Ongoing shortages of quality teachers has prompted policy interest into career changers as potential solutions. Although Initial Teacher Education (ITE) comprises one-third career changers, little is known about this group. This paper presents a scoping review of career changers' motivations/decisions to choose teaching as a career. Themes from…

The influence of the family on its members is significant. Parents impart professional values and priorities that shape the perspective and often career choice of their children. Drawing on Family Systems Theory, this case study focuses on how the teaching profession connects and impacts one geographically dispersed, multigenerational family.…

Most western countries face either existing or looming teacher shortages. No doubt there are many and varied reasons for this and no simple remedy. Contemporaneously, film and television can have profound, often unintended attitudinal and behavioural consequences. As reflectors and creators of societal values, axiomatically, they provide insight…

This article examines the sociocultural shaping of "teacher agency" by focusing on how various conditions "mediate" teachers' perceived professional space. Agency is understood from a "sociocultural" perspective as the mediated capacity to act, which is achieved and exercised "in" a professional space, and,…

High teacher attrition rates hinder schools in their ability to provide quality instruction. While studies have identified factors related to attrition (e.g., salary, administrative support) and the emotions of teaching, research is needed that explores the impact of emotions on teachers' career decisions. This study examines the emotional…

To better understand the reasons underlying attrition and the teacher shortage, and to develop ways to attract and retain high-quality teachers in early childhood education, it is necessary to explore teacher motivation and commitment to teaching. Although previous research has investigated various aspects of teacher motivation and commitment to…

Teacher self-efficacy is a key predictor of teacher attrition, but studies have primarily examined teacher self-efficacy via classroom teaching and overlooked other roles that teachers play in school. Accordingly, this study explores the relationships between, on the one hand, primary and secondary teachers' job satisfaction and occupational…

The teaching profession is facing difficulty recruiting and retaining talent in the U.S., especially in STEM subjects. This study identifies the key experiences that shaped the academic paths and career plans of 10 pre-service teachers in STEM education who are participating in a loan forgiveness programme in North Carolina. Using life history…

Educational reform in Australia recognizes the need for an effective teacher evaluation system but has fallen short of actually prescribing one. Current practice does not align to policy intent, with teacher evaluation largely an exercise in compliance around performance management as opposed to a process that promotes evaluative thinking,…

This reflection on the eight papers in this special issue examines the theoretical stances and methodological resources to be found in them. It offers a definition of agency which emphasises commitment, responsibility, strong judgements, self-evaluation, connection to the common good and attention to what people do. Having examined how the papers…

In this study, descriptive and comparative in nature, I analyze teachers' dissatisfaction with their profession in Chile, Brazil, and Mexico (N = 10,846). Using data from the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), I question whether extrinsic and intrinsic elements of school organizations, in addition to teachers' personal…

This article reports on a qualitative study on the issues experienced teachers may encounter in everyday teaching practice. Some issues may possibly originate at the beginning of a career and continue to be a struggle during their career. Data were collected among 20 mid- and late career teachers from eight secondary schools. The results showed…

This research paper explores teachers' contribution to quality education in the midst of political, economic and social struggles in post-conflict Liberia. The paper adopts the qualitative research method and interviews were conducted with teachers and educational stakeholders to examine the needed contributions of teachers to quality education in…

For most teachers in the United States, teaching is no longer a career-long occupation. This article examines the narratives of a particular group of leavers, former teachers who made significant investments in their teacher training and who taught for at least three years before making the decision to exit. The accounts of these invested leavers…

Alarming numbers of teacher attrition are reported in many countries, including in Norway. Whereas most of the research tells about personal and professional negative experiences which have a harmful impact on teachers' resilience, a different approach is taken in the current paper. Four cases of leavers are purposefully selected because they…