ABSTRACT
Teachers who are committed are said to have a ‘call to teach’. They demonstrate a strong sense of moral purpose, self-efficacy, agency, care, optimism and hope rather than doubt, cynicism or pessimism. Whilst, arguably, values and beliefs, efficacy, and agency are essential parts of all teachers’ professional identities and are associated with their sense of professionalism, they can be strengthened or diminished at different times during the span of teachers’ careers. Research has shown consistently that teachers’ professional life phases are dynamic in nature and that the interaction between a range of influencing factors in their work and personal contexts are sophisticated and continuous processes that are not always predictable. The most authoritative and influential study of teachers’ work lives was that of Swiss secondary school teachers by Michael Huberman. Following the initial ‘beginner’ and ‘advanced’ beginner period, a sense of teaching ‘mastery’ is likely to be established by most teachers.
