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Abstract
The research described in this paper is part of a wider exploration of organisational learning and some of the social–psychological mechanisms which underlie the individual–organisation learning relationship. Adopting a grounded theory approach, qualitative data were obtained during email interviews with 15 foundation degree students concerning their work‐related experiences and the meanings they ascribe to them. The importance of this focus group lies in their potential contribution to the Every Child Matters agenda in educational institutions. This group is aspirational, potentially influential, flexible and extremely varied in background, education and training. The teaching assistants and higher level teaching assistants work across the institution with often the most challenging of children and behaviours; negotiating and re‐negotiating their own personal and professional identities against a background of, in many cases, low pay and status. It follows that the pastoral care and support that they receive as paraprofessionals or emergent professionals will have a significant effect on the pastoral care and support that they, in turn, can give to the children in their charge. The research underlines the impact of psychological contracting and the impact of affirming or breaching people’s expectations of feeling safe, being valued as a person and for their work and receiving enacted support for personal, professional and career development. It also emphasises the need for leaders and managers, when bringing about transformational change, to have an informed appreciation of how the processes of psychological contracting can influence people’s behaviours.