Since the early 1990s there has been a call to focus on supporting early career teachers and improve teacher quality (Darling-Hammond, 1995; Huling-Austin, 1992). This has led to national standards, legislation and policies on teacher induction which aim to safeguard early career teacher learning. In this study, four national contexts (Malta, the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland) are compared to critically inquire into induction. They differ in terms of history regarding induction, and in policy contexts that influence the approach to induction.

Our research question was: how do curriculum ideologies in different national contexts create a European perspective for teacher induction? To analyse and compare the impact of these differences we use Schiro’s curriculum ideologies as a lens. This is based on our understanding of the teacher profession as a continuum of professional learning. As initial teacher education provides a curriculum that supports the professional development of student teachers, an induction programme can be understood as a curriculum supporting early career teachers. Schiro (2012) recognises four different ideologies that can drive curriculum aims and curriculum development: Scholar Academic ideology; Social Efficiency ideology; Learner Centred ideology; and Social Reconstruction ideology.

This comparative approach helps us to understand that the different curriculum ideologies underlying induction programmes are rooted in political and philosophical foundations that align with national perspectives of early career teacher development. Our comparison shows common elements, illustrating key issues in implementing system-wide induction programmes. These key issues are not restricted to national systems, but have a generic value across countries, indicating that cross-country collaboration and exchange of practices can support the improvement of induction of early career teachers across Europe.  

It is evident that the different curriculum ideologies are rooted in political and philosophical foundations that align with national perspectives of early career teacher development. Understanding these political and philosophical underpinnings is crucial for teacher educators primarily because these shape teachers’, and teacher education institutions’ beliefs and practices; and because it helps to render underlying discourses and ideas which inspire programmes, provision of resources and policies more explicit, creating space for improvement.

To compare the induction systems in the four countries we used curriculum lenses to identify main themes and topics. In addition to Schiro’s curriculum ideologies, another useful curriculum lens is provided by Van den Akker’s ‘curricular spider web’. Van den Akker et al. (2009) identify ten elements of a curriculum, each concerning an aspect of learning and the learning programme for pupils: rationale, aims & objectives, content, learning activities, teacher roles, materials & resources, grouping, location, time, and assessment & evaluation. Given the aim of our work, we restricted our analysis to four key elements of the curricular spider web: aims & objectives; learning activities; roles; and assessment. By analysing these four key elements we were able to identify the underlying curriculum ideology (or rationale). A third curriculum lens is based on the work of Goodlad, Klein and Tye (1979) who make a distinction between the intended curriculum, the implemented curriculum and the achieved curriculum. As our analysis focuses on national levels, it can be helpful to reflect on the distinction between the intended curriculum (e.g. in terms of national policies) and the implemented curriculum (as carried out at local or regional level). Using these three curriculum lenses, each of the authors analysed their national induction case using an agreed set of question. We used our expert knowledge based on our long-term involvement in teacher induction in our country and key documents were analysed for each country. The next step of comparing the national contexts was done in online sessions, where the authors questioned each other to identify trends in national approaches, with a specific focus on clarifying the underlying curriculum ideologies. This led to the adoption of the country descriptions. After this phase of clarification, comparing the four countries was done by summarising the key elements of the context and design of induction programmes in a comparative overview identifying similarities and differences between countries. In several online dialogues between the authors these similarities and differences were compared to national contexts aiming to give meaning to differences and to draw conclusions. This resulted in four national portraits of induction programmes, each consisting of a general introduction on the national context, followed by a description of the four key elements of the induction curriculum and a reflection on the intended and the implemented induction curriculum, and concluded with a critical reflection using the curriculum ideologies.

The contextual differences found in our analysis remind us that every education system operates within a unique cultural, social, economic and political context. The induction process of one country may not necessarily be applicable or effective in another because of differing needs, values and circumstances. Implementing policies borrowed from a context on a national or regional level, without considering the local needs and conditions, can lead to lack of adaptation. Effective induction policies must be tailored to the specific needs of local. Making the underlying curriculum ideologies more explicit provides insights. Teacher induction starts from a deficit approach, is learner centred and focused on teacher professional development and growth. Moreover, early career teachers are treated as autonomous professionals and are not expected to follow specific models of teaching. It is thus important that induction programmes reflect this common approach, through assigning mentors who can guide and support these teachers; providing professional learning opportunities which cater to the specific learning needs of these teachers; allowing early career teachers to take more ownership of their teaching; fostering supportive communities among early career teachers by encouraging collaboration and creating opportunities for them to learn from each other; and establishing a system of monitoring the process and growth of early career teachers whereby the learning journey is just as important as the outcomes it aims to achieve. All this can help create a positive teaching environment and contribute to the overall quality of education by ensuring that early career teachers have the necessary tools, resources and support to thrive in their chosen profession.

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