‘Two Up’: a case study exploring new Information and Communications Technology teachers' experiences of their second year of teaching

Abstract

This article reports on the experiences of nine new Information and Communications Technology (ICT) teachers in the United Kingdom after their second year of teaching. It builds on earlier papers in which beginner and new ICT teachers are tracked during their training and first years in post. The teachers in this study continued to be positive about their decision to teach and saw relationships with students as the source of their professional satisfaction. All felt they were better teachers in their second year; for example, they were confident in their subject knowledge and better able to plan and manage pupils' learning. Five of the group felt the start of the second year represented a ‘step change’, a significant jump in their confidence and performance. The biggest source of dissatisfaction shared by all members of the group was work overload provoked by the demands of managing students' coursework. The key finding in the research is that members of the group became more relaxed as teachers in their second year. The article discusses teachers' understanding of ‘stern’ and ‘relaxed’ teacher roles and argues that new teachers need to carry out both roles with conviction.