"Trying to keep afloat": Early career teaching in an Australian setting

Dawn Joseph
Deakin University, Australia

Teacher preparation requires pre-service teachers to have requisite skills, knowledge and understandings in regards to curriculum planning, preparing and presenting. This paper forms part of a research project Pre-service teacher attitudes and understandings of Music Education, focusing on the Master of Teaching (MTeach) 'Teach For Australia' program (2015-2017). Narrative reflection and interview data is presented as a case study of 'Laura' transitioning from 'student identity to teacher identity', putting theory into practice, 'thinking on her feet', 'looking after self', and 'keeping afloat'. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis as an analytical tool, the findings are discussed in relation to three overarching themes: learning on the job, forming a teacher identity, and showing leadership. Generalisations about other courses/programs or institutions across Australia cannot be made. Limitations of the current study are acknowledged and lessons learnt may impact on teacher education and have implications for future research.
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Author: Dr Dawn Joseph is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Education (Deakin University). She is a member of the editorial boards of international and national refereed journals. Her research and publications focus on: teacher education, music education, community music, cultural diversity, and ageing and well-being in the arts. Email: djoseph@deakin.edu.au Web: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/dawn-joseph Please cite as: Joseph, D. (2019). "Trying to keep afloat": Early career teaching in an Australian setting. Issues in Educational Research, 29(2), 444-457. http://www.iier.org.au/iier29/joseph.pdf