Over the last 10 years, we can observe an increased focus in teacher induction research on the importance of supporting early-career teachers (ECTs) for the organizational dimension of their work, especially in high-need schools (Johnson et al., 2012). Nevertheless, there is limited research that reveals the interaction between the ECT, the organization, and the urban context, and what this means for their overall induction process (März & Kelchtermans, 2020). Avoiding a deficit approach (Kelchtermans, 2019) and guided by the notions of resilience (individual) and working conditions (school and urban context), we followed the induction process of 8 ECTs over their first school year as they entered the teaching profession in an urban setting (i.e., Brussels). Following ECTs surrounded by diverse working conditions (e.g., different employment contracts, with some working full-time in a single organization, and others holding contracts in multiple schools), our paper addresses two research questions: 1) How do early-career teachers experience their socialization into the organizational dimension of teachers’ work; and 2) How can these experiences be explained in terms of the interplay between individual sense-making (agency) on the one hand and organizational working conditions (structure) on the other? Data are being collected through multiple semi-structured narrative interviews (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) in a three-year longitudinal qualitative design (of which the paper presents only the findings of year 1, with two interviews conducted at the beginning and the end of their first school year). The presentation of the findings will focus on the specific way in which the particular urban context as well as organizational working conditions impact the induction process of the ECTs and their retention/attrition.

Clandinin, D., & Connelly, F. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. John Wiley & Sons. Johnson, S., Kraft, M., & Papay, J. (2012). How context matters in high-need schools: The effects of teachers’ working conditions on their professional satisfaction and their students’ achievement. Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 114(10), 1‑39. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811211401004 Kelchtermans, G. (2019). Early career teachers and their need for support: Thinking again. In A. Sullivan et al. (Eds.), Attracting and Keeping the Best Teachers. Issues and Opportunities (pp. 83‑99). Springer. März, V., & Kelchtermans, G. (2020). The networking teacher in action: A qualitative analysis of early career teachers’ induction process. Teaching and Teacher Education, 87, 1‑15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102933