We have used ‘early career teacher’ (ECT) to describe those teachers who are at the beginning of their teaching careers. In England, this term is used to refer to teachers who are in the first two years of their teaching careers. We have used ‘pre-service teachers’ to describe teachers who are at the pre-qualification stage and undertaking a course of initial teacher training/education (ITT, ITE). In England, the route to qualification to be a teacher is normally through a three- or four-year undergraduate degree programme in ITE, or a one-year postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE). There are also graduate routes which permit entry into teaching which award Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) only.

Globally, the teaching profession is characterised by high workloads and teachers experience significant work-related stress (Savill-Smith, 2019). Teachers are consistently reported to experience an increased risk of developing mental ill health (Kidger et al., 2016; Stansfeld et al., 2011). Research demonstrates that multiple factors impact on teacher wellbeing, including workplace culture (Gray et al., 2017), burnout and low job satisfaction (Madigan & Kim, 2021). In addition, a significant proportion of ECTs leave the teaching profession within five years of entry. Department for Education data in 2024 reported that 32.5% of new entrants to teaching did not remain in the profession after five years (DfE, 2024b). Research demonstrates that the attrition rate of ECTs ranges from 30 to 50 per cent in Australia (Kelly et al., 2019), England (Allen & Sims, 2018), the United States (Sutcher et al., 2019) and Chile (Educar, 2021).

Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs demonstrates how factors such as a sense of belonging and good self-esteem, alongside other physiological and psychological needs, are necessary to achieve self-actualisation. In addition, Deci and Ryan’s (1985) self-determination theory highlights the importance of belonging, connectedness and autonomy in fostering human motivation. Therefore, if early career teachers fail to flourish in the profession, this raises questions about the extent to which the basic needs which underpin motivation are being met.

Alarming rates of teacher attrition (Hackman & Morath, 2018; Tickle, 2018) have triggered research on teacher quality, readiness, resilience, induction, and school culture (Clandinin et al., 2015; Curran et al., 2019; Dupriez et al., 2016; Glazer, 2018; Trent, 2019; Wyatt & O’Neill, 2021). Teacher wellbeing and teacher attrition are interlinked, with both characterised in ‘crisis’ terms (Falecki & Mann, 2021). They work together to produce a powerful narrative of teachers experiencing unprecedented levels of stress, being ‘burned out’ (Tapper, 2018) and leaving the profession ‘in droves’ (Fearn, 2017). These issues are not specific to ECTs. They apply to teachers at all stages of their careers. However, the exodus of ECTs is particularly concerning given the cost to the public purse.

Education in England operates within a neoliberal performativity discourse which emphasizes the need for teachers to perform and achieve good examination results (Ball, 2003). Studies highlight the damaging effects of increased accountability in teaching, including inducing anxiety and fear (Nathaniel et al., 2016), fatigue and demoralisation (Buchanan, 2010), and the adverse impact on teachers’ physical and mental wellbeing (Education Support, 2023; Manning et al., 2020). Internationally, Lambert and Gray (2021), writing about the Australian context, have emphasised that ‘The normative construction of quality teaching and the good teacher in education culture fetishizes over-work’ (p.940). In England, the unrelenting demands of school inspections have resulted in teachers working longer hours than teachers in most other countries (Dolton et al., 2018). An interesting contrast is the education system in Finland where early career teachers work largely autonomously, experience research-based teacher training, and enjoy a culture of support and trust (Sahlberg, 2010, 2011; Tirri, 2014).

The introduction of the Early Career Framework (ECF) (DfE, 2019) in England might be viewed as a step in the right direction to address the problem of ECT attrition. The ECF is a structured two-year package of professional development, designed to support early career teacher development in five core areas – behaviour management, pedagogy, curriculum, assessment and professional behaviours. It is aligned to the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2011) and aims to build on the knowledge that pre-service teachers gained during the ITE phase. A revised framework, the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) (DfE, 2024a) was launched in 2024 to provide a seamless thread of content to support teacher development from ITT to ECT. In England, all new entrants to teaching must complete a two-year induction programme of structured professional development and mentoring post qualification. The ITTECF outlines the minimum content knowledge (see Figure 1) which new teachers must learn through structured professional development and mentoring. The Framework supports Early Career Teachers to meet the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2011). Teachers must pass this two-year induction phase before they are permitted to continue working as a teacher.

