Teaching has been recognised as a stressful profession and is plagued by significant turnover (Flook et al., 2013). International research has shown that many teachers, especially in their early career years, feel underprepared to handle academic and behavioural issues among their students (e.g., Aflakseir & Nemati, 2018; Dias-Lacy & Guirguis, 2017; Whitaker et al., 2015). This may lead to teachers suffering from anxiety, depression, burnout, and deciding to leave the profession (Buchanan et al., 2013). Preparing classroom-ready teachers has become a persistent theme around the world (Mansfield et al., 2016). For example, the apprenticeship-style teacher preparation program, Teach For All, requires graduating teachers to complete a six to eight week training course prior to teaching “in a disadvantaged setting” (Rice et al., 2015, p. 498). The Teach For All program has expanded significantly since 1990 and recognised 46 countries as network partners, including China, India, New Zealand, and Australia (Rowe & Skourdoumbis, 2019).

However, there is little agreement about what might a classroom-ready teacher look like across the profession. Early career teachers believe that a classroom-ready teacher should be prepared for understanding the curriculum, assessing students, engaging in professional dialogue with colleagues and parents, as well as managing classroom behaviours. Experienced teachers perceive that a classroom-ready teacher should be able to control their classes, communicate explicitly to their students, and deliver well-structured and student-focused lessons (Hickey, 2015). School principals point out that teaching is a demanding and complex profession so a classroom-ready teacher should be someone who experienced full responsibility for student wellbeing issues, class loads, parent communication and complaints management (Hickey, 2015). 

Recent studies suggested that classroom readiness refers to a process of becoming, committing, and re-committing throughout a teaching career, rather than a simple standard to be achieved upon graduation (Buchanan & Schuck, 2016; Mockler, 2017). In this sense, a classroom-ready teacher cannot be identified as a product of a teacher education program (Buchanan & Schuck, 2016). Ingersoll (2007) compared the preparation of elementary and secondary teachers in seven education jurisdictions (i.e., China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and the United Stated). Prior to entering the profession, all the education jurisdictions required both content knowledge (i.e., knowing what to teach), pedagogical knowledge (i.e., knowing how to teach), and supervised practice (Ingersoll, 2007). Schuck et al. (2012) claimed that teaching is a multifaced enterprise, including communicating with colleagues, parents, communities, and students, demonstrating sound content and pedagogical knowledges, as well as keeping deep reserves of professional and personal resilience. 

This paper explores the concept of 'preparedness' through the voices of pre-service teachers in Sydney, New South Wales (Australia), and Glasgow, Scotland. Preparedness and class-ready have been concepts posed by differing reviews of pre-service teacher education in New South Wales and Scotland; little information is provided in these reports about how preparedness is defined or operationalised. This paper will report initial findings from interviews with pre-service teachers about their understandings of 'preparedness'. 

This paper reports on one aspect of a proposed larger multi-national, longitudinal study exploring preparedness of teachers to craft an identity in their classrooms and careers. The project will utilise a range of research methods to help better understand what it is to be an educator. Further, the project will involve a larger set of pre-service teachers, as well as early career teacher, experienced teachers, and school administrators. Participants: pre-service teachers undertaking an undergraduate pre-service degree at the University of Sydney and University Glasgow were invited to be part of this first phase of a larger project examining preparedness. Interviews: a series of semi-structured interviews were undertaken with participants to explore the concept of 'preparedness'. The interviews were open-ended in nature allowing for a wide range of ideas and topic to be discussed. It allowed for participants to give an ‘over the horizon’ view of what it means to be a teacher in ‘classroom of their future’. Analysis: A thematic analysis, using grounded theory process, was used to draw out a broad set of concepts. From these concepts a set of themes was drawn to develop an initial conceptualisation of preparedness.

The key aim of this paper is to establish an initial insight into how pre-service teachers, at differing stages of their degree programs, conceptualise their preparedness for teaching. In this paper, the authors will report on similarities and differences between pre-service teachers studying at the University of Sydney and University of Glasgow in how they understand and conceptualise preparedness. Key differences are based in cultural nuances within the environments of the pre-service teachers (e.g., focus on socio-economic status and deprivation, education of students from indigenous backgrounds). Similarities are calls heard within the profession and greater community discussion of preparing teachers (e.g., greater set of skills in supporting student behaviour, teacher retention). A key set of directions the authors are seeking to address from this initial set of interviews will be featured. These directions include where preparedness is placed by pre-service teachers (i.e., within themselves, from the external host schooling environment); how preparedness might be seen as a set of ‘soft skills’ and/or set of specific teacher tools; and how might preparedness be seen as a lifelong, multi-dimensional concept that develops and changes over time. The conclusions drawn will be used to further develop the project directions.

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