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 from
18 participants selected purposefully from two district education offices
and four secondary schools. In-depth interviews and thematic analysis
techniques were respectively used to generate and analyse data. Findings
revealed that, in Tanzania, ECTs need induction, mentoring, collaborative
work environment and development of compentences in instructional
planning and teaching approaches. In professional socialisation process,
ECTs are engaged in self-directed professional development, extra-time
teaching hours and computer aided instruction. It is recommended that
ECTs should be provided with more professional and social support to make
them cope with contextual factors and become effective in accommodating
teaching and other professional responsibilities in schools.
Keywords: community of practice, early career teacher, professional
development, teacher retention,teacher socialisation