Given that the early stages of a teaching career can be overwhelming and stressful, as ECTs navigate the challenges of the realities of classroom life (Murtagh et al. 2024), and in view of the fact that they often experience a ‘reality shock’ (Wang & Odell 2002), the framework, which is underpinned by structured mentoring, training and professional development, can support the process of enculturation into the teaching profession. In fact, research illuminates the professional challenges that ECTs experience (Harmsen et al., 2018; Hobson et al., 2009; Pillen et al., 2013; Voss & Kunter, 2020) and therefore it is critical that professional learning and development is relevant to the specific contexts in which ECTs are working, so that they are supported to learn how to navigate various professional challenges. Training and development which is decontextualised or simply repeats what they have already learned during the ITE phase is arguably less beneficial (Murtagh et al., 2024). From a critical standpoint, it might be argued that the ECF is a regulatory tool which places early career teachers under increased surveillance (Glazzard, 2023). Arguably, it decreases their professional autonomy and produces technical teachers (Glazzard, 2023). It is reductionist in that it privileges specific pedagogical approaches and forces ECTs to engage with government-approved research (Murtagh et al., 2024).

In line with Jindal-Snape et al. (2021), we view transitions as a process of adaptation rather than the change itself. Although we acknowledge that transitions can be normative (i.e., they are expected to happen at fixed times, for example the transition from pre-service teacher to qualified teacher, to school leader), we think that more recent perspectives, in which transitions are conceptualised as synchronous, offer a more accurate account of people’s lives experiences of transitions. In line with this conceptualisation, we draw on Jindal-Snape’s (2016) Multiple and Multi-dimensional Transitions (MMT) theory to underpin the experiences of the participants in this study. MMT theory proposes that transitions are co-occurring, ongoing and multi-dimensional. Thus, transitions for an individual can trigger transitions for other individuals and organisations, including those that the individual is connected to. According to MMT theory, individuals inhabit social, cultural, psychological, and physical domains. A transition in one domain can trigger a transition in another domain and transitions experienced by individuals can trigger transitions for others (Gordon et al., 2017; Jindal-Snape, 2016).

It is important to note that this research was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic, which triggered multiple transitions which were experienced by people globally. For teachers, changes to approaches to teaching through transitioning to online learning or working with smaller groups of vulnerable students in schools resulted in a process of adaptation. Kim and Asbury (2020) found that Covid triggered identity transitions for teachers through prioritizing an ethic of care. Maitland and Glazzard (2022) found that during the pandemic, teachers had increased opportunities for reflection in addition to experiencing feelings of loss.

In the context of this study, we were interested in the extent to which Early Career Teachers had agency within their roles. We were also interested in how they negotiated their identities, and how they navigated the transition from being a pre-service teacher to an early career teacher. We were particularly interested in agency. Professional agency refers to teachers’ ability to manage their learning (Pyhalto et al., 2012). It is not linear (Darling-Hammond, 2008) and can dip and spike at various points during a teaching career. Teacher agency can be restricted by policy frameworks from central government and from policies which operate in schools. However, despite these restrictions, teachers can still exercise degrees of agency through mediating policies. Additionally, given that self-esteem (Mruk, 1999) and resilience (Greenfield, 2015) can act as buffers to negative transitions (Jindal-Snape & Miller, 2010), we also wanted to explore these constructs.

A strong teacher identity can help ECTs to navigate key professional challenges and ultimately facilitate smoother transitions into teaching. We have argued elsewhere that development as a teacher involves a considerable degree of identity work (Glazzard & Coverdale, 2018). Becoming a teacher is complex, messy, and non-linear (McKay, 2013). Critically engaging with research and reflecting on their own values and beliefs will support professional growth and foster the development of a teacher identity (McKay & Manning, 2019). Literature highlights that strong teacher identities help teachers to navigate policy change (Dassa & Derose, 2017) and address key professional challenges (McKay & Manning, 2019). However, the complex temporalities of teacher identity (Henderson, 2019), caused by fluctuating policy discourses, expectations of mentors and the uneasy relationship between teachers’ personal values and the socially assigned imputed identity of the ‘good teacher’, mean that the process of developing a strong professional identity is a continuous process of becoming (Mayer et al., 2017). Teacher identity is not a stable entity but continually reconstructed as a product of conflicting discourses and practices (Day et al., 2003; Sammons, 2006; Sikes et al., 1985). It is ‘always deferred and in the process of becoming- never really, never yet, never absolutely there’ (MacLure, 2003, p.131).

