Helping beginning teachers and educators to thrive!

It feels like the end but really it is just the beginning

Congratulations on completing your qualification and joining one of the most important professions! Education has the power to change the world and an inspirational teacher or educator can make the difference to the lifelong success of children. Throughout your training or undergraduate degree, you will have learned a lot about children and how they learn, how to assess and plan for their learning and how to build relationships and interact in ways that support their wellbeing. You are now considered an early childhood expert and fully equipped to meet the expectations of your role.

In reality, there is quite a big gap between what you learned throughout your formal studies and what you expected to do. There is still quite a lot of learning, practising and refining to do, you are now beginning your development as a professional. This represents the start of your journey of ongoing learning and continuous improvement.

Building knowledge, skills and understandings

In order to feel confident and capable in your role it is a good idea to start by analysing your position description and discussing what success in the role looks like and what are the tasks associated with your role.  It is then a matter of doing some critical reflection about what your strengths are and how you might draw on them and where you might need to build your knowledge, skills and understandings.

All teachers, educators and leaders are required to develop professional learning gaols and this can be a good place for you to identify what professional learning and other supports you need to undertake.

Seek out professional connections

Research is clear that educators benefit from connecting with professional outside of their own service or school. Professional standards set expectations for teachers and educators to ‘participate in professional and community networks to broaden knowledge and improve practice’ (Australian Professional Standards for Teachers). The new principle ‘Collaborative leadership and teamwork’ within the Early Years Learning Framework speaks to educators engaging in professional and respectful conversations about practice, providing peer mentoring and creating shared learning (EYLF 2022: 19).

Seeking out mentoring or coaching and a broad range of connections and advice networks provides beginning teachers and educators with opportunities to see and examine practice, ask questions and be a part of a learning community. The wider your professional connections the more likely you are to feel confident and improve our practice.

Areas of interest or strength also provide a catalyst for connection within communities of practice. Beginning teachers and educators bring with them the benefits of recency with research and theory and have a lot to offer as well as a lot to learn in a community of practice.

Support to for you to thrive!

I hope you found this article of interest and supportive in navigating the expectations and practicalities of your role. If you would like to know more check out our resources to support you to know and understand what is required as a teacher or educator in our ‘What are the expectations of a teacher?’ and our ‘What are the expectations of an educator?’ courses.