The rigours of the real-life classroom can come as a rude shock to new teachers, many of whom struggle to survive their first year. Jane Breusch reports on what needs to be done.

Alison Welch nearly resigned last year after only two years of teaching. She loves teaching, but was sick from stress after two incredibly difficult years—receiving little support at a Queensland school with a high teacher turnover.

There was no induction program in place for new teachers and Welch says she didn't even know where the toilets were for the first two weeks.

“My first year was absolute hell. We didn't have the faintest idea what we were doing. We had no induction that was relevant to us so we basically went in head-first,” the 23-year-old says.

Welch feels that one of the problems was a lack of practical preparation during her university years—a common complaint of many new teachers.

“University training sucks. We had no behaviour management training, we had no induction in terms of 'this is what it will be like when you go to a school', even just a checklist of things you should ask when you get to a school,” she says.

Theory versus practice

When teacher training moved from colleges into universities, it was accompanied by a shift in the importance placed on the science of education. Theories about behaviour, development and learning design were drilled into students, while practical experience was seen as a bonus.

While theory is important, a new teacher's success in the classroom ultimately depends on practical experience and knowing how to apply these academic strategies.

New teachers, after finding themselves unprepared for some of the challenges they face when they start work, have been pushing for a greater focus on practical experience. But others think part of the answer lies in the scope and content of the teacher training curriculum and call for the addition of new subjects, such as Indigenous studies.

“It is about finding that balance because I don't think anybody wants to give up the science of education,” Australian Council of Deans of Education president Mary Kalantzis says.

“The courses around the country are trying to give the students what they want, which is more experience, but also inspire them about the theoretical issues and the significance of the theory.”

Kalantzis says the main problem is developing a way of providing theory in a practical situation. The establishment of closer relationships between schools and universities is vital, she says.

However, Kalantzis also points out the significant institutional barriers to increased workplace learning, including the problem of having to provide additional compensation for the supervising teachers.

Despite this, many universities are attempting to find ways to provide this type of learning for their teaching students. “We do know that the solution is in closer partnership between the academics, the training teachers and the schools that they go into,” Kalantzis says.

Zoe Lombardo, who completed her first full year of teaching last year after a year of relieving in 2002, says she and her fellow students at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia all agreed more practical teaching experience was needed. What practical classroom experience she did get proved the most useful part of her university training.

“We were told you walk into a classroom and use all of these strategies and it will be so easy,” Lombardo says. But it's not that simple.

New teachers are not just facing difficult classroom situations, but may also be sent to remote or hard-to-staff city schools. For example, new teachers may be unprepared for cultural differences teaching Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children, says AEU Federal Aboriginal Education Officer Darcel Moyle.

“We would like to see Indigenous studies built into all pre-service teacher education programs,” Moyle says. “It's not just cultural differences. It is also the specific learning styles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students where English is often a second language. We're talking about a lot more than just a program of cultural awareness.”

Survey in 2004

AEU Deputy Federal Secretary Susan Hopgood says induction and mentoring programs are vital to new teachers, but are particularly important for teachers who find themselves dealing with a new environment as well.

“For many new teachers, not only is it a new job, it may be a whole new cultural experience or a whole new geographical experience. They could be away from family and friends as well. For those reasons, it can be a hard job to grow into,” Hopgood says.

This year, for the first time, the AEU will survey new teachers nationwide to identify their needs, find out how they have settled into their schools, look at the induction programs that have been conducted by the schools and the employer, and what school support those teachers have received.

“We believe what happens in those first few months is critical to their attitude to staying in teaching,” Hopgood says. “We suspect that the support by the system for beginning teachers is pretty ad hoc and that much of it is left up to schools,” she says.

Induction programs a must

Lombardo, who is now teaching at Orelia Primary School in Western Australia, says an induction program is essential. But she also acknowledges that support from colleagues helped her through the difficult times.

“Once you're in a school, everyone just forgets that you are a first year or a second year. You almost feel like you have to do it on your own unless you ask for help,” Lombardo says.

“An induction program is really beneficial because then you've got support and you've got a group of people you can go to, to talk about things.”

Welch, who is now in a much happier teaching environment at Quilpie State School, says there is a strong argument for a state-wide induction program for new teachers. She would also like to see an e-mail network set up as a support mechanism for new teachers.

“I was prepared to resign at the end of last year and I was very ill, but I have done a 180 degree turnaround this year. I am loving coming to school. It is so much fun and there is so much support. It's a completely different experience,” she says. She prepared an induction program for new teachers herself at the beginning of last year.

“I felt that we had been done over and the new teachers coming in needed something. The feedback we got was that, if we hadn't had that, they would have been in a lot of trouble,” she says.

New teacher Lea Marcantonio says her induction program at Coolaroo South Primary School in Victoria was beneficial. “You're in the air with a lot of things including how the school runs. We had so many questions,” Marcantonio says.

“But you want to walk into your classroom on the first day knowing a little bit about what happens, rather than students telling you what happens.”

For Ben Jucius, now in his third year of teaching and one of two new teachers interviewed for Australian Educator in 2001, his first year was definitely the worst.

Jucius spent two years at Darwin High School before taking last year off to travel. He is now teaching at Victor Harbour High School in South Australia.

“My first year was a very difficult year. It's a very steep learning curve. But it's worth it. It definitely gets easier,” he says.

JANE BREUSCH is a freelance writer.

Beginning teachers (less than five years of teaching) can complete the survey on the AEU website: www.aeufederal.org.au