Following a review of the literature, the following gaps were identified. We were not able to source studies that specifically focused on participants’ longitudinal transitions during ITE and throughout the first year in teaching. We also did not source studies which used photographs and diaries within this particular field of enquiry.

We were interested in exploring the following research questions:

The focus group was conducted at phase 1 in the summer term (Date: June, 2019). At this phase of the research, the participants were pre-service teachers. Questions were designed to explore participants’ transitions and experiences during their initial teacher training year. The decision to use a focus group was guided by our belief that we felt the participants would benefit from sharing their experiences with each other. The focus group was held in-person on the university campus. It lasted approximately 40 minutes. Data were captured using a voice recorder and audio data were subsequently transcribed. Due to competing priorities only three participants attended the focus group.

Semi-structured online interviews took place online at phase 2 and phase 3 of the research. Phase 2 took place at the beginning of the academic year and phase 3 took place at the end of the academic year. These time points marked the beginning and end of the ECT phase. Questions addressed the same foci that had been addressed at phase 1, but participants were also provided with opportunities to share information which they also considered to be pertinent.

The use of photographs to elicit information is becoming increasingly popular in qualitative research (Gibson et al., 2013). The method involves constructing meaning from photographs (Dunne, 2017). Photo elicitation supports participants to express their emotions and feelings and provides researchers with useful insights into sensitive topics (Lopez et al., 2005). Photographs have been used within transition studies to explore children’s perspectives on transitions (Jindal-Snape, 2010; 2011). We were unable to source longitudinal studies which utilised this method for exploring the experiences of ECTs. Participants were invited to submit photographs between phases 2 and 3 to capture their transitions throughout the ECT phase, although they were not obliged to do so. Participants were informed that photographs must not include people’s faces or other identifying features and that objects and other non-identifying visual content were acceptable. Participants were invited to either take their own photographs or to use stock photographs that were available online and which best represented their experiences during their first year of teaching. Participants were provided with a password protected electronic folder to upload their photographs. Participants were asked to provide brief commentaries to support the images and they were asked to date stamp each image. Participants were asked to submit images which reflected their ongoing experiences as ECTs. Some participants chose to submit images that were already available on the internet. Participants were not given a limit on the number of photographs that they could submit and participants were not obliged to take photographs.

The diary method was used as it is flexible and can yield rich qualitative data (Williamson et al., 2015). Diary methods can provide ‘a continuous thread of daily life’ (Bernays et al., 2014, p. 629) and they can capture a ‘record of the ever-changing present’ (Elliott, 1997, p.2). For this reason, the method was deemed to be particularly suitable for this longitudinal study. In addition, it has been argued that diary methods provide access to aspects of daily life which are unobservable and private (Milligan et al., 2005). Consequently, some researchers have argued that diaries provide high social validity because they provide access to time, space and contexts that researchers would not have access to (Stopka et al., 2004). They are useful in capturing changes over time and in creating opportunities for the participants to record salient points away from the presence of the researcher (Bernays et al., 2014). Participants were invited, but not obliged, to keep diaries to document their experiences during phase 2 and phase 3 of the research. Participants were asked not to include content which might breach anonymity. No limit was placed on how many diary entries could be submitted. Participants uploaded their diary entries to a password protected electronic folder. They were asked to date stamp each diary entry.

Data were collected at several time points. These are shown in Figure 2.

Between phase 2 and phase 3, participants were invited to document their ongoing transitions using diaries and photo-elicitation. This was intended to ensure that contact with the participants was maintained, thus facilitating positive relationships, but also to capture participants’ ongoing transitions during their first year of teaching. It should be acknowledged that between phase 2 and phase 3, the global Covid-19 pandemic and particularly the ‘closure’ of schools resulted in unexpected transitions for participants. Participants were required to navigate the transition to online learning and support their schools and communities through unchartered territory.

