Professional Socialisation of Early Career Secondary School Teachers in Tanzania

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a study on how early career teachers(ECTs) socialise and cope with their teaching roles. It focuses on ECTs ' professional needs and socialisation strategies. Data were collected from18 participants selected purposefully from two district education officesand four secondary schools. In-depth interviews and thematic analysistechniques were respectively used to generate and analyse data. Findingsrevealed that, in Tanzania, ECTs need induction, mentoring, collaborativework environment and development of compentences in instructionalplanning and teaching approaches. In professional socialisation process,ECTs are engaged in self-directed professional development, extra-timeteaching hours and computer aided instruction. It is recommended thatECTs should be provided with more professional and social support to makethem cope with contextual factors and become effective in accommodatingteaching and other professional responsibilities in schools.Keywords: community of practice, early career teacher, professionaldevelopment, teacher retention,teacher socialisation