Does the first year of teaching have to be a bad one? A case study of success

During the past two decades, researchers have shown considerable interest i n teachers engaged in their first year of employment, a career phase believ ed to have long-term implications for teaching effectiveness, job satisfact ion. and career length. One result of this line of inquiry is an extensive set of case studies describing failure in first-year teaching. However. the re are occasional reports of positive examples of teacher induction, and cl ose examination of new teachers who succeed has been suggested as an altern ative means to understand success and failure in teaching. The study report ed here is a case study of success in first-year teaching. Based on observa tions and interviews conducted over the course of one academic year, it foc uses on the descriptions and interpretations of a new physical education te acher at a public school in the United States. The results revealed several factors which impacted the success of the first-year teacher studied. some related to preservice teacher preparation. others to school context, and o thers a result of taking an active role in the school social context. Three major themes evolved: (a) a match between expectations, personality, and w orkplace realities; (b) evidence of impact: and (c) using successful strate gies to manage student behavior and enter the social and political culture of the school. The findings draw attention to the interplay between persona l background, experiences during teacher preparation, and workplace charact eristics as influences of not only relative success in teaching. but also a teacher's perceptions and interpretations of her school, students. and tea ching performance. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.