Entering the job as early career teachers (ECTs) has often been described with dramatic metaphors such asbeing in a‘sink or swim‘ situation (Ulvik, Smith & Helleve, 2009), in which ECTs not only find their expertise challenged, but also often experience the ‘emotional rollercoaster’ (Lindqvist et al. 2021) of intense rewarding as well as troubling emotions simultaneously (Wu & Chen, 2018). Although many forms of induction support programs have been put in place, it remains unclear what happens in the time after the first practice shock. Hobson and Ashby (2012) describe reality aftershock, when the support systems end after the first year. In their second year teachers are confronted with the need to stand on their own feet. The aim of the study is to explore how beginning teachers deal with these structural changes in their second year to more fully understand the actual processes following teacher induction over time. Building on symbolic interactionism as the conceptual framework the study focuses on ECTs’ sense-making interactions within their professional context. Special attention is given to the role of emotions as conveyers of meaning and ‘messages’ of what is (morally) at stake in the reality aftershock. Interview data were collected from 23 beginning Swedish teachers at the end of their second year in the job. In line with the theoretical framework, Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) was used as a methodological approach for data-analysis, involving coding (initial, focused and theoretical coding), memo-writing and constant comparison to analyze the data (Charmaz 2014). The findings show that the second-year teachers draw on their experiences from the first year as biographical evidence that they have indeed survived the practice shock: “I have been there and ‘done’ it”. This operates as a resource for motivation and stamina to deal with the challenges of the second year. Beyond the agenda of agentic mastery of the daily challenges in the classroom practice, the analysis also shows how these experiences are also reflected in their developing self-understanding as teachers (Kelchtermans, 2009). Critical experiences in this process included classroom management, negotiating of the task perception, building functional and rewarding professional relationships with peers, and appropriate organizational working conditions facilitated by the school leadership. Finally, the findings demonstrate the interplay of the technical, moral and emotional dimensions of the teaching profession and the need to take these into account in the design and implementation of induction programs.

Charmaz, K. (2013). Constructing Grounded Theory. London: Sage. Hobson, A., & Ashby, P. (2012). Reality aftershock and how to avert it: Second-year teachers’ experiences of support for their professional development. Cambridge Journal of Education, 42(2), 177-196. Kelchtermans, G. (2009). Who I am in how I teach is the message: self‐understanding, vulnerability and reflection. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and practice, 15(2), 257-272. Lindqvist, H., Weurlander, M., Wernerson, A., & Thornberg, R. (2023). The emotional journey of the beginning teacher: Phases and coping strategies. Research Papers in Education, 38(4), 615-635. Ulvik, M., Smith, K., & Helleve, I. (2009). Novice in secondary school–the coin has two sides. Teaching and teacher education, 25(6), 835-842. Wu, Z., & Chen, J. (2018). Teachers’ emotional experience: insights from Hong Kong primary schools. Asia Pacific Education Review, 19(4), 531-541.