intrinsic reasons, the most popular being a prior consideration to join the profession. However, this was closely followed by two extrinsic factors: time for family and career fit, which the researchers believed to coincide with the high amount of female participants in their survey, ranging well over ninety per cent. Verification of this was evident in the answers acquired after the interviews were conducted. The researchers classified these answers into three categories. The highest percentage of these answers indicated most candidates are selecting teaching as a profession because they found it to be symbolic in terms of their families.
The lowest scoring percentage indicated the candidates to whom teaching was more along the lines of comparing it to financial gains and professional status. This view reflects their opinion about the teaching profession being seen as a less rewarding profession from a financial perspective, and they considered their peers to be earning more with similar qualifications while being employed in the private sector. This data is further reflected by statistics from the Department for Education (2016), which reported that a quarter of all teachers in England are male and highlighted that only fifteen per cent of primary teachers are male. Although, currently there is no evidence to suggest that this accounts for the high ratio of female to male teachers in the UK. However, this research may indicate why the UK government is giving bursaries from fifteen to thirty thousand pounds to individuals to train to become a teacher of core subjects (GOV.UK, 2015a).
Further research indicates that an individual who becomes a teacher for intrinsic reasons is more likely to be perceived as a better teacher than those who join for extrinsic reasons (Bieg et al., 2011; Elieff, 2016; Hellsten and Prytula, n.d.). This indicates that two-thirds of Richardson and Watts participants might not be as motivational or inspirational to their pupils as their peers. Junger et al. (2014) conducted an extensive scale study which shows that intrinsically driven teachers are more motivational than others. Additionally, their results found little difference between intrinsic and extrinsic factors, highlighting a third less motivational factor: altruism. However, these altruistic motives were included in Bieg et al. and Richardson and Watts extrinsic factors, therefore, if the same methodology was used from Jungert et als. study, it is likely to yield similar results. An ongoing study by Simonsz (2016) further corroborates that extrinsic factors such as time for family are not only low motivators themselves but also lead to less motivated teachers and students. Whereas, intrinsically motivated teachers who are passionate about their subject are perceived as more motivational by their students. However, there is some debate that there is only one intrinsic motivation that has a positive effect on the teacher-student dynamic: intrinsic career value (Den Brok et al., 2013; Burgueno et al., 2017).
These studies asked the students about their perception of the teacher and compared these answers to the teacher’s motivations. The study associated intrinsic motivators with the opinion of a caring, supportive, and authoritative teacher in contrast to an extrinsically motivated teacher who was perceived as having no patience or control of the classroom. All of these researchers used the FIT scale or amended it slightly for their research, which may account for the consensual agreement in many areas.
However, a study by Zuzovsky and Donitsa-Schmidt (2014) applied their own open questions based on previous research by Coulthard and Kyriacou (2002). These studies both found that altruistic motivators, including interacting and caring for children as well as fulfilling a social duty, were the main factors contributing to a career change into teaching. Follow-up questionnaires were administered to students of these trainee teachers, establishing a positive perception similar to that of Den Brok et al. (2013), who are intrinsically motivated teachers. These findings are reflected in research which also attributes altruistic and intrinsic motivations as the highest reason for a career change (Sharif et al. 2016; Thornton and Brichero n.d; Bauer et al. 2017). Although, no follow up data with students to capture their perceptions of these teachers is available. Furthermore, these study participants are mostly seeking to change careers as opposed to younger students, who may account for the differentiation in motivation. Additionally, by either not using or adapting the FIT scale, it has meant the researchers have categorised the motivations differently which may explain the contrast in results.
However, there is one motivational factor that correlates with every study: financial prospects, which comes last as opposed to the high extrinsic factor: job security. Further correlation between all these studies is seen between career changers and ongoing students, with the latter feeling less motivated by civic duty (Hunter-Johnson, 2015). This is specific to career changers as opposed to teaching assistants or volunteers who have decided to further their career in education, which is perceived as extrinsic motivation.
Investigating the criteria that motivate an individual towards an academic pathway to acquire QTS and the elements of motivation may prove to enhance the understanding of the reasons for attrition. Furthermore, there are plenty of incentives that may present themselves to attract an individual to take on the profession. However, there are minor financial incentives to retain a professional within the field (Akarsu and Kariper, 2015). In consideration of the earlier statement, it is evident that the higher percentage seen from the research indicates that most individuals did not consider financial gain in the field of professional teaching as an element of motivation. Teacher attrition in the UK is at an all-time high with figures showing thirty percent of teachers who joined the profession in 2010 have now left, in an attempt to fill the gap an average of 1400 unqualified teachers have been recruited each year since 2015 (NUT, 2017). Teacher attrition is not just subject to the UK, with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) estimating a shortage of sixty-eight million teachers worldwide, although Southern Africa and Southern Asia account for approximately three-quarters of these teachers (2016). Ingersoll et al. (2014) argue that an individual’s first degree, institution attended, or certificate is not a significant factor in beginner teacher attrition. Their research indicates that a lack of pedagogical understanding and preparation were significant reasons for NQTs leaving the profession. This can also be seen in statistics from the National College for Teaching and Leadership (2015), which found that eleven per cent of the 7770 NQTs did not feel prepared following their ITT.
Therefore, it could be suggested that individuals looking to change careers may be at higher risk, whereas those who have taken a degree in education or have previously worked in the sector may be better prepared. However, a lack of both training and exposure to challenging behaviour may also account for attrition, as ITT is not usually performed in schools deemed inadequate or requiring improvement. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) cited in Marsh (2015) surveyed NQTs and trainee teachers and found that over half the participants felt they would not be in the profession in ten years. Three quarters cited heavy and unnecessary workloads as the main reason for nearly a quarter saying challenging behaviour was time-consuming and felt unsupported by parents and the leadership team in this area. However, Clandinin et al. (2015) did not report that challenging behaviour had affected their participant’s drive to become a teacher. However, they agree that workload and lack of support are perceived areas of improvement by student teachers, although this study was on a much smaller scale with forty participants.
Worth and Lazzari (2017) correlated their data by subject and noted that more teachers leave core subjects across both primary and secondary, perhaps due to extra workloads compared to their peers. Furthermore, they found that early-career teachers were more likely to leave than those who had been in the profession for five or more years. This has highlighted the requirement for retention as well as the recruitment of teachers, which is reflected in the House of Commons Education Committee (2017), who suggest long-term pay incentives rather than short-term bursaries.
This literature review establishes a factual analysis, explaining that both academic pathways and preparedness for teaching are not linked together in any manner. Many of the individuals taking up teaching as a profession may be motivated by intrinsic or altruistic factors, both of which are considered to be positive in this scenario. Furthermore, the literature review looks into the connection between the perception of a good teacher and the positive motivational elements that encourage them to join the professional field. Finally, the collective evidence provides suggestions based on extrinsically motivated teachers and individuals with relatively less experience in pedagogical experience, who are seen to be less eager to continue their professional careers and mostly leave them over the period of five years.
