Browsing by Subject "nyutexaminerade lärare"

The aim of this study is to describe, analyze and interpret how newly graduated teachers in Sweden experience the availability, the various forms and adequacy of social support in the work community. This study is made in collaboration with the research projects SAMS (Samverkan och social stöd i den finlandssvenska skolan) and ECTPA (Early Career Teacher’s Professional Agency across four European countries). The theoretical framework consists of the model for social support at different system levels (Cornér, 2020; Pyhältö, 2018). The model includes of four components and three of them are relevant to this study: support sources, support forms and support fit. Support sources are the sources of social support, i.e., from whom do the newly graduated teachers feel that they receive support from in the work community. Support forms includes the different types of social support, i.e., emotional support, informational support, and instrumental support The experience for what type of social support is needed versus how much the newly graduated teacher receive in practice, is called support fit. This study is based on qualitative, semi-structured interviews conducted in October of 2021 and on the network plots drawn by each informant. The purpose of the network plots was to map the newly graduated teacher’s professional networks. The study involved 9 newly graduated teachers who worked across Sweden in primary, secondary, and upper secondary schools. The interview data were analyzed by using thematic analysis and with a deductive research approach. The most important assets for social support were mentors, the collegial team and the teachers who share the same grade or subject. The principals were one of the smallest assets. Emotional and informative support is provided by agents with teaching and supervisory roles, while school management only provides informative support. Relatives and friends provide both emotional and informative support, while social media only provides informative support. The instrumental support was deficient in terms of insufficient time for planning. The adequacy of social support has decreased due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the newly graduated teachers want more social support from the school management as well as more time for reflection and feedback. Suggestions for further research could be to research the nature of the distance that exists between the newly graduated teachers and the school management.