This paper investigates structural constraints for early career teachers (ECTs) who hold a master’s degree from Norwegian teacher education. Although education and educational research is done within diverse educational settings, research shows that the current educational systems constrain ECTs, (Loh & Hu, 2014; Valenčič Zuljan & Marentič Požarnik, 2014) , and ECTs continue to flee the profession (Schaefer et al., 2021). Furthermore, education is increasingly understood as human capital, seeking to prepare students for new future work and labour relations (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). 

In light of these perspectives, this paper offers a critical realist lens to examine constraints and enablements in relation to practicing as teachers and seeks to identify underlying mechanisms (Archer et al., 1998) that produce conditions affecting teachers (and students). In critical realist ontology, reality is stratified into three levels or domains; the empirical, the actual and the real. At the level of the real, critical realism claims to demonstrate the independent reality of underlying mechanisms informing societal processes (Benton & Craib, 2011). To examine ECTs experiences with constraints and enablements at the empirical level, the following research question is posed: How do early career teachers experience structural constraints and enablements after five years of teaching? To investigate the underlying mechanisms at the level of the real, the following question is asked: What ideologies about the role of the teacher inform these constraints and enablements?

This study is part of RELEMAST, a longitudinal research project that examines ECT’s experiences with an integrated master’s degree and their first years as teachers. The data material consists of 27 semi-structured interviews with early career teachers. In 2015, UiT the Arctic University of Norway initiated a pilot of such an integrated master’s degree. In Norway, the new initial teacher education (ITE ) programmes focus on research and development work combined with subject and didactic specialization in three to four teaching subjects (Bjørndal et al., 2022). In contrast, the former teacher education programme spanning over four years, provided teachers with a broader knowledge base encompassing more school subjects.

The preliminary findings at the empirical level, indicate that ECTs experience a need for further education post Initial Teacher Education, and a tension between schools’ expectations and ECTs’ subject knowledge. The ECTs state having few school subjects in their master education, making them consider investing in further education, although they recently completed an education that should prepare them for working in school. School leaders seem to share this viewpoint, communicating to the ECTs that they have a too narrow subject knowledge base. The lack of formal education in various school subjects constrains these teachers as they are put to teach subjects without formal competence. Furthermore, ECTs are constrained by structures such as lack of time, resulting among others in less opportunities to build close relationships to students and colleagues, and to follow up individual students. Shortage of time also constrained them in sharing ideas and teaching schemes with colleagues. ECTs state experiencing a need to prioritize lesson planning (individually) and managing administrative work over doing relational work, resulting in a lack of capacity to help students in need for extra care during work hours. At the level of the real, preliminary analysis indicate that underlying mechanisms such as the idea of the complex late modern society’s need for specialization fostering the knowledge society, and new liberalism could inform ECTs’ societal processes.

Archer, M. S., Bhaskar, R., Collier, A., Lawson, T., & Norrie, A. (1998). Critical realism: Essential readings. Routledge. Benton, T., & Craib, I. (2011). Philosophy of social science: The philosophical foundations of social thought (2nd. ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. Bjørndal, K. E. W., Antonsen, Y., & Jakhelln, R. (2022). Stress-coping Strategies amongst Newly Qualified Primary and Lower Secondary School Teachers with a Master's Degree in Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 66(7), 1253-1268. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2021.1983647 Loh, J., & Hu, G. (2014). Subdued by the system: Neoliberalism and the beginning teacher. Teaching and Teacher Education, 41, 13-21. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.03.005 Rizvi, F., & Lingard, B. (2010). Globalizing Education Policy. Florence: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203867396 Schaefer, L., Hennig, L., & Clandinin, J. (2021). Intentions of early career teachers: should we stay or should we go now? Teaching Education, 32(3), 309-322. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2020.1730317 Valenčič Zuljan, M., & Marentič Požarnik, B. (2014). Induction and Early-career Support of Teachers in Europe. European Journal of Education, 49(2), 192-205. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12080