Abstract:

Career start is an essential element of high quality professional development of each employee, including the teacher. Experiences gained in the first months and years of working as a teacher have a great impact on the decision to stay or leave the profession. The authors present strengths and weaknesses of new teachers practice as well as analyze the process of professional adaptation, including identification of the problems related to this in context of Polish educational legislation and school practice. Data about new teachers and their educational practice is based in two research studies. One of them is an international Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) initiated by the OECD and conducted in 2008. The other is the qualitative „Study of New Teachers” conducted in Poland by the Educational Research Institute during spring and summer 2011. The paper also presents recommendations concerning a well-designed adaptation process for new teachers. Developing effective forms of support for beginning teachers require engagement of all “actors” of school environment, especially the principal and the teaching stuff.

Keywords:

New teacher, professional adaptation, teachers’ career start.