The impact of school culture and leadership on new teachers' learning in the workplace

Abstract

Drawing upon empirical data, this article explores the ways in which school culture and leadership impact on new teachers' learning in the workplace. The study was carried out over a two‐year period and involved a cohort of 14 new teachers and 18 elementary and secondary schools. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews with the new teachers and headteachers and a questionnaire which was also administered to all staff in each of the schools. Findings suggest the key role of school culture and leadership in (re)shaping teachers' response to the institutional and situational constraints of the workplace and their learning and socialization process at school. Implications for induction and the role of schools in fostering teacher professional growth are discussed.

Acknowledgement

The author would like to acknowledge Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Programa PRAXIS XXI) for financial support.

Notes

Maria Assunção Flores is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minho, Portugal and holds a PhD in Education from the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research interests include teacher professionalism, teacher education and change. She is currently working on teachers' professional development from a longitudinal perspective. She may be contacted at Universidade do Minho, Instituto de Educaçãoe Psicologia, Campus de Gualtar, 4710 Braga, Portugal (e‐mail: [email protected]).

For a detailed account, see Flores (2001, 2003, 2004).

For more information, see Flores (2004).

Despite this, all new teachers remained in teaching after their first two years of teaching, which may be explained by a number of personal, cultural, social and economic reasons. However, according to the data, there were different levels of motivation, morale and commitment to teaching amongst the participants in the study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Maria AssunÇão Flores

Maria Assunção Flores is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minho, Portugal and holds a PhD in Education from the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research interests include teacher professionalism, teacher education and change. She is currently working on teachers' professional development from a longitudinal perspective. She may be contacted at Universidade do Minho, Instituto de Educaçãoe Psicologia, Campus de Gualtar, 4710 Braga, Portugal (e‐mail: [email protected]).