Furthermore, the literature review looks into the comparison between School Direct and PGCE courses and their capabilities towards preparing an individual for the actual job market. Investigating into the features offered by School Direct (being one of the preferred options) it offers the option of letting the individual get paid while working. The method introduced by School Direct aims to provide the individual on-the-job paid training experience while in an actual classroom environment. PGCE offers a variety of options in this comparison. PGCE is focused more on preparing individuals for university-level education delivery. However, there are several paid courses that an individual can take, eventually leading to PGCE. The second most notable point can be related to the experience of personal gains after their education. School Direct offers the candidate with direct hands-on experience, and as such, this can be seen as a benefit. Due to this, individuals who are immersed in the system early become well-prepared to face life as a professional teacher. PGCE however, takes a different route on this matter. The students taking the course of PGCE need to undergo lectures, and located in shorter placements. From the perspective of PGCE, these criteria are necessary before evaluating a candidate as an ideal fit for the professional experience.
Although the method was introduced to gain an edge in professional experience, PGCE may come off as an ideal approach. In comparison to School Direct, candidates in PGCE are offered placements equivalent to two-thirds of the course’s total duration. This offer translates into the candidates getting an option of easily switching their placement if the school is not suited for them. However, in the case of School Direct, the trainees are unable to switch their jobs this easily, and the only feasible option is to resign.
Methodology
This chapter will discuss the rationale for the chosen methodology additionally, it will then explore the ethical limitations and how these were overcome.
The main purpose of the study was to send out questionnaires (Appendix 1) along with the cover letter, which included the outlining rationale of the research to as many schools as possible. The targeted sample of schools included infant, secondary, primary, independent and special educational needs (SEN) schools. Consideration of this sample will help further the investigation and establish a basic understanding of teachers from a broader perspective (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Preference to this sample size will build an understanding of teachers from a multitude of backgrounds, including cultural, educational and social values. Their responses will assist in providing the research with both qualitative and quantitative analysis. It is quite likely that a higher percentage of this sample size will be hesitant to answer the survey questions. In consideration of this factor, the sample size was chosen to be relatively larger to accommodate the chances of this issue during the survey (Dudovskiy, 2016; Patten, 2016). The initial analysis included choosing ten schools and contacting them to participate in the survey, indicating a potentially higher return rate than the expectation of about two hundred and twenty-six teachers. However, after the request, most of the schools declined the request and refused to take part in the survey. In consideration of this, fifteen other schools were selected and contacted with anticipation of four hundred and thirty-one teachers taking part in the survey. However, this survey sample also resulted in thirteen schools declining the survey offer and refusing to answer the questions. The schools that agreed to take part in the survey held a positive edge, with sixteen teachers agreeing to take part in the survey, and this outcome held a total return rate of around four per cent only.
Employing the use of questionnaires seemed relatively smarter since individual visitation to each school was not possible due to various time constraints and the factors of work and family commitments. Furthermore, the initial expectation associated with the results needed to have a ten per cent response rate, at least providing results that may provide sufficient comparable data for analysis. In accordance with this, the questionnaire was created in a sense that will accommodate the respondents by providing them with understanding questions and limiting the number of questions to acquire maximum data from them (National Postsecondary Education Cooperative, 1999).
Richardson and Watt (2014b) modernised their FIT scale. Despite the fact that many researchers in this field have used a variant of this for their research, it was decided that including Likert scale questions may put off potential participants if the questionnaire was considered too large to complete (Bell, 1996). Additionally, it was considered that adding a Likert scale may add unrequired and unnecessary data to the study (Evans et al., 2011). Davies and Hughes (2014) recommend piloting questionnaires. Therefore, peers filled in and assessed, which led to the re-evaluation of the design and layout of the questionnaire as well as amending the wording and removing two questions, the age of the participant and gender, as the feedback was that this information was irrelevant. Furthermore, these pieces of information could be identified as personal, and consequentially, the participant may feel uneasy answering these questions (Burgess, 2001). Making sure the individual feels comfortable when filling out the questionnaire should mean more participants and, therefore, more data (Kelley et al., 2003). Additionally, protecting the identity of the participants is a legal requirement under the Data Protection Act, as well as keeping the data stored securely once received (Gov.UK, 2015b). The accompanying letter outlined the right to withdraw, informed consent and how the participant’s information would be kept private, secure and destroyed once this study was complete (BERA, 2011).
The pilot process, although repeated, bore better feedback, in which most of the feedback held a positive edge, along with the data sample holding a high percentage of relevance, and possible themes also became visible during the process. The questionnaire was structured to have ten questions in it. The ten questions were split into three questions being close-ended while seven questions were open-ended. This method made it possible for the acquisition of qualitative and quantitative data during the survey. However, some of the open questions did begin with the criteria of close-ended questions. For instance, some examples include questions such as “Do you feel as though you were completely prepared for your first term as NQT? If not, please state why?”
Making use of a multi-method approach is highly regarded by many researchers, and employing its use is considered to be a good practice. This method enables the researcher to identify and locate blind spots within the research. However, in scenarios of applying it in a proper fashion, this method can assist the researchers in complimenting others on their findings (LSE, 2016; Bryman, 2015; Casebeer and Verhoef, 1997; Flick, 2014; Neuman, 2010; Hertz and Imber, 1995). In addition, more questions were added to assist in establishing any phenomenological or humanistic interactions. The use of this interpretive paradigm is often associated with the use of qualitative social studies (Thanh and Thanh, 2015). However, it seemed likely that sending out questionnaires to schools for acquiring data, may require an addition of interviews to understand the data better. Facilitating the respondents by adding more open-ended questions in the questionnaire may allow them to feel comfortable in providing answers while minimising the need for an interview to expand on the data afterwards (Brannen, 2017). The close-ended questions added to the survey were designed in a way to provide segmentation in the questionnaire. This segmentation is aimed towards academic pathways, age range and specialist subjects. Furthermore, segmentation allowed for establishing the understanding of the relationship, if any, to be studied in the context of qualitative data. Cross-referencing the data in this way has the potential to indicate any themes related to the study question: does one academic pathway prepare an individual to become a teacher? Furthermore, by applying thematic analysis, it may highlight previously unrelated information as having underlying themes (Braun and Clarke, 2006).
Findings And Analysis
This chapter will critically analyse the information gathered and highlight themes and possible issues arising. Any themes or issues will then be discussed in correlation with the previous literature review as well as new literature for any previously unknown themes. The thematic analysis will further enhance the criteria to build on and study the various trends seen in the teaching profession. This chapter will look into the trends displayed in the charted data, its reflection on the present teacher’s professional setting, the impact it has on their personal growth in this field, and the decisions they will likely take towards progressing their careers if any.
