Newly Qualified Teachers’ Needs of Support for Professional Competences in Four European Countries - Finland, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Belgium

Oct 15, 2026

The study examines what newly qualified teachers need from professional development support and how those needs vary across Finland, the United Kingdom (England), Portugal, and Belgium (Flanders). Data were collected via a questionnaire from 314 teachers with less than five years of teaching experience, including both closed and open-ended items. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis identify latent variables tied to needs, while open responses add context. Results emphasize support for conflict situations and differentiating instruction, and show holistic student development as the top priority across countries, with limited generalisability but clear planning implications.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Professional competencies and early-career demands

Professional development as a system-level requirement

Research focus and data overview

Findings across four European countries

Newly Qualified Teachers’ Needs of Support for Professional Competences in Four European Countries: Finland, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Belgium Vilhelmiina Harju*1 and Hannele Niemi2 • The first few years in the teaching profession are usually demanding. Although initial teacher education forms an essential foundation for teachers’work, it cannot fully prepare new teachers for the complexities of working life. This study focuses on investigating the need for professional development support among newly qualified teachers to determine what their professional learning needs are and how these needs differ among teachers from four different countries: Finland, the United Kingdom (England), Portugal and Belgium (Flanders). The research data was collected via a questionnaire from 314 teachers, each with less than five years of teaching experience, and both closed and open-ended questions were included. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and factor analysis to identify the latent variables associated with their needs. Answers to the open-ended questions were used to gain deeper insight into the newly qualified teachers’ situation. The results indicate that new teachers need support, especially regarding conflict situations and in differentiating their teaching. In addition, when analysing the profiles of eight support-need latent variables, all of the teachers in the different countries viewed supporting students’ holistic development as the most important area. Although the results of this study cannot be generalised, they provide an important overview of new teachers’ learning needs that should be taken into account when planning and organising support for them. Keywords: lifelong learning, newly qualified teachers, professional learning needs, teachers’ professional competence, teachers’ professional development 1 *[Corresponding Author. vilhelmiina.harju@helsinki.fi](Corresponding Author. vilhelmiina.harju@helsinki.fi). 2 Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland. 78 newly qualified teachers’ needs of support for professional competences in ... Potrebe na novo usposobljenih učiteljev za podporo pri strokovnih kompetencah v štirih evropskih državah – na Finskem, v Veliki Britaniji, na Portugalskem in v Belgiji Vilhelmiina Harju in Hannele Niemi • Prvih nekaj let v učiteljskem poklicu je običajno zahtevnih. Čeprav začetno izobraževanje učiteljev nudi ključno osnovo za učiteljsko delo, ne more v celoti na novo usposobljenih učiteljev pripraviti na kompleksnost delovnega procesa. Študija se osredinja na raziskovanje potrebe popodpori strokovnemu razvoju med na novo usposobljenimi učitelji, insicer z namenom, da se ugotovi, katere so njihove strokovne učne potrebein kako se te razlikujejo med učitelji štirih držav: Finske, Velike Britanije (Anglije), Portugalske in Belgije (Flandrije). Raziskovalni podatki so bilizbrani z vprašalnikom, na katerega je odgovorilo 314 učiteljev; vsi so imeli manj kot pet let izkušenj z učiteljevanjem; vprašanja so bila zaprtega in odprtega tipa. Kvantitativne podatke smo analizirali s pomočjo deskriptivne statistike in faktorske analize z namenom identificiranja latentnih spremenljivk, povezanih z njihovimi potrebami. Odgovori navprašanja odprtega tipa so bili uporabljeni za pridobitev poglobljenegavpogleda v položaj na novo usposobljenih učiteljev. Izsledki kažejo, dana novo usposobljeni učitelji potrebujejo podporo, še zlasti v povezavis konfliktnimi situacijami in pri diferenciaciji njihovega poučevanja. Poleg tega se je pri analizi profilov osmih latentnih spremenljivk gledena podporo – potrebo pokazalo, da vsi učitelji v različnih državah podporo študentovemu celostnemu razvoju vidijo kot najpomembnejšepodročje. Čeprav izsledkov raziskave ne moremo posplošiti, pa ti nudijo pomemben pregled učnih potreb na novo usposobljenih učiteljev, ki binaj bile upoštevane pri načrtovanju in organiziranju podpore zanje. Ključne besed

FAQs

What problem does the study address for newly qualified teachers?

It investigates the professional development support needs of newly qualified teachers and how those learning needs differ across Finland, the UK, Portugal, and Belgium.

How was the research data collected and analysed?

A questionnaire was administered to 314 teachers with less than five years of experience, using both closed and open-ended questions. Quantitative results used descriptive statistics and factor analysis, while open responses provided deeper insight.

What key support areas did the results highlight across countries?

The findings indicate strong need for support in conflict situations and in differentiating teaching, and show that supporting students’ holistic development is viewed as the most important area by teachers in all four countries.

Oct 15, 2026

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