ABSTRACT

Huberman (1989, 1993) generated a very helpful model for considering career stages in teachers' professional work. In stabilization sub-stage, experienced teachers usually feel confident about their professional skills and knowledge, and settle into a comfortable and predictable pattern of teaching. In sub-stage of experimentation, seasoned teachers often look for ways to make their teaching more interesting, experimenting with new approaches and activities in their classrooms. In the US, California's BTSA programme is state-mandated and provides a focused and intensive support framework for beginning teachers for the first two years of teaching. Careful attention is paid to building explicit structural and conceptual links between the different partners in teacher education, namely university, school contexts and policy makers. There has been a shift in responsibility for teacher induction from government bureaucrats to local administrators and teachers. In Scotland beginning teachers have reduced teaching hours, time for professional development and an experienced teacher as a probationer supporter.