To initiate the process of the analysis, each questionnaire needed to be fully read and numbered from one to sixteen. After this process, the tally method assisted with identifying the data to be classified as qualitative data. This data included the age range of pupils, the subject of the specialist, their original degree, and the method through which they acquired QTS if the candidate was happy with the academic route they took. Did they get the feeling of being prepared for it? Will they recommend the profession of teaching? And finally the condition of whether they will like to continue their job or will consider leaving it? These questions were compared with the answers the respondents provided in order to chart out a trend and correlate them. Further investigation into the qualitative data led towards acquiring an understanding of the information and categorising it into altruistic, intrinsic, and extrinsic ideologies, which can then be analysed further.
The process and layout of the questionnaire prepared are relatively simple and easier for the respondent (Teachers). The questions are tailored in a manner that carries a rhythm in them, creating a nice transition from question to question. Each question is prepared to analyse the teacher’s capabilities, their experience, their thoughts on teaching as a profession, and their opinion based on retaining or leaving their present career for something better.
To begin, it was established that the most popular academic route for the participants was PGCE, followed by a Bachelor’s degree in Education, as illustrated in graph one below.
In consideration of The literature Review pointed out a prominent fact that indicated School Direct to be an optimal approach as an academic route, similar to PGCE. However, the study proved that PGCE is three times more popular than PGCE. The questions based on the participant’s age were not included in the questionnaire, so it is impossible to conclude whether the participants were younger than their peers or not. In relation to this, the literature review included a scenario where candidates felt hesitant towards going for teaching as a professional career since they found it less comforting to teach either because the pupil they were meant to teach was only five years younger than them or were not ready to take on teaching at all. However, the question aimed towards asking the respondent about their experience and time spent in the teaching experience may help build an assumption towards their age range. Analysis of the data provided highlights four of the PGCE-qualified teachers with experience of under five years of teaching, while one teacher responded with eight years of teaching experience, and the last group of respondents had over twenty-three years of experience. However, observation of the answers related to questions such as “Why did you choose this route into teaching?” does not justify the age assumption for these participants. A comparison to the School Direct qualified teachers’ data proved helpful in revealing that both participants from the surveys have also been NQTs for a short period of time, with one and two years, respectively. Analysis of the data did not reveal if the respondent showed any signs of eagerness towards changing their career anytime in the future. This trend can only interrupt individuals at a young age.
This portion was not reflected in the literature review, stating that the School Direct course is only chosen by individuals in an older age group who are likely to change their careers sometime in the future. In comparison to the literature review, the analysis suggests that a significant amount of individuals will gain QTS with the completion of their B.Ed qualification. Although, a further analysis comparing teachers who gained QTS via B.Ed., with how long the individuals had been qualified teachers presents opposing data to that of the PGCE. All four teachers who gained QTS via B.Ed. have been working in the profession for over five years, with responses of five, ten, twelve and twenty-nine, respectively. Perhaps this is because, historically, it was suggested that all future teachers and lecturers should take a B.Ed. (Robbins Report, 1963). Whereas, with shortages in the profession these days, individuals with varying degrees are encouraged to begin a career in teaching, as stated in the literature review.
The next question under analysis was aimed at asking the respondent, “Do you feel as though you were completely prepared for your first term as NQT? If not, please state why?” The responses to this question consisted of the respondents being split into two groups. Half of them said “yes,” while the others replied with “no.” A further investigation into the answers provided by the respondents provided insight into a diverse range of variations, as shown in graph 2 below.
Further investigation correlating the data from graphs one and two indicates that PGCE and B.Ed. teachers were equally split in preparedness; graph three below. However, none of the three teachers who gained QTS via SCITT felt prepared as opposed to the individual who took GTP (other) and the two participants who took the School Direct route. This was not reflected in the literature review, as it was suggested that no one academic route prepares an individual more than another. However, this initial data suggests that School Direct prepares an individual more successfully than any other academic avenue, especially SCITT.
However, further analysis of the answers given by the SCITT teachers highlighted a reoccurring theme between all three, they all had previous careers, prior to gaining QTS. Each individual had a different original degree, they have been teaching for different periods of time, they have different specialist subjects, teach different age groups and had previous careers. Additionally, two of the participants said they would recommend a career in teaching and have not considered leaving, whereas one has left and returned on a part-time basis and would not support a teaching career due to high levels of paperwork. Although, curiously, when asked if these individuals would have chosen a different academic route, they unanimously replied no. Each participant stated that SCITT was a great balance of class theory and work-based learning. Additional analysis of reasons why these teachers did not feel prepared established two correlations; participants six and eight stated they felt being without a mentor for support was a steep learning curve. Further correlations were found between participants five and eight, who felt they had a lack of experience dealing with challenging behaviour. Participant Six also stated they felt unprepared for the responsibility of utilizing a teaching assistant, whereas Participant Five explained in depth the lack of legal knowledge of their responsibilities inside and outside of school.
Finally, participant five felt they had not gained enough pedagogical knowledge from a one-year course. However, although all three teachers who gained QTS via SCITT said they felt unprepared for their first term, this is not reflected in their support for this academic pathway. Therefore, it should not be considered that SCITT does not prepare an individual for their first term. Rather, an individual’s own perception and feelings affect this.
Comparing these findings to those of the PGCE-qualified teachers who felt they were unprepared for their first term as an NQT highlights some differences. Firstly, participants three, eleven and sixteen all said they chose to do a PGCE because it was a one-year course and they all held a degree already, whereas the SCITT teachers stated they wanted more hands-on experience. Curiously, the length of both PGCE and SCITT are the same. Furthermore, all the SCITT participants also already had degrees, yet did not mention these factors when choosing their academic route. Similar to the SCITT-qualified teachers, all unprepared PGCE teachers would recommend the profession and have not considered leaving. However, participant three states they would change their academic route to one that paid more, this opinion is unique to the study. Further analysis of why they did not feel prepared did lead to correlating answers to those from unprepared SCITT NQTs. Teachers three and eleven stated they were unprepared for some challenging behaviours, identical to teachers five and eight. Furthermore, Respondent Sixteen mirrors the feelings of Participant Six, stating that utilising a teaching assistant and not having a mentor meant a steep learning curve. Therefore, it could once again be argued that it is the individual’s feelings and perceptions and not the academic route that prepares an NQT for their first term.
Respondents two and fifteen gained QTS via B.Ed., and both felt unprepared for their first term, although, similar to all previous participants, they would not have changed their academic route into teaching. Both teachers also stated that they have considered leaving the profession to pursue other careers, although both also later remark that they get a high level of job satisfaction. Similar to previous responses, Participant Fifteen also felt unprepared for challenging behaviours, whereas Teacher Two broadly covered all aspects of becoming an NQT, stating nobody is prepared for their first term. Therefore, this study indicates that although some individuals may not have felt prepared for their first term as an NQT, there is no correlation between academic route and preparedness. However, a reoccurring theme of a lack of experiencing challenging behaviour has been established.