Our approach to analysis was closely aligned to Braun and Clarke’s (2019) reflexive thematic analysis. They argue that ‘Quality reflexive [thematic analysis] is not about following procedures ‘correctly’ (or about ‘accurate’ and ‘reliable’ coding, or achieving consensus between coders), but about the researcher’s reflective and thoughtful engagement with their data and their reflexive and thoughtful engagement with the analytic process’ (Braun & Clarke, 2019, p. 594). After reading and re-reading the interview transcripts, we identified provisional codes and themes. Both researchers followed this process independently before engaging in a joint reflexive process. Once the broad themes were identified, we then independently categorised the data under each theme. We then jointly participated in a second reflexive process of engaging with the data, in line with Braun and Clarke (2019) who argue that ‘If more than one researcher is involved in the analytic process, the coding approach is collaborative and reflexive, designed to develop a richer more nuanced reading of the data, rather than seeking a consensus on meaning’ (p.594). We analysed the photographs separately to the interview data by sorting the photographs manually into themes. We grouped photographs together with similar visual content, for example, photographs which depicted heavy workloads were grouped under the theme of ‘workload’.

The themes identified from the interview and diary data are shown in Figure 3.

Ethical approval was granted from the institution in which the first author is employed. Participant information letters and consent forms were issued and completed by all participants. Data were transferred to the password protected electronic university storage system and deleted from the recording device. Transcripts were redacted to remove identifying data. Participants were signposted to university student support systems and the national charity, Education Support, if they required emotional or psychological support after taking part in the study.

During their training year, participants had to adapt to physical transitions because they were required to undertake their placements in different schools. This provided them with a range of different teaching experiences, including teaching different age-phases and teaching in contrasting school contexts. During their first year of teaching, the participants all remained in schools that were locally accessible to them. This meant that they did not need to ‘uproot’ and secure new accommodation. This was partly due to financial reasons, but also due to the fact that some participants were career changers and had family commitments and thus, relocating was not possible.

Participants reflected on their identity transitions as they gradually adapted into the teacher role. Their identities were shaped by their own values and also influenced by other colleagues in school, including their mentors.

During their training year they were acutely aware of the influence of the performativity discourse on their emerging teacher identity. For some, the neoliberal, performativity culture which permeates education had already started to constrain their teacher identities.

However, there was also evidence that even during their training year, participants demonstrated a strong sense of the type of teacher they wanted to be.

During their first year of teaching, some participants had constructed and reconstructed their teacher identities more in line with their values and beliefs. Their identities were therefore dynamic rather than static. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic triggered identity transitions for some participants who chose to prioritise children’s personal, social and emotional development above their academic development.

Participants had, even during their training, internalised the performativity discourse which pervades education, They accepted that they were accountable for securing good results and the possible adverse consequences if their pupils did not achieve in line with expectations.

During their first year of teaching, participants gradually adapted to the cultural norms of school life. They had accepted that their responsibilities as a teacher extended beyond simply preparing and delivering lessons. They had adapted, to varying degrees, to the pressures of the job, including managing heavy workloads, the general busyness of teaching and the need to be organised. They had developed strategies to help them navigate some of the ‘cultural norms’ of teaching by developing approaches for reducing workload and viewing the apparatus of performativity (pupil progress meetings, book scrutiny) as supportive and developmental rather than as a form of surveillance.

One male participant left teaching during his ECT year. His transitions into teaching were not smooth, as he struggled to adapt to the performativity culture which is entrenched in the education system.

Participants developed effective relationships with their mentors during their training year and they had begun to understand that critical feedback from mentors was intended to be developmental rather than damaging.

During their training year, the male participants adapted well to social transitions because they largely valued the friendships that they established with other male teachers.

Some participants valued the opportunity to develop social networks with other teachers who were similar to them in age. For others, working in a large Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) provided opportunities for teachers to develop social and professional connections with other teachers. Some participants had harnessed the power of social media to establish social connections. However, it is pertinent to note that although the participants clearly valued the social networks that they had established with colleagues, some were reluctant to establish meaningful social relationships with school leaders. Rather than perceiving a ‘them/us’ divide, participants recognised that school leaders were often extremely busy and they were reluctant to create additional demands on their time.

During their first year of teaching, participants’ emotions were in a state of flux. For some, their mental health was adversely affected after receiving critical feedback from more experienced teachers. For others, the pressures of school inspections had resulted in participants becoming unwell.

