Australian Journal of Teacher Education - Volume 48 - Issue 8 - Article 1 - Exploring Challenges Faced by Early Career Primary School Teachers: A Qualitative Study

Oct 15, 2026

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The study explored challenges faced by 23 early career primary school teachers in their second, third, or fourth years. Qualitative evidence was gathered through online semistructured interviews and linked to three themes: parents, workload, and behaviour management. Findings were also reflected in the reviewed literature, where all themes were associated with increased teacher stress and reduced self-confidence. Results suggested challenges vary across career stages and include cohort-specific patterns for later years.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Literature Review

Challenges Faced by Early Career Teachers

Personal Challenges

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 48 Issue 8 | Article 1 | | --- | --- | | 2023
Exploring Challenges Faced by Early Career Primary School Teachers: A Qualitative Study
Deborah Black No Institution
Gregory Hine
The University of Nore Dame Australia
Shane Lavery
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Follow this and additional works at: [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte)
Part of the Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, and the Higher Education and Teaching Commons | | Recommended Citation Black, D., Hine, G., & Lavery, S. (2023) . Exploring Challenges Faced by Early Career Primary School Teachers: A Qualitative Study. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 48(8) . [https://doi.org/10.14221/](https://doi.org/10.14221/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.14221/)1835-517X.6147 This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol48/iss8/1](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol48/iss8/1) Exploring Challenges Faced by Early Career Primary School Teachers: A Qualitative Study Debra Black Gregory Hine University of Notre Dame Shane Lavery University of Notre Dame Abstract: This study explored the challenges faced by 23 primary early career teachers (ECTs) in their second, third or fourth years of teaching. Qualitative data were collected through an online semistructured interview. Three themes were evident: parents, workload and behaviour management. These results were also reflected in thereview of the literature. All three themes have been linked to increased ECT stress and have been found to undermine ECTs’ self-confidence. The results suggest that some challenges are potentially aligned to the stage of ECTs’ career development and that ECTs face different challenges as their teaching experience levels increase. A range of cohort specific themes were also identified. For second year ECTs, many of the challenges may potentially reflect their limited experience within the profession. As such, the challenges focused more on the logistics of doing the job and adjustment to the emotional and time demands of teaching. By the third and fourth year of teaching, the cohort-specific themes identified in the present study had changed to reflect broader school-based and interpersonal relationship issues. Three recommendations are made in the light of the research findings. Key words: Early career teachers, challenges, parents, workload, behaviour management Introduction The exodus of large numbers of Early Career Teachers (ECTs) from the profession is a major concern throughout the western world (Pamu, 2010; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004; Smithers & Robinson, 2003; Wang, 2007). A substantial body of research has been conducted internationally to investigate the factors that contribute to ECT attrition (Borman & Dowling, 2008; Boyd et al., 2005; Ewing & Manuel, 2005; Feng, 2006; Joerger, 2002) . Some international studies have found that as many as 50% of new teachers leave within the first five years of starting teaching (Canadian Teachers’ Federation, 2004; Cooper & Davey, 2011; Ingersoll, 2003; Ryan et al., 2017), and more recently up to 40% of ECTs in Australia (Carroll et al, 2020)and Finland (Räsänen et al., 2020) leave the profession within their first five years. Those most likely to leave are often the best and brightest ECTs as measured by university entrance exams (Ingersoll, 1999; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004) . These findings are particularly worrying given the significant amount of research suggesting the most wellprepared and capable teachers have the greatest impact on student achievement (DarlingHammond, 2000; Hattie, 2008). The difference between being taught by a highly capable and a less than capable teacher can translate into a full grade level of achievement in a single school year (Hanushek, 1992; Kane & Staiger, 2008) . Government administrations, policymakers, education sectors and schools alike are struggling wi

FAQs

How was the study conducted and who participated?

The study examined 23 early career primary teachers in their second, third, or fourth teaching years. Qualitative data were collected through online semistructured interviews.

Which three main themes emerged from the research?

Three themes were identified: parents, workload, and behaviour management. These were also supported by the literature review.

What do the findings suggest about teacher stress and self-confidence?

The themes were linked to increased early career teacher stress and found to undermine self-confidence.

Oct 15, 2026

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