A comparative analysis of teacher induction : purposes, practices and curriculum ideologies

Abstract

Since the early 1990s there has been a call to focus on supporting early career teachers and improve teacher quality (Darling-Hammond, 1995; Huling-Austin, 1992). This has led to national standards, legislation and policies on teacher induction which aim to safeguard early career teacher learning. In this study, four national contexts (Malta, the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland) are compared to critically inquire into induction. They differ in terms of history regarding induction, and in policy contexts that influence the approach to induction. The authors thus ask ‘to what extent can curriculum ideologies help to reveal/unravel and understand common and unique features of induction across four countries?’. To analyse and compare the impact of these differences we use Schiro’s curriculum ideologies as a lens. This is based on our understanding of the teacher profession as a continuum of professional learning. As initial teacher education provides a curriculum that supports the professional development of student teachers, an induction programme can be understood as a curriculum supporting early career teachers. Schiro (2012) recognises four different ideologies that can drive curriculum aims and curriculum development: Scholar Academic ideology; Social Efficiency ideology; Learner Centred ideology; and Social Reconstruction ideology. This comparative approach helps us to understand that the different curriculum ideologies underlying induction programmes are rooted in political and philosophical foundations that align with national perspectives of early career teacher development.