Developing further as a teacher

During the course of their initial teacher education teachers receive a considerable amount of advice, observe many experienced teachers, become familiar with ‘requirements’ of the role and develop their teaching. However, none of this, and nobody, can tell them exactly how to teach to enhance pupils’ learning. That is because teaching is a highly complex practice; teachers develop ethical, social and intellectual behaviours that make them increasingly attuned to pupils as young individuals and affect the likelihood of pupils being able to learn. This chapter introduces teachers to the ideas of becoming a professional in the early years of teaching, developing their identity as a teacher and extending their capacities to continue professional learning. Within this, it introduces them to core ideas about how teachers learn, in relation to their development as a professional. Growth as a professional is deeply connected with growth as a person