New Teachers are Leaving the Profession: How can School Leadership Make a Difference?

Institute of Education, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT

^* Corresponding author. Email: zctpjda@ucl.ac.uk

Abstract

The problem of loss of new qualified teachers has been a global issue which has a detrimental impact on the pool of future leadership positions and talented workforce in national labour markets. Despite the fact that a wide range of studies have investigated into the effects of mentoring and coaching on novice teacher retention, the leadership practices that highlight the development of teacher leadership capacities and resilience are currently insufficient. This article aims to examine the negative experiences of early career teachers (ECTs), who are in their first five years of teaching, and analyze how school leadership theories could support them by building positive working conditions. The development of ECTs’ sense of agency and resilience is emphasized in this paper through the utilization of two leadership theories: distributed leadership and caring leadership. It also clarifies recommendations for educational leaders and policymakers to enhance the quality of pre-service teacher education and induction programmes with the central premise that teacher professional development should be a career-long continuum.