An exploration into the induction needs of new teachers through the lens of Rousseau and Émilian autodidacticism

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Atkinson, A., 2024. An exploration into the induction needs of new teachers through the lens of Rousseau and Émilian autodidacticism. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

This thesis aims to fuse Rousseauian philosophy with educational praxis by evaluating teacher induction needs against the landscape of the autodidactic learning approach presented in Rousseau’s Émile. Although this presents largely as a quantitative study, a mixed methods approach was used with a convergent design; reflexive thematic analysis and SPSS were used to analyse the data. Data included: a survey of both qualitative and quantitative design (n=159), and 7 interviews with 4 participants. Émile, forms the basis of the theoretical framework and is used to enhance the discussion pertaining to NQT needs, particularly from the perspective of mentorship.

The main themes were identified as: Performativity, Resources and Mentoring. The results showed that there were several issues identified in relation to the teachers’ evidence portfolio. These were: lack of value, fatigue, repetition, and the notion that evidence collection was merely perfunctory. A one-way analysis of variance concluded that the higher the Ofsted rating, the more satisfied teachers are with the usefulness of lesson observations as part of their training programme. A regression correlation found that the older the teacher, the less likely they will be to see the value in observations. Teachers valued observing others, but this was a resource that was largely unavailable to them. Other resources such as pay, time, and lack of support were voiced as areas of concern and despite its protected status, most teachers were not receiving a reduced timetable. Finally, it was discovered that a good mentor was seen as being vitally important. Teachers suggested that the mentor should be available, should allow teachers autonomy and control of their learning, and that they should be given adequate time to mentor. Teachers were overwhelmingly in favour of an autodidactic induction approach. Émilian autodidactic philosophy was found to parallel the viewpoints of teachers in multifarious aspects such as: self-directed learning, observation, trust, autonomy, and mentoring style. A dichotomy was observed regarding the overall induction programme - teachers wanted to complete their training by themselves, but they did not want to complete their training alone.

More than half of the respondents had considered leaving the profession, suggesting that listening to the voices of new teachers is vital, particularly in view of the current teacher recruitment and retention crisis.

Item Type:

Thesis

Creators:

Atkinson, A.

Contributors:

Name	Role	NTU ID	ORCID
Clapham, A.	Thesis supervisor	EDU3CLAPHA	orcid.org/0000-0001-5066-134X
Rolph, C.	Thesis supervisor	EDU3ROLPHC	orcid.org/0000-0001-6049-4960

Date:

2024

Rights:

The copyright in this work is held by the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the author.

Divisions:

Schools > School of Social Sciences

Record created by:

Melissa Cornwell

Date Added:

03 Jun 2024 08:32

Last Modified:

03 Jun 2024 08:32

URI:

https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/51506