The shortage of teachers has been gaining increasing visibility as a challenge to be faced in various countries. Reports recently issued by international organizations underscore that a high number of primary and secondary teachers are needed to ensure quality education for all, both in developing and developed countries (Flores, Oliveira & Ponte, 2024). Currently, the majority of education systems in Europe struggle with teacher shortage due to various reasons such as motivation, recruitment, retention, training and working conditions. 

In Portugal this complex problem arises in the aftermath of mass retirement of teachers and a decline in the number of teaching candidates over the last 15 years (Flores, Oliveira & Ponte, 2024). The entrance of new teachers into the profession is a pressing issue that requires rethinking models of teacher education and processes of professional development. Thus, induction has been pointed out as a crucial response to face the current challenges of training, recruiting and retaining the needed teachers in the Portuguese educational system. 

New teacher’s induction is not a new topic since programmes and practices have existed in certain countries for decades. Studies about the programmes and practices are traceable in North America since the late XX century (for example Huling-Austin, 1988; Serpell & Bozeman, 1999; Youngs, 2002) focusing on its characteristics and effects. In general the authors conclude that research data supports the idea that induction programs can be successful in achieving multiple goals linked to the improvement of  teaching performance, the retention of beginning teachers and their personal and professional well-being, as well as satisfying mandated requirements related to certification and transmitting the culture of the system to beginning teachers. Similar conclusions are highlighted by scholars reviewing more recent research about induction programmes and practices in other parts of the world, comprising not only North America but also Asian and European countries  (Darling-Hammond, 2017; Frederiksen, 2020).

Moreover, induction arises as a central issue within teachers’ education and professional development across time and across structured educational systems in different parts of the world. Within that broader scenario induction might be approached from quite different perspectives and understood as “the fundamental link between initial and in-service teacher education with implications for retention, professional knowledge and the development of the professional identity” (Flores, 2021, p. 124).

The analysis of the Portuguese case is particularly stimulating to enrich the debate about new teachers' induction, offering a view from a small country in a peripheral location. In this country, new teachers’ induction gained enormous visibility recently attached to a serious crisis of lack of teachers in the context of an educational system highly centralized and bureaucratic, especially in what concerns teachers recruitment and careers. The induction period in teachers' careers seems to be non-existent in the country (Flores, 2021) as a recognised phase within the continuous professional development process. Nevertheless, the National Teaching Career Statutes Law establishes a probationary period since 2015 aimed at certifying teachers in their first year of practice and managed by the national Ministry of Education that each year publishes a list with the name of all the teachers that must fulfill this requirement.  

In the proposed paper we draw on international reports which include data about induction and references to Portugal, namely Education at a Glance (OCDE, 2021 and 2022), Eurydice (2018 and 2021) and TALIS (2019 and 2025). Overall, the analysis intends to enrich the discussion about the complexity of induction in practice for teachers, schools and educational systems. In addition, it features the Portuguese case and contributes to the international debate about new teachers’ induction related to its various understandings as probation, professional development or response to teachers’ shortage.

The paper draws on document analysis of international reports which include data about induction as well as references to Portugal within the international scenario. The - reports were selected on the basis of the following criteria: - reports issued by international organisations; - reports published in the last decade, since the current national law about teachers’ induction (defined as a probationary period) was issued in 2015; reports that explicitly present data concerning teachers induction and information about Portugal. The exploratory phase of the study consisted in searching reports issued by the European Commission, OECD and UNESCO. In the latter case none of the reports fulfilled the criteria. Thus, the corpus in the undergoing analysis is composed by the following documents: Comissão Europeia (European Commission) EACEA/Eurydice, 2018. A Carreira Docente na Europa: Acesso, Progressão e Apoios. Relatório Eurydice. Luxemburgo: Serviço de Publicações da União Europeia. European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2021. Teachers in Europe: Careers, Development and Well-being. Eurydice report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. OECD (2021), Education at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris. OECD (2022), Education at a Glance 2022: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris. OECD (2019), TALIS 2018 Results (Volume I): Teachers and School Leaders as Lifelong Learners, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris. OECD (2025), Results from TALIS 2024: The State of Teaching, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris. The first phase of the study is guided by the aim of shedding light on (1) the profile of teachers involved in induction activities (age, level of teaching, type of schools, etc.); (2) the duration of induction activities and its modalities (mentoring, peer-work, seminars, reduced teaching hours,...); (3) the mandatory/non-mandatory character and effective implementation of induction activities. Additionally, the analysis will consider the implications originated by source of the data presented in the international reports, namely distinguishing those resulting from questionnaires designed by international organizations (example: TALIS) and those originated in official statistical data (example: Eurydice). The second phase of the study entails a critical analysis of the data about Portugal collected and organized in the previous phase. This critical analysis intends to reveal the understanding(s) of induction underlying its operationalisation reported in the documents.

This study is part of a larger ongoing research project aiming to question and problematise the concept of induction as well as its programmes and practices in Portugal. Within this project we have been taking into account the actors and sources of information about induction that have been mobilized in the public and political debate about the topic. The outcomes of this paper proposal contribute to enlighten how induction is depicted in international reports. Thus, the paper is expected to deepen knowledge about new teachers’ induction with a particular focus in the Portuguese case within the international context. It enables us to explore the topic from a south european perspective and in a country where a severe teacher shortage has been the reason for the increasing visibility of induction in the political debate about education. This context informs specific understandings of induction mobilized in educational policy and debate as a strategy to overcome the lack of teachers preventing career abandonment. Preliminary results of our larger ongoing research project suggest that in the Portuguese case there is an overlap between induction as a professional development phase and the probatory period resulting in the certification of teachers.

Darling-Hammond; L. (2017). Teacher education around the world: What can we learn from international practice?, European Journal of Teacher Education, 40:3, 291-309, DOI: 10.1080/02619768.2017.1315399 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2017.1315399 Huling-Austin, L. (1988). A Synthesis of Research on Teacher Induction Programs and Practices. Southwest Texas State Univ., San Marcos. Flores, M. A. (2021). Necessary but non-existent: The paradox of teacher induction in Portugal. Profesorado, v. 25, n. 2, p. 123-144, 2021. DOI: 1030827/profesorado.v25i2.20765. Flores, M. A., Oliveira, H., & da Ponte, J. P. (2025). From teacher surplus to teacher shortage and its effects on teacher education: the Portuguese case. European Journal of Teacher Education, 48(1), 26–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2024.2443668 Frederiksen, L. L. (2020). Support for Newly Qualified Teachers Through Teacher Induction Programs – a Review of Reviews. In K.-N. Olsen, E. Bjerkholt & H. Heikkinen (Eds.) New Teachers in Nordic Countries: Ecologies of Induction and Mentoring. Oslo: Kappelen Damm Akademisk, 49-70. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.105.ch2 Serpell, Z; Bozeman, L. A. (1999). Beginning Teacher Induction: A Report on Beginning Teacher Effectiveness and Retention. National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching, Washington, DC. Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Youngs, P. (2002). State and District Policy Related to Mentoring and New Teacher Induction in Connecticut. National Commission on Teaching & America's Future, New York.