Browsing by Author "Manninen, Mari"

The transition from teacher education to working life can be a very demanding time. Early career teachers often experience uncertainty about their own skills and an inability to carry out teaching in accordance with their goals. Previous research has shown that teachers’ perceptions of their own ability to deliver teaching affects, among other things, the quality of teaching and student learning. The aim of this master's thesis is to increase the understanding of the practices of the induction in the school community that support the building of the professional self-efficacy of early career teachers. The research questions were: What kind of key experiences of the construction of the concept of self-efficacy are described by class teachers in the induction phase? What factors in everyday school life have strengthened the self-efficacy? What factors in everyday school life have impaired the self-efficacy? The data consisted of interviews with 9 class teachers at the beginning of their careers. The Journey Plot interview method was used to collect the interview data. The data for my study were collected as part of a larger joint research project of the Universities of Helsinki, Tampere and Eastern Finland entitled “Early career Teachers’ Professional Agency across four European countries -Key for Sustainable Educational Change?” funded by the Academy of Finland. The interview data were qualitatively content analyzed by applying an abductive strategy. The key experiences of professional self-efficacy were both positive and negative. The key experiences were especially related to the teaching and the challenges and changes in work. According to the results, the support of colleagues and the principal strengthened the professional self-efficacy of classroom teachers. Correspondingly, the lack of support and guidance in the induction phase weakened the professional self-efficacy experienced by class teachers. The lack of support especially in challenging situations and changes in work had a detrimental effect on teachers' professional self-efficacy. The results reinforce the notion that the professional self-efficacy of class teachers can be strengthened in everyday school life through diverse support and guidance.