After analysing the respondents who did not feel prepared, a comparative examination of those who did feel prepared was required to establish any further trends. Firstly, the information from B.Ed. qualified teachers were analysed and compared to the previous findings. No relevant correlations were found when comparing the data. Initially, this could be interpreted as a positive result, as any similarities may indicate inaccurate information or analysis. However, correlations between these respondents’ answers were established. Firstly, both chose this academic route as they both knew they wanted to be teachers at an early age and wanted a degree specific to the profession. Secondly, both teachers have considered leaving the profession due to high levels of paperwork and stress. Furthermore, unlike previous respondents who would recommend a career in teaching, neither Participant 13 nor Fourteen would.
Secondly, the data from the PGCE teachers who felt prepared was compared and contrasted with the previous data. Respondents one and four gave unique answers when asked why they took this academic route. However, participant Nine’s response was in line with the other PGCE-qualified teachers; it was a one-year course. All three participants were happy with their academic avenue, although teacher one elaborates further, explaining after speaking to peers they would like to have tried the SCITT route as it was more hands-on (appendix 2). Furthermore, teachers one and four have not considered leaving the profession, whereas, similar to the prepared PGCE-qualified teachers, participant nine has considered leaving due to heavy workloads. Additionally, as opposed to B.Ed. prepared teachers all three PGCE teachers would recommend becoming a teacher.
Finally, the data from participants seven and ten, who gained QTS via School Direct, as well as respondent twelve, who gained QTS via GTP, was brought into analysis first. Upon investigation, all three respondents gave the same answers to several questions when asked, “why did you choose this route to teaching?” they answered that for a more hands-on experience, similar to the SCITT-qualified teachers. When asked if they felt prepared for their first term, happy with their academic pathway, and would recommend becoming a teacher, they all responded yes. Additionally, when asked if they would leave or have considered leaving the profession, they all answered no. However, the SCITT-qualified teachers also said they were happy with the academic route they took. Additionally, the GTP and School Direct teachers also stated they enjoyed the hands-on approach to learning, similar to that of SCITT. The two School Direct participants said they were prepared for their first term, although the GTP-qualified teacher stated that it was a steep learning curve without a mentor, and they still felt prepared. Therefore, this study would indicate that School Direct and GTP prepare an individual more than PGCE, SCITT and B.Ed., which is not reflected in the literature review. However, it was implied that there was no competition prevalent in any of the Academic Avenue preparations towards an individual’s growth.
Furthermore, the literature review also emphasised that there was no correlation between an individual’s original degree and their preparedness for becoming a teacher. This study cannot corroborate these findings either, as presented in graph four below the participants had a variety of original degrees prior to beginning their chosen academic route. Further analysis of the data revealed one trend relating to teachers who hold BAs in primary education. It was found that all four respondents emphasised a lack of knowledge when dealing with challenging behaviour; the other teacher who mirrored this sentiment holds a Youth and Childhood studies degree. In theory, these teachers should have more pedagogical knowledge than their peers who held degrees in Drama, Business and Personal, Sports Development and Computing, however, this study indicates to the contrary. However, having knowledge of the theoretical concepts when dealing with challenging behaviour and putting this into practice is not necessarily an easy task (McLaughlin, 2017).
Participants were also asked if they would consider leaving the profession and, if so, why; this information was analysed further and split into a yes and no, and charted out in the form of a tally chart. This data showed trends that teachers five and eleven had left and returned to teaching on a part-time basis, both citing heavy workloads, although no further correlations between these two teachers were found. The most popular response was that the teacher had not considered leaving the profession, with over half stating this. However, the remaining thirty-seven per cent have considered leaving the profession with various answers, as illustrated in graph five below. Six main themes were established. However, challenging behaviour and heavy workloads were perceived as the most prominent reasons. This information corresponds to the literature review, which indicated that these teachers might leave the profession within the next ten years.
The literature also indicated that teachers in the profession for ten years or less are more likely to leave due to rising workloads and challenging behaviour. Of the ten teachers who cited heavy workloads and challenging behaviour, only two have been in the profession for over ten years. This statistic could be perceived as worrying if the literature review is correct. Additionally, only one respondent said they would consider leaving for more money, which further corroborates the fact that extrinsic motivators such as financial gain are not considered important factors when leaving teaching.
The majority of the participants wanted to join the profession for altruistic or intrinsic reasons, with three respondents giving extrinsic answers. Firstly, one cited that they had changed their career, whereas a further two wanted to spend more time with their family. Further dissection of this qualitative information established a further eight trends as illustrated below in graph six. However, no correlations were found between an academic route and these themes, indicating that this choice is unique to each individual. Furthermore, this indicates that these academic routes are all advertised and available equally.
This data could be perceived as positive if the literature review is correct in the correlation between positively motivated teachers and their student’s motivation. Although no questionnaires were considered for students, this study cannot corroborate these findings. Additionally, individuals who gave altruistic and intrinsic motivations to become teachers were considered less likely to consider leaving the profession. Whereas, contrary to the literature review this study’s findings imply that any teacher may consider leaving the profession at any time. Furthermore, in accordance with the literature review, this study indicates that none of the participants wanted to join the profession for financial reward. However, the literature review established that the government is attempting to retain and recruit more teachers with financial incentives. These results can translate into the positive trend found in the candidate that was solely continuing their professional careers based on their preference for the career itself. In the literature review, it was noted that most of the candidates were likely to be affected by elements of motivation and demotivation prevailing in their environment. The data acquired from the survey paints a completely different picture in this perspective. Most of the trends analysed display the candidates selecting and keeping their careers based on their preferences. The element of financial gain, as mentioned in the literature review, is not that effective in this criterion. The tally chart above clarifies the distinctive presentation in which most of the teachers in the survey responded with relatively higher response rates in terms of valuing education and enjoying their time teaching children. Teaching experience is another important factor that needs to be taken into consideration, and it was mentioned in the literature review as well. An insight into this point highlighted some key elements, but since the questions did not include anything relevant to asking the candidate’s age, it was still left to build it up on the assumption.
Conclusion
This study primarily set out to establish if there was one academic avenue into teaching that prepares an individual more than another. The initial data would indicate that School Direct and GTP prepare a teacher for their first term as an NQT; however, upon further analysis, this study corroborates previous findings that there is not one academic route that prepares an NQT for their first term more than another. However, this study had minimal respondents limiting the amount of comparable data consequentially, only five academic routes out of a possible twelve were examined. Therefore, this conclusion can only be based on the academic avenues that this study has examined.
In a further analysis, it has been suggested that there are two main factors when making this decision: financial implications and readiness to manage a classroom. However, there are some School Direct courses that give individuals the option to take courses, presenting them the opportunity to gain PGCE for an additional two thousand pounds. However, this fee is not eligible for a student loan, and as such, it cannot be granted to the individual. Moreover, proving to be of great importance to an individual, these routes may benefit them along the lines of providing them with well-acquainted experience for their future careers. In addition to this, the courses of SCITT and GTP present a fundamental requirement for the individual to locate and arrange a placement for themselves in a school of their choice. The current secretary for education, Justine Greening, has recently announced plans to offer a further avenue into teaching; degree apprenticeship for graduates takes approximately eighteen months to complete. This academic pathway was designed ‘especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds who are deterred from studying a traditional full-time programme by high tuition fees and student debt’ (2018). Decision criteria to take teaching as a professional career is quite unique to each individual.
