New teachers “slipping through the cracks”

Teachers in the early stages of their career are most likely to lack access to professional support and are most likely to leave the profession, a new study has found. Led by Dr Nick Kelly from the Queensland University of Technology, the study showed that a lack of mentoring and support programs among new teachers was responsible for low job satisfaction and retention rates. Kelly said the study was the first of its kind to nationally investigate which teachers were "left unsupported, and missing out on all forms of support during their first five years in the profession". “Too many beginning teachers are slipping through the cracks and missing out on professional support,” he said. “We have many good teachers leaving the profession before they've established themselves, and ensuring that all teachers receive quality support regardless of their employment status is a good way to start addressing that.” The study was co-authored with Associate Professor Cheryl Sim and Dr Michael Ireland and considered a range of support methods, including: mentoring programs, orientation programs, structured opportunity for reflection, reduction in workload, and follow-up from their place of study. It was based on data from the Staff in Australia’s Schools survey, which covered 1,863 early career teachers across Australia in 2007, and 2,477 in 2010. According to the study, in 2007, about one in six new teachers were unsupported. This figure dropped to one in 10 by 2010, suggesting some improvement. The portion of beginning teachers in insecure employment who received no support also dropped, from 23 per cent in 2007 to 16 per cent in 2010. Despite this, Kelly warned the numbers were no cause for complacency, given there had also been an accompanying shift towards temporary and casual work for new teachers. “Many, and in some states most, beginning teachers are in casual or temporary employment,” he said. “We need to do a better job of targeting these teachers for formal support to stop them from slipping through the cracks.” “One way to address early career teacher attrition would be to improve the base-level of support available to all teachers and to place more of a focus on professional wellbeing.”

New teachers “slipping through the cracks”

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