"It was just like jumping into a deep pool and do your best."

The experience and wellbeing of primary school teachers entering the teaching profession

Abstract

Recent studies show that well-being among teachers is diminishing and the main reasons are considered to be an increased workload and lack of support. The demanding and extensive work of teachers is often a challenge for new teachers, leading to limited job satisfaction, poor well-being at work and high turnover among teachers. Research findings have indicated the importance of providing support to new teachers in order to promote their well-being at work and thus to prevent high turnover and teacher shortages. In recent years, knowledge has increased in connection with the importance of well-being at work and has drawn attention to numerous ways of strengthening the well-being of employees. A healthy work environment and a positive workplace culture enhance employees’ well-being and job satisfaction, as well as improving the overall performance of the organization. To promote a healthy working environment in schools and teachers’ well-being, it is important to emphasize supportive leadership, good communication and constructive collaboration. The aim of this study was to examine the experiences and well-being at work among new primary school teachers. A qualitative study was conducted, interviewing nine teachers, all of whom were active primary school teachers in various locations in Iceland with one to two years of work experience in a primary school subsequent to their graduation as teachers. Efforts were made to shed light on the teachers’ experiences in connection with the induction process at the beginning of their work, communication and support from managers and colleagues. Following data analysis, three themes emerged describing participants’ experience as new teachers: 1) The well-being of teachers at the beginning of their work 2) Managerial support at the initial stage of work and 3) The first steps as a supervisory teacher, team support and collaboration. The findings show that the participants experience their work as diverse and challenging and in general they saw the start of their career as positive. However, the findings indicate that the induction process needs to be strengthened as much of the support and guidance the teachers received was initiated by themselves and there was only a limited formal induction programme. The participants experienced their managers as not present and not providing the new teachers with feedback regarding their work. In particular, the findings indicate that formal and professional support and guidance from leaders and peers needs to be strengthened and better structured. Furthermore, the findings indicate the importance of a healthy work environment, good communication and constructive feedback from managers with the potential to promote the wellbeing and success of new teachers. Also, the findings suggest that further preparation is needed regarding practical aspects of teachers’ work during their education. The results of the study could contribute to knowledge regarding a successful entry into the teaching profession and factors that could help increase the likelihood of job satisfaction and well-being among teachers at the beginning of their career. To ensure a successful entry into a new job as a teacher, it is important that schools work according to an onboarding process where school policy and goals are presented. The responsibility for introducing a new teacher, together with feedback and follow-up, is in the hands of the management, and therefore support is urgently needed, for example, from the local authorities in matters relating to human resources. A new teacher must be introduced to the tasks that are a regular aspect of his job, such as assessment work, parental interviews, daily registrations and keeping track of students, roles on break-up days, communication with parents and teachers’ responsibilities regarding continuing education and professional development. Since the tasks of a new teacher are many and varied, managers should offer their help firsthand, ensure access to coaching within the school and inform new recruits about the professional support available within the school as well as from the relevant municipality. Managers need to place greater emphasis on visibility in daily school work to strengthen communication and trust and thus increase the likelihood of teachers’ well-being, job satisfaction and success