Research indicates that prior to making a decision on an academic pathway, an individual must first decide that they want to become a teacher. The use of questionnaires seemed relatively smart, and the initial expectation associated with the results was that they needed to have at least a ten per cent response rate, providing results that may provide sufficient comparable data for analysis. The pilot process, although repeated, bore better feedback, in which most of the feedback held a positive edge, along with the data sample holding a high percentage of relevance, and possible themes also became visible during the process. Many researchers highly regard the use of a multi-method approach, and employing its application is considered to be a good practice. In the process of finding and analysis, it was revealed that the most popular academic route for the participants was PGCE, followed by a Bachelor’s degree in Education. The questions based on the participant’s age were not included in the questionnaire, so it is impossible to conclude whether the participants were younger than their peers or not. In relation to this, the literature review included a scenario where candidates felt hesitant towards going for teaching as a professional career since they found it less comforting to teach either because the pupil they were meant to teach was only five years younger than them or were not ready to take on teaching at all.
The findings also indicate that satisfaction with the academic route and preparedness for the first term as an NQT is also unrelated. Rather, each individual’s unique perception of preparedness affects this response. As a result of using open questions as opposed to a Likert scale, themes were established on respondent’s answers. On the other hand, a Likert scale gathers data from a set of pre-determined questions to try to prove that a trend exists. These themes suggest that approximately half of all NQTs will feel prepared following their ITT, whereas a quarter will feel the academic avenue into teaching they took did not expose them to enough challenging behaviour. The likely reason these individuals feel this way is because ITT is conducted in schools Ofsted considers good or outstanding, limiting the trainee’s interaction with challenging behaviour, although, without holding follow-up interviews to confirm, this is purely speculative. However, this suggests that it would be beneficial to expose trainee teachers to more challenging behaviour prior to gaining QTS.
Furthermore, this research acknowledges previous findings that suggest that an individual’s original degree has no bearing on how prepared to become a teacher they will be. However, this study highlighted a theme that participants with degrees in education and youth felt they had less experience with challenging behaviour than their peers. These individuals later gained QTS via different establishments. Therefore, the only correlating factor is the original degree. However, this may be purely coincidental as most degrees in education require work experience in the sector, which should expose these participants to some challenging behaviour. Furthermore, most educational degrees cover challenging behaviour, equipping individuals with techniques and theories for conflict resolution and calming pupils. Additionally, as no follow-up interviews or questionnaires were used, no conclusion can be drawn from this correlation. However, this study would initially suggest that an individual’s original degree has no bearing on their preparedness to become a teacher.
Finally, this research investigated the motivations for becoming a teacher and highlighted that most respondents answered altruistically and intrinsically, as suggested in the literature review. These motivational factors have been associated with good positive relationships and good role models for pupils; however, as no data was gathered from these teachers’ pupils, this study cannot corroborate this. Although the literature review also implied that these teachers were less likely to consider leaving the profession, this study does not support this claim. This study proposes that any teacher may consider leaving the profession due to new stresses such as challenging behaviour and higher workloads.
Therefore, this study proposes that even though reoccurring themes appear throughout the qualitative and quantitative questions, an individual’s perspective and personality have the most significance in their preparedness for their first term as an NQT, not the academic route they took to get there. However, in the ongoing debate of nature versus nurture, it could be argued that each respondent’s academic route, including the original degree, had an effect on their personality.
Recommendations
The original methodology for this study seemed reasonable. However, it had multiple flaws, which, if amended, would have yielded much more comparable information. To begin the study should have been agreed with several schools prior to inception, this could have been done by visiting schools rather than telephoning them. This personal yet professional approach may have added some confidence to the head teachers that this study was serious enough to warrant participation; furthermore, at this point, possible follow-up interviews with teachers and students could have been discussed. Instead, schools were telephoned, and head teachers rarely had time to discuss this study. Consequentially, the questionnaires and cover letters were emailed to generic school email addresses. The lack of responses is likely as these emails were never actually read by the intended recipient.
The original question of the study was amended several times over several weeks, leading to confusion and poorly managed time. The original question focused more on an individual’s original degree, their preparedness to teach and consideration for leaving the profession. Therefore, research around this topic began with the original hypothesis that a teacher with more pedagogical knowledge would likely stay in the profession, a hypothesis that this study has proved to be wrong. This process took six weeks prior to commencement, which ended up being time wasted after the initial dissertation meeting agreed on the topic needed to be amended.
As a consequence of deviating from the original question, the format of the questionnaire design was amended from its original layout (appendix 3) taking a further eight weeks. Additionally, the original questionnaire had fewer questions and boxes for participants to put their answers. Following research, reflection and peer feedback led to the questionnaire being amended, although two questions were added, which were later regrettably removed. Initially, age and gender were asked but were considered to be too personal and possibly irrelevant to the study. However, this data would have also led to further comparisons to the literature review, such as the links between the age of the individual and QTS.
Additionally, a Head Teacher’s questionnaire (appendix 4) was sent out to schools to try to establish if there was a reference to how a potential employee gained QTS. Other questions, such as whether your ambition was originally to become a head teacher, would allow for further analysis. Furthermore, a comparison of the Head Teachers’ answers to that of the teachers may have also discovered previously unknown themes.
Time management and preparation towards this study were greatly underestimated, with double the amount of time being spent amending both the question and questionnaire. Consequentially, this caused the other processes mentioned above to be rushed, leading to oversights (Mutton, Burn, and Menter 2017).
As this was a qualitative study, it would have also been interesting to ask the question: how can the government improve the teaching profession? To compare the answers of a teacher to government policies and regulations had the potential to highlight possible areas of change to help retain teachers. In addition to this, there are several other recommendations that can provide a positive outcome for individuals in the teaching profession. For instance, the factor of low income is a negative impact on most professionals, the government can provide a positive impact on the teaching profession by introducing positive elements such as training and support for the young individuals. These training and support workshops will enable the teachers to become more capable of addressing the needs of children with emotional and academic needs, providing them with better classroom environments to study and develop their educational skills.
An analysis of regional and national newspaper coverage based on teachers and the related issues arising in education reported around the timeline between the years 2003 and 2005. Some of the reported issues brought pressing matters to the surface, but eventually, none of these issues was strong enough from a social crisis perspective to make the front page. This brings about the question of whether education is getting the proper limelight that it should in the present social and economic structure. Media can prove to be a strong asset towards building a better image based on the value of teachers, and as such, it can motivate the youth to invest their future in this profession without worrying about elements that will otherwise hold them back.