The photographs were accompanied by commentaries from the participants but due to word count limitations, it has not been possible to share commentaries for every photograph. The photographs in Figure 4 were from a range of participants. The following clear themes emerge from the images: (1) Workload (2) Mental health challenges and (3) Strategies employed to manage their mental health and prioritise work-life balance.

Figure 5 shows the relationship between the themes shown in Figure 3 and the themes in Figure 4. The themes from the photo-elicitation are shown in the circles and the themes from the interviews and diaries are shown in the boxes.

Physical transitions and identity transitions did not emerge through the analysis of the photographs.

Figure 6 demonstrates the ongoing transitions experienced by one participant during a time of two weeks which coincided with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this example, the participant describes positive and negative transitions that were triggered as a result of the global pandemic. Psychological transitions (feeling upset and worried), academic transitions (moving to online learning and home education), physical transitions (changing the physical location of the participant’s workplace) and social transitions (spending more time with her family) were all experienced synchronously rather than sequentially. For this participant, some of these transitions were positive, while others were negative. The transitions also interacted, for example educational transitions (school closures) resulted in social transitions (spending more time with their family) and these social transitions triggered psychological transitions (being happy to spend more time with her children, at the same time as experiencing a sense of loss for the children that she was responsible for teaching).

During their training year and first year of teaching, participants experienced multiple and multi-dimensional transitions. These included physical, social, psychological and cultural transitions. Their transition into teaching also triggered transitions for their families, who needed to adapt to this change. Unsurprisingly, participants experienced significant workload pressures, although they made deliberate attempts to strike a work-life balance to minimise the impacts on their families. In line with Greenfield’s (2015) social-ecological framework of teacher resilience, the participants experienced challenges which adversely affected their resilience. They were forced to quickly adapt to and accept the performativity discourse which impacted on their teacher identities, although this resulted in identity conflict for some as they struggled to reconcile their personal values and beliefs about teaching with the social identity of the good teacher which was imputed on them. In line with Mruk’s (1999) two-dimensional model of self-esteem, participants’ self-efficacy was adversely affected by negative and critical feedback, and this resulted in defensive self-esteem. The Covid-19 pandemic was an opportunity to reflect on their developing teacher identities and, for some, enable them to invest their energies into supporting children’s social and emotional wellbeing. One male participant became so disillusioned with the performativity culture that he decided to leave teaching, although his commitment to teaching remained strong.

Although this study was conducted prior to the introduction of the ITTECF (DfE, 2024a), nonetheless, it offers some valuable insights into what support ECTs need. This framework, with its emphasis on subject knowledge and ‘evidence-based’ pedagogical approaches does not address the concerns that the participants in this study addressed. All participants experienced transitions which they could have been more adequately prepared for before they occurred. In addition, they spoke about the ongoing reflection that occurred in relation to the types of teacher they wanted to be, within a challenging neoliberal and performative educational context. Wellbeing, mental health and workload were frequently mentioned by the participants and were also reflected in their photographs. Their reflective diary accounts often referred to broader educational policy and its adverse impacts on their pupils and on them. The current ITTECF (DfE, 2024a) is reductionist and technicist due to its emphasis on subject and curriculum knowledge and prescriptive pedagogical approaches. It does not address day-to-day challenges that the participants in this study experienced. We offer a tentative revised framework to support early career teacher development which more accurately reflects the issues that our participants raised. This is presented in Figure 7.

The framework is based loosely on Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs. The early career teacher’s basic needs are positioned at the bottom of the pyramid. Moving through the framework from the bottom to the top of the pyramid enables the early career teacher to achieve self-actualisation. The framework covers the key components of the ITTECF in the strand which addresses ‘subject and pedagogical knowledge’. Wellbeing and mental health is the foundation for the framework because without good wellbeing and mental health, teachers cannot flourish. Transitions has been purposely included as a focus to prepare ECTs more adequately to navigate the multiple and multi-dimensional transitions that they are likely to experience. Opportunities to reflect on teacher identity and to learn about strategies for nurturing resilience in line with Greenfield’s (2015) model were also important aspects that our participants discussed. In addition, learning about the wider role of the teacher (for example, parents’ evenings, data management, report writing, leading assemblies) were also evident in our data. Finally, given that one participant decided to exit teaching, professional discussions about motivation may have helped him to remain in the profession and therefore we have included this in the framework.