The New Lives of Teachers examines the varied, often demanding commitments on teachers’ lives today as they attempt to pursue careers in primary and secondary education. Building upon Huberman’s classic study, it probes not only teachers’ everyday lives, but also the ways in which they negotiate the pitfalls of professional development and the different life and work ‘scenarios’ that challenge their sense of identity, well-being and effectiveness. The authors provide a new evidence-based framework to investigate and understand teachers’ lives. Using a range of contemporary examples of teaching, they demonstrate that it is the relative success with which teachers manage various personal, work and external policy challenges that is a key factor in the satisfaction, commitment, well-being and effectiveness of teachers in different contexts and at different times in their work and lives. The positive and negative influences upon career and professional development and the influences of school leadership, culture, colleagues and conditions are also shown to be profound and relate directly to teacher retention and the work-life balance agenda. The implications of these insights for teaching quality and teacher retention are discussed. This book will be of special interest to teachers, teachers’ associations, policy makers, school leaders, and teacher educators, and should also be of interest to students on postgraduate courses.

The author describes his day-to-day experiences as a teacher at a private school in New York, including the anxieties, foibles, generosities, hopes, and complaints that comprise every teacher's life. -- Dust jacket.

Teaching is a lifelong challenge, but the first few years in the classroom are typically a teacher's hardest. This expanded collection of writings and reflections offers practical guidance on how to navigate the school system, form rewarding relationships with colleagues, and connect in meaningful ways with students and families from all cultures and backgrounds.

This edited collection brings together papers written by a number of experienced international academics who share a passion for promoting research-informed, high-quality pre-service and in-service teacher education that makes a positive difference to the lives of teachers and their students. Taken together, the contributions to this book represent a call to arms for all who lead education policy at local, regional, and national levels, teacher educators, and schools themselves, to engage in sustained and productive collaboration. Topics include: the centrality of empathy to the classroom, ‘practical theorising’ that is a central part of all good teachers’ armoury; the possibilities for collaborative professionalism which enables them to extend and enrich their thinking, commitment, and capacity for resilience; the pedagogical reasoning, habits of mind, critical reflection, knowledge, and skills that lead to the best classroom practices. Only when the voices of stakeholders at all these levels are brought together, heard, and enacted, are students in all schools in all contexts and in all jurisdictions likely to receive the quality of education to which all are entitled. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Teachers and Teaching.

Based on a DfES funded study of 300 teachers in 100 primary and secondary schools in England, the authors identify different patterns of influence and effect between groups of teachers, which provide powerful evidence of the complexities of teachers' work, lives, identity and commitment, in relation to their sense of agency, well-being, resilience and pupil attitudes and attainment. This, in turn, provides a clear message for teachers, teachers' associations, school leaders and policy makers internationally, in understanding and supporting the need to build and sustain school and classroom effectiveness.

Foreword / Cornelius Minor Gratitude -- Creating a culture of reading through book clubs -- Organizing and setting up book clubs -- Launching and managing book clubs -- Lighting the fire of discussion -- Resources at a glance -- Living with books all year long.

New teachers need support from their peers and mentors to locate resources, information, new ideas, emotional support, and inspiration. This timely book explains the research and theory behind social networks (face-to-face and online), describes what effective social networking for educators looks like, reveals common obstacles that new teachers face in establishing support networks, and offers valuable practical advice. The author follows the stories of four first-year teachers, illustrating the significant impact that social support networks can have on teachers’ lives and challenging common misconceptions of professional support. This book offers action guides to help teachers become “intentional networkers,” including a companion website with tools for networking and collaboration. This is a must-have resource for pre- and in-service teachers. Book Features: Research-based frameworks on teachers’ social networks and professional support.Suggestions for mentors, teacher educators, and school administers on how to help new teachers to effectively develop their social networks.A companion website that will offer discussion forums, resources, and networking tools. “Dr. Baker-Doyle’s book adds an interesting and timely facet—the role of social networks—to the always important discussions about how new teachers can excel in their work. Her research will be of value to those who do professional development with educators and to practitioners alike.” —Susan Fuhrman, President of Teachers College, Columbia University and the National Academy of Education “Without question, this book is a major contribution to the public and academic conversation on school reform and teacher development. But more importantly, it is destined to improve the professional life of any teacher that reads it.” —Marc Lamont Hill, Teachers College, Columbia University