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Abstract
This article explores the circumstances in which individuals become secondary school teachers in England and France. Using a social constructivist theoretical framework, it specifically considers how national contexts play out in this decision. The findings presented in this paper draw on a corpus of 60 interviews with a sample of teachers based in English and French secondary schools. They show that national frameworks remain relevant to an exploration of teachers’ identities and cultures, as French and English interviewees draw on distinctive reasons to explain why they became secondary school teachers. While becoming a teacher is often thought of as a ‘vocation’ or as the result of ‘intrinsic’ factors, this paper highlights the role of national contexts, as well as of gender and social class, in this process.
Notes
1. The quotes from French teachers used in this paper have been translated by the author and pseudonyms are used for all interviewees.
2. Secondary school with a curriculum focused on vocational subjects.
3. French Ministry of Education.
4. Teacher training institution.
5. General Certificate of Secondary Education, an exam usually taken at age 15 or 16 in England and Wales.