'Such are the Ambitions of Youth': Exploring issues of retention and attrition of early career teachers in New South Wales

Abstract

In this paper the focus is on the experiences of beginning teachers given ongoing problems with early career resignations and problematic professional mentoring structures. The paper reports a longitudinal study that captures data on transition from student teacher to self-managing professional and maps the terrain of novice to master teacher. The teachers identify strategies to go some way toward addressing the challenge of improving workplace conditions for beginning teachers and thereby enhancing their efficacy.