There are a number of methods through which teaching as a profession can be encouraged. Supportive elements include providing them with workshops, raising the income for these teachers, training programs, and improving the overall teaching environment within schools and classrooms (Roberts and Foster 2016). These methods can introduce positive feedback from children, enabling them to acquire more and, in the long run, deliver more to the community as future educated professionals offering their services in the job market. The present education system, as noted in the literature review, specifies the various fields of the teaching profession which are underdeveloped and need proper constructive support. The need to raise awareness for programs such as QTS and enable individuals to acquire a job position without giving them the hassle of locating one by themselves will result as a motivating factor for the education department.
The present research methodology helped locate key areas for improvement. However, it still does not provide enough insight into the teaching profession, the impact of academic avenues on education and preparedness for individuals in the teaching profession. Numerous other questions can help provide feedback from the students as well to see if the teachers they study under are well prepared to teach them. Another factor that can be worked upon is having the schools present an open approach towards surveys. Since, in the first attempt, the schools in the first sample size rejected the survey. This translates into having a slightly biased sample analysis with a limited amount of schools and teachers being interviewed. The results could have shown a different analysis altogether if it had been based on a much larger sample size, but with restrictions such as time confinement and family commitment, only a few of the schools were chosen in the second attempt.
References
Akarsu, B. Kariper, A. (2015) ‘Investigation of pre-service teachers views on teaching as a profession’, Bulgarian Journal of Science and Education [Online]. Available at http://bjsep.org/getfile.php?id=184 (Accessed 07 January 2018).
Allen, R. Burgess, S. Mayo, J. (2018) ‘The teacher labour market, teacher turnover and disadvantaged schools; new evidence for England’, Education Economics, Vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 4-23.
Barratt Hacking, C. Jones, M. Martin, S. Webber, P. (2014) From trainee to newly qualified teacher: Drivers and barriers to using ePortfolios as an NQT, ePIC, pp.113-117.
Baeten, M. Meeus, W. (2016) ‘Training Second-Career Teachers: A Different Student Profile, A Different Training Approach?’, Educational Process, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 173-201.
Baloo (2015) ‘PGCE vs School Direct’, The Student Room [Blog]. Available at https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3248495 (Accessed 25 November 2017).
Bauer, C. Thomas, S. Sim, C. (2017) ‘Mature age professionals: Factors influencing their decision to make a career change into teaching’, Issues in Educational Research, vol. 27, no.2, pp. 185-197.
Bell, J. (1996) Doing your research project, 2nd edn, Philadelphia, Open University Press.
Brannen, J. (2017) Mixing methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Research, London, Routledge.
Braun, V. Clarke, V. (2006) ‘Using thematic analysis in psychology’, Qualitative research in Psychology, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 77-101.
British Educational Research Association (2011) Ethical guidelines for Educational Research [Online]. Available at http://content.yudu.com/Library/A2xnp5/Bera/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http://free.yudu.com/item/details/2023387/Bera (Accessed 06 October 2017).
Bieg, S. Backes, S. Mittag, W. (2011) ‘The role of intrinsic motivation for teaching, Teachers’ care and autonomy support in students self-determined motivation’, Journal for Educational Research, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 122-140.
Borman, G. Dowling, M. (2017) ‘Teacher attrition and retention: a Meta analytic and narrative review of the research’, Review of educational research, vol. 78, no. 3, pp. 367-409.
Bryman, A. (2015) Social Research Methods, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Burgess, T. (2001) A general introduction to the design of questionnaires for survey research [Online]. Available at http://iss.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/top2.pdf (Accessed 12 January 2018).
Burgueno, R. Sicilia, A. Medina-Casaubon, J. Alcaraz-Ibanez, M. Lirola, M. (2017) ‘Academic motivation scale revised. Inclusion of integrated regulation to measure motivation in initial teacher education’, Scientific Information system [Online]. Available at http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/167/16752019025.pdf (Accessed 06 January 2018).
Casebeer, A. Verhoef, M. (1997) ‘Combining qualitative and quantitative research methods: Considering the possibilities for enhancing the study of chronic disease’ Chronic diseases in Canada, vol. 18, no. 3 [Online]. Available at http://web.pdx.edu/~stipakb/download/PA555/Qual-Quan3.htm (Accessed 13 January 2018).
Casey, C. Childs, R. (2017) ‘Teacher education program admission criteria and what beginning teachers need to know to be successful teachers’, Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, vol. 67.
Chiong, C. Menzies, L. Parameshwaran, M. (2017) ‘Why do long‐serving teachers stay in the teaching profession? Analysing the motivations of teachers with 10 or more years’ experience in England’, British Educational Research Journal, vol. 43, no. 6, pp.1083-1110.
Clandinin, D. Schaefer, L. Downey, C. Steeves, P. (2015) ‘Early career teacher attrition: intentions of teachers beginning’, Teaching Education, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 1-16.
Cooper, J. Alvarado, A. (2006) ‘Preparation, recruitment and retention of teachers’, Education Policy Series, no. 5, UNESCO.
Coulthard, M. Kyriacou, C. (2002) ‘Does teaching as a career offer what students are looking for?’ in Menter, I. Hutchings, M. Ross, A. The crisis in teacher supply, Trentham, Institute of Education Press, pp. 29-57.
Darling-Hammond, L. McLaughlin, W. (1995) ‘Policies that support professional development in an era of reform’, Phi delta kappan, vol. 76, no. 8, p.597.
Davies, M. Hughes, N. (2014) Doing a successful research project: Using qualitative or quantitative methods’, 2nd edn, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
Den Brok, P. Van der Want, A. Claessens, L. Pennings, H. Wubbles, T. Brekelmans, J. Van Tartwijk, J. (2013) Teachers’ choices for the teaching career and their
Teacher-student interpersonal relationships in the classroom [Online]. Available at https://pure.tue.nl/ws/files/3623964/2828630307136.pdf (Accessed 05 January 2018).
Department for Education (2017) Get into Teaching [Online]. Available at www.getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-salary/overview (Accessed 25 November 2017).
Department for Education (2015) Initial teacher training census for the academic year 2015 – 2016, England [Online]. Available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478098/ITT_CENSUS_SFR_46_2015_to_2016.pdf (Accessed 11 April 2018).
Department for Education (2016) School Workforce in England: November 2015 [Online]. Available at www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/533618/SFR21_2016_MainText.pdf (Accessed 04 January 2018).
Dudovskiy, J. (2016) The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dissertation in Business Studies: A Step-by-Step Assistance [Online]. Available at https://research-methodology.net/about-us/ebook/ (Accessed 28 October 2017).
Educate (2017) School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) [Online]. Available at www.educateteachertraining.co.uk/routes/ (Accessed 25 November 2017).
Edustaff (2015) ‘School Direct or PGCE?’, Edustaff recruitment for schools, 08 January [Blog]. Available at https://www.edustaff.co.uk/community/15_ (Accessed 25 November 2017).
Elieff, T. (2016) ‘Teachers’ positive attitude linked to greater intrinsic motivation in students’, enliveminds, March 25 [Blog]. Available at https://enlivenminds.org/2016/03/25/can-cant-simple-recipe-for-teacher-success/ (Accessed 04 January 2018).
Evans I, Thornton H, Chalmers I. Galsiou, P. (2011) ‘Research – good, bad and unnecessary’, In Evans I, Thornton H, Chalmers I. Galsiou, P (Eds.), Testing Treatments: Better Research for Better Healthcare, London, Pinter & Martin, pp.115-130.
Flick, U. (2014) An Introduction to qualitative research, London, Sage.
Future Teaching Scholars (2017) Future Teaching Scholars [Online]. Available at www.futureteachingscholars.com/ (Accessed 26 November 2017).
Gibbons, S. Scrutinio, V. Telhaj, S. (2018) ‘Teacher Turnover: Does it Matter for Pupil
Achievement?’, No. dp1530, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
Glaser, B. Strauss, A. (1967) The discovery of the grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research, London, Aldine Transaction.
Golder, G. Stevens, J. (2015) 17 Beyond your teacher education. Learning to Teach Physical Education in the Secondary School: A Companion to School Experience, London, Sage, p.271.
Gorard, S. (2017) ‘How Prepared Do Newly-Qualified Teachers Feel? Differences between Routes and Settings?’, Journal of Education for Teaching, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 3-19.
Gov.uk (2015b) Data Protection Act 1998 [Online], Available at www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/29/contents (Accessed 06 October 2017).
GOV.UK (2015a) Top graduates to get up to £30k to train to teach core subjects [Online]. Available at www.gov.uk/government/news/top-graduates-to-get-up-to-30k-to-train-to-teach-core-subjects (Accessed 04 January 2018).
Hertz, R. Imber, J. (1995) Studying elites using qualitative methods, California, Thousand Oaks.
Hopkins, D. (2015) Improving the quality of education for all: A handbook of staff development Activities, Oxford, Routledge.
House of Commons Education Committee. (2017) Recruitment and Retention of Teachers, London [online]. Available:
https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmeduc/199/199.pdf (Accessed 10 January 2018).
Hunter-Johnson, Y. (2015) ‘Demystifying the Mystery of Second Career Teachers’ Motivation to Teach’, The Qualitative Report, vol. 20, no. 8, pp. 1359-1370.
Hellsten, L. Prytula, M (n.d) Why Teaching? Motivations influencing beginning teachers’ choice of profession and teaching practice [Online]. Available at www.aabri.com/manuscripts/11882.pdf (Accessed 06 January 2018).
Independent School Council (2017) Independent School Council [Online]. Available at www.iscteachertraining.co.uk/for-trainees/routes-into-teaching/ (Accessed 25 November 2017).
Ingersoll, R. Merrill, L. May, H. (2014) What are the effects of teacher education and preparation on beginning teacher attrition? [Online]. Available at www.cpre.org/sites/default/files/researchreport/2018_prepeffects2014.pdf (Accessed 07 January 2018).
Jackson, A. Burch, J. (2016) ‘School direct, a policy for initial teacher training in England: Plotting a principled pedagogical path through a changing landscape’, Professional Development in Education, Vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 511-526.
Jungert, T. Alm, F. Thornberg, R. (2014) ‘Motives for becoming g a teacher and their relations to academic engagement and dropout among student teachers’, Journal of education and teaching: International research and pedagogy, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 173-185.
Kelley, K. Clark, B. Brown, V. Sitzia, J. (2003) ‘Good practice in the conduct and reporting of survey research’, International Journal for Quality in Health Care, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 261-266 [Online]. Available at https://academic.oup.com/intqhc/article/15/3/261/1856193 (Accessed 12 January 2018).
London School of economics and political science (2017) London School of economics and political science [Online]. Available at www.lse.ac.uk/intranet/CareersAndVacancies/careersService/EmploymentSectors/Teaching/Qualifying.aspx (Accessed 26 November 2017).
Lindqvist, P. Nordanger, U. Carlson, R. (2014) ‘Teacher attrition in the first five years – a multifaceted approach’, Teaching and teacher education, vol. 40, pp. 94-103.
LSE (2016) How do I bring qualitative and quantitative data together? [Online]. Available at www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/BestPracticeGuide/FAQ33.aspx (Accessed 13 January 2018).
Mansfield, F. Beltman, S. Broadley, T. Weatherby-Fell, N. (2016) ‘Building resilience in teacher education: An evidenced informed framework’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol.54, pp.77-87.
Marsh, S. (2015) ‘Five top reasons people become teachers – and why they quit’, the Guardian, 27 January [Online]. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/jan/27/five-top-reasons-teachers-join-and-quit (Accessed 10 January 2018).
McInnerney, L. (2017) ‘Your child’s teacher could soon be an undergraduate on £3.50 an hour’, The Guardian, 17 October [Online]. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/oct/17/teacher-undergrad-school-vacancies-cheap (Accessed 13 January 2018).
McLaughlin, B. (2017) Putting theory into practice in the contemporary classroom: Theory lessons, Cambridge, Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
McPeake, J. Meghan, B. O’Neil, A. (2014) ‘Electronic surveys: how to maximise successes, Nurse Researcher, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 24 – 25 [Online]. Available at http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/94239561/electronic-surveys-how-maximise-success (Accessed 02 November 2017).
Mutton, T. Burn, K. Menter, I. (2017) ‘Deconstructing the Carter Review: Competing
conceptions of quality in England’s ‘school-led ‘system of initial teacher education’, Journal of Education Policy, vol. 32, no. 1, pp.14-33.
National College for Teaching and Leadership (2015) Newly qualified teachers’ annual survey 2015 [Online]. Available at http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/24752/1/Newly_Qualified_Teachers_Annual_Survey_2015.pdf (Accessed 07 January 2018).
National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (1999) Best Practices for data collectors and data providers [Online]. Available at www.regents.la.gov/assets/docs/2013/03/1999191.pdf (Accessed 12 January 2018).
Neuman, L. (2010) ‘Chapter 6: Strategies of Research Design Research Design’, in Neuman, L (Eds) ‘Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods’ 7th edn, New Jersey, Pearson Education, pp 351-369.
NUT (2017) Teacher Recruitment and Retention [Online]. Available at www.teachers.org.uk/edufacts/teacher-recruitment-and-retention (Accessed 07 January 2018).
Patten, M. (2016) Questionnaire Research: A Practical Guide, 4th edn, London, Routledge.
Premier Pathways (2017) Premier Pathways [Online]. Available at https://premierpathways.co.uk/ (Accessed 26 November 2017).
Prospects, (2017a). Prospects [Online]. Available at www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/teacher-training-and-education/routes-into-teaching (Accessed 7 October 2017).
Prospects, (2017a). Degree Apprenticeships [Online]. Available at www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/teacher-training-and-education/routes-into-teaching (Accessed 7 October 2017).
Ratcliffe, R. (2014) ‘Thinking about changing career in teaching? Here are 5 ways to get started,’ The Guardian, 22 August [Online]. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/aug/22/routes-into-teaching-best-route (Accessed 5 December 2017).
Researchers in Schools (2017) Researchers in Schools [Online]. Available at www.researchersinschools.org/ (Accessed 26 November 2017).
Richardson, P. Watt, H. (2005a) ‘I’ve decided to become a teacher: Influences on career change’, Teaching and Education, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 475-489.
Richardson, P. Watt, H. (2014b) ‘Why people choose teaching as a career: An expectancy-value approach to understanding teacher motivation’, In Richardson, P. Karabenick, S. Watt, G (Eds.), Teacher motivation: Theory and practice, New York: Routledge, pp. 3-19.
Robbins, L. (1963) Higher Education, London, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office [Online]. Available at http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/robbins/robbins1963.html (Accessed 25 January 2018).
Roberts, N. Foster, D. (2016) Initial teacher training in England.
Salifu, I. Agbenyega, S. (2016) ‘Teacher motivation and identity formation: Issues affecting professional practice’, MIER Journal of Educational Studies, Trends and Practices, vol. 3, no. 1.
Saroyan, A. Trigwell, K. (2015) ‘Higher education teachers’ professional learning: Process and outcome’, Studies in Educational Evaluation, vol. 46, pp.92-101.
Sharif, T. Upadhyay, D. Ahmed, E. (2016) Motivational factors influencing teaching (FIT) as a career: An empirical study of the expatriate teachers in the Emirates [Online]. Available at www.aabss.org.au/system/files/published/001308-published-amecbss-2016-dubai.pdf (Accessed 06 January 2018).
Simonsz, H (2016) Educational Goals and Motivations for Training as a Teacher of Student Teachers [Online], European Educational Research Association. Available at www.eera-ecer.de/ecer-programmes/conference/22/contribution/42030/ (Accessed 05 January 2018).
Stanley, J. (2015) ‘Survive and thrive as a new teacher’, Seced, vol. 19, pp.9-9.
Tang, Y. Wong, K. Cheng, M. (2016) ‘Configuring the three-way relationship among
student teachers’ competence to work in schools, professional learning and teaching motivation in initial teacher education, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 60, pp.344-354.
Tes (2016) Tes [Online]. Available at www.tes.com/institute/blog/which-teaching-qualification-right-me (Accessed 11 December 2017).
Thanh, N. Thanh, T. (2015) ‘The interconnection between interpretivist paradigm and qualitative methods in education’, American Journal of Educational Science, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 24-27 [Online]. Available at https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/79e6/888e672cf2acf8afe2ec21fd42a29b2cbd90.pdf (Accessed 25 January 2018).
Thornton, M. Bricheno, P. (n.d) Students’ reasons for wanting to teach in primary school [Online]. Available at http://uhra.herts.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/2299/3918/100343.pdf?sequence=1 (Accessed 06 January 2018).
Trafford, B. (2017) ‘Plan ahead: Meeting the six NQT criteria’, Seced, vol. 33.
UCAS (2018) Degree apprenticeships [Online]. Available at www.ucas.com/degree-apprenticeships (Accessed 13 January 2018).
UNESCO (2016) The world needs almost 69 million new teachers to reach the 2030 education goals [Online]. Available at http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002461/246124e.pdf (Accessed 10 January 2018).
Whiting, C. Whitty, G. Menter, I., Black, P. Hordern, J. Parfitt, A. Reynolds, K. Sorensen, N. (2018) Diversity and complexity: Becoming a teacher in England in 2015–2016, Review of Education.
Wilson, E. (2017) School-based research: a guide for education students, London, Sage.
Worth, J. Lazzari, G. (2017) Teacher Retention and turnover research [Online]. Available at https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/Research%20Update%201.pdf (Accessed 10 January 2018).
Zuzovsky, R. Donitsa-Schmidt, S. (2014) ‘Turning to Teaching: Second Career Student Teachers’ Intentions, Motivations, and Perceptions about the Teaching Profession’, International Education Research, vol. 2, no.3, pp. 01-17 [Online]. Available at http://www.todayscience.org/IER/article/ier.v2i3p01.pdf (Accessed 07 January 2018).
Appendix
Appendix 1
Why did you want to become a teacher? (If there are multiple reasons, please list)
How long have you been a qualified teacher?
What was your first-degree qualification?
Do you have a specialist subject? If so, what is that?
MATHS, ENGLISH SCIENCE, AND OTHER
Which age range do you teach in?
5-7 7-11 11-16 OTHER
How did you gain QTS?
(I.e. PGCE, School Direct, Teach First, etc.)
Why did you choose this route for teaching? (If there are multiple reasons, please list)
Do you feel as though you were completely prepared for your first term as NQT? If not, please state why.
Are you happy with the academic pathway you took, and why? Furthermore, what would you have done differently?
Have you left and returned or considered leaving the education sector? If so, please explain why.
Finally, how likely are you to recommend becoming a teacher to a pupil or peer?
Appendix 2
Why did you want to become a teacher? (If there are multiple reasons, please list)
I want to benefit the next generation and try to help where I can so the world becomes a better place.
How long have you been a qualified teacher?
3 years
What was your first-degree qualification?
Foundation degree in teaching and learning
Do you have a specialist subject? If so, what is that?
MATHS, ENGLISH SCIENCE, AND OTHER
Which age range do you teach in?
5-7 7-11 11-16 OTHER
How did you gain QTS?
(I.e. PGCE, School Direct, Teach First, etc.)
PGCE
Why did you choose this route for teaching? (If there are multiple reasons, please list)
My sister did it this way, so I simply followed her route, and for her, it was successful.
Do you feel as though you were completely prepared for your first term as NQT? If not, please state why.
I feel I was prepared, but nothing prepares you fully to be thrown into the deep end if you catch my drift.
Are you happy with the academic pathway you took, and why? Furthermore, what would you have done differently?
Yes, but there are now many more ways available and I would have probably done a SCITT in a school of my choosing.
Have you left and returned or considered leaving the education sector? If so, please explain why.
If I ever left education, it would be in pursuit of more money to pay my bills because sometimes needs come first.
Finally, how likely are you to recommend becoming a teacher to a pupil or peer?
Highly it’s so rewarding and beneficial to all those still to come through schools.
Appendix 3
Questionnaire
| What is your degree in? | How did you gain QTS?
(Ie PGCE, School Direct, Teach First, etc.) |
Why did you choose this route for teaching? (If there are multiple reasons, please list) | In hindsight, with no limitations, would you choose a different route to gain QTS? If so, why? |
| Do you feel as though you were completely prepared for your first week as NQT? If not, please state why. | How long have you been a qualified teacher? | Why did you want to become a teacher? (If there are multiple reasons, please list) |
| Have you left and returned or considered leaving the education sector? If so, please explain why. | ||
Cite This Work
To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below:
