Self-determination: Using Agency, Efficacy and Resilience (AER) to Counter Novice Teachers’ Experiences of Intensification

Oct 15, 2026

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The intensification process associated with the first year of teaching has a significant impact on beginning teachers’ personal and professional lives. Using a narrative approach, the study investigates electronic conversations among 16 beginning teachers on a self-initiated group email site. Participants’ exchanges show qualities of agency, efficacy and resilience (AER) and an increased sense of self-determination across five phases typical of early teaching experience. Results indicate peer-based support mechanisms could help other beginning teachers and counter high attrition rates from the profession.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction: Entry into the Profession: The First Year of Teaching

Five phases of first-year teaching experience

Attrition and professional challenges for novice teachers

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 37 | Issue 8 | Article 4 | | --- | --- | 2012 Self-determination: Using Agency, Efficacy and’Resilience (AER) to Counter Novice Teachers Experiences of Intensification Jayne Keogh Griffith University, j.keogh@griffith.edu.au Susanne Garvis Griffith University Donna Pendergast Griffith University Pat Diamond Griffith University Recommended Citation Keogh, Jayne; Garvis, Susanne; Pendergast, Donna; and Diamond, Pat (2012) "Self-determination: Using Agency, Efficacy and Resilience (AER) to Counter Novice Teachers’ Experiences of Intensification,"Australian Journal of Teacher Education: Vol. 37: Iss. 8, Article 4. Available at: [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol37/iss8/4](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol37/iss8/4) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol37/iss8/4](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol37/iss8/4) Australian Journal of Teacher Education Self-determination: Using Agency, Efficacy and Resilience (AER) to Counter Novice Teachers’ Experiences of Intensification Jayne Keogh Susanne Garvis Donna Pendergast Pat Diamond Griffith University Abstract: The intensification process associated with the first year of teaching has a significant impact on beginning teachers’ personal and professional lives. This paper uses a narrative approach to investigate the electronic conversations of 16 beginning teachers on a self initiated group email site. The participants’ electronic exchanges demonstrated their qualities of agency, efficacy and resilience (AER), and an increased sense of self-determination as they journeyed through the five phases typical of first year teacher experience. Findings suggest that the provision of similar peer-based support mechanisms would benefit other beginning teachers, perhaps working to counteract current high attrition rates from the profession. Introduction: Entry into the Profession: The First Year of Teaching Even though teachers face many and varied challenges throughout their careers,“few experiences … have such a tremendous impact on the personal and professional life of a teacher as does the first year of teaching”(Gold, 1996, p. 548) . This paper traces the experiences of a group of 16 new teacher graduates as they navigated the complexities and challenges of their initial teaching year, documented in their entries on a self-initiated group email site. Moir (1999) describes the first year of a teacher as involving five phases. First is the anticipation phase before starting the year, often characterised by feelings of romance and anxiety. Then, when the teaching term starts, a “reality”(Veenman, 1984) and “culture”shock (Huberman, 1993) is encountered, with novice teachers struggling to move into a survival phase. Towards the end of the first term, beginning teachers retreat into a disillusionment phase evidencing low morale and physical exhaustion. The rejuvenation phase that occurs after the first ‘break’ in the school year allows beginning teachers a brief spell in which to recover and regain motivation, and the first year ends with a reflection phase, with plans being made for the following year. Indeed, it is not until the end of the teaching year that novice teachers are able to begin reducing self-focus, allowing them to concentrate on the future planning and individual students’ needs (Marshall, Fittinghoff and Cheney (1990) . Previous studies have painted a bleak picture for beginning teachers over the past 25 years (see Anderson 2000; Wright