The possibilities to work as a teacher in Germany with a foreign teacher training degree are traditionally rather limited. Teachers from abroad face multiple challenges because their university education usually does not meet the requirements of the teacher training program in Germany, for example, the need for two school subjects. At the same time and as part of the increased immigration to Germany since 2014, a debate on the potentials of newly arrived teachers from abroad can be identified. In particular, the potential is often seen in teaching newly arrived migrant students. Over the past three years, certificate programs have been developed at some German universities to help so-called refugee teachers to gain access to the German school system as a labour market. One argument is the current lack of teachers in Germany. Another argument refers to the hopes relate to the participants of the programmes concerning their language skills and experiences in the school systems of the countries of origin of migrant families or unaccompanied minors. The paper locates the topic of recently immigrated teachers first in the discourse on migrant teachers in Germany (Lengyel & Rosen 2015; Rotter 2015). Second, existing programs for refugee teachers in Germany are presented, with a special focus on a programme at the University of Cologne. Third, based on the results of a research project on the beliefs of teachers and practices of teaching new immigrant students in Germany, the perspective of participants of the Cologne programme concerning their beliefs of contributing to the German School System are discussed. Looking at the pattern of problematising migrant students in German schools, I argue that recently immigrated teachers can complete perspectives on newly arrived students. The empirical background is a research project (2014-2015) on teaching newly arrived migrant children in German Schools including ethnographical observations and teacher interviews, analysed with the Grounded Theory Method (Terhart/von Dewitz 2017, 2018). Based on a professionalisation approach pointing out the antinomies of pedagogical resp. teachers’ work in general (Oevermann 1996; Helsper 2007), the fields of tensions teachers are facing in working with newly arrived students are presented. Against this background, insights from a running interview study with participants of the Cologne programme for refugee teachers are given to explore how the beliefs of recently immigrated teachers meet the reconstructed fields of tensions when teaching newly arrived students in German schools as well as general expectations.

Helsper, W. (2007). Antinomien pädagogischen Handelns. In: Krüger, H.-H. & Heslper, W. (Eds.): Einführung in die Grundbegriffe und Grundragen der Erziehungswissenschaft. Opladen, Farmington Hills: B. Budrich, pp. 15-34. Lengyel, D. & Rosen, L. (2015). Minority Teachers in different educational contexts - recent studies from three German-speaking countries. Tertium Comparationis. Journal für International und Interkulturell Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft 21 (2). Oevermann, U. (1996). Theoretische Skizze einer revidierten Theorie professionalisierten Handelns. In: Combe, A. & Helsper, W. (Eds.): Pädagogische Professionalität. Untersuchungen zum Typus pädagogischen Handelns. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, pp. 70-182. Rotter, C. (2015). Lehrkräfte mit Migrationshintergrund aus der Perspektive von Schülerinnen und Schülern – Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Studie. Zeitschrift für Bildungsforschung 5 (1), 5-20.