Focus of Inquiry While much is known about beginning teachers, there is less research on teachers in the middle and later phase of their careers. Where this does exist, it is usually set within studies across the whole work and life career span (e.g. Huberman, 1993; Sikes et al., 1985; Fessler and Christensen, 1992). In England, some 40% of teachers are aged 45+, yet little is known of the work and lives of teachers with more than 25 years’ experience, and the influences of these upon their sense of commitment and effectiveness. This paper focuses upon this phase of teachers’ lives. Background The data are drawn from the VITAE research (Day et al., 2007) on the span of teachers’ professional lives. This research investigated teachers’ work, lives and effectiveness (perceived by teachers and measured by ‘value added’ test scores) from a holistic perspective. This perspective provided richer insights into the complex and dynamic nature of the conditions for teachers’ effectiveness throughout their professional lives than previous research, which has focused upon one or other of the conditions and influences on teachers, has been able to provide. Theoretical Frame Efforts to improve standards of teaching and learning through external and internal school reform have had mixed effects in terms of measures of attainment and teacher morale. One reason for this is that they have not taken into account how teachers learn and change in different phases of their professional lives and the relationship between educational values, commitment and effectiveness. Commitment is felt by many teachers as part of their professional values and sense of moral purpose. The research literature suggests that commitment (which consists of motivation, job satisfaction and self-efficacy) is not an option, but an essential condition for teachers’ effectiveness. This paper will develop a theoretical framework for understanding the factors which affect the commitment of teachers in the final phase of their careers in classrooms.

Data were collected over a three year period from 70 primary and secondary school teachers through a series of interviews and questionnaires. These were supplemented by interviews with school leaders and groups of pupils. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, detailed, holistic portraits of teachers’ work and lives over time were then constructed which focussed upon their commitment and resilience. This mixed methodology enabled the identification of teachers who appeared to be more, or less, effective with their pupils over the life time of the project and why this was so.

The research found that as teachers grow older, so the challenges of maintaining energy for the complex and persistently challenging work of teaching children and young people whose attitudes, motivations and behaviour may differ widely from those with whom they began their careers. Moreover, their own personal and professional agendas may have changed. The persistence of the challenges inherent in all good teaching, particularly for those who work in schools serving disadvantaged communities, may also have begun to take its toll. Yet these teachers are survivors. The paper argues that ‘veteran’ teachers face a unique set of life and work circumstances which create particular challenges for sustaining their commitment. It suggests that to be effective, professional learning opportunities must be designed which take account of the personal, workplace and external contexts which challenge their commitment to these core purposes.