Can the concept of the protean career help us to understand millennial pre-service teacher retention challenges? A study of two pre-service teachers’ career pathways in England

Parfitt, A (2020) 'Can the concept of the protean career help us to understand millennial pre-service teacher retention challenges? A study of two pre-service teachers’ career pathways in England.' Journal of Education for Teaching, 46 (3). pp. 324-335. ISSN 0260-7476

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2020.1733403

Abstract

The career pathways of two pre-service teachers on the point of entering the school workforce were investigated to inform debates on teacher retention. Narrative data were analysed to explore the orientations of two Millennials completing a university-led initial teacher education programme. The protean career concept sheds light on a mindset regarding career pathways that is substantially different to that espoused by earlier generations of teachers, for whom a working life carried out within the profession could have been a realistic proposition. However, this study demonstrated that the concept cannot be applied universally to a cohort. When considering the two case study participants’ narratives, it was necessary to employ elements of a capabilities analysis approach to explore their distinct outcomes after they had initially pursued their goal of ‘making a difference’ and realised that they were unlikely to achieve this through teaching.

Item Type: Article
Keywords: Protean career, pre-service teachers, capabilities analysis, Millennials
Divisions: School of Education
Research Centres and Groups: Centre for Research in Equity, Inclusion and Community (CREIC)
Research Centre on Policy, Pedagogy and Practice in Education (PPP)
UoA: Education
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2020.1733403
Date Deposited: 02 Mar 2020 12:08
Last Modified: 16 May 2022 11:20
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/13124
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