New professionalism in austere times: the employment experiences of early career teachers in Scotland (original) (raw)

International concern to raise educational standards and improve teacher quality has directed attention to the need to sustain career long professional learning. Teacher induction and early professional learning (during years 2-6) have been associated with patterns of attrition and improved pupil outcomes. As the economic crisis impacts on public sector employment, the rhetoric of professionalism stands in contrast to the employment experiences of many recently qualified teachers. This article draws on interviews with twenty early career teachers (ECTs) in Scotland who achieved full registration from 2006. Work histories drawn from this smallscale study challenge the implicit assumptions of staged models of teacher development and draw attention to the increasing fragmentation and casualization of experience in the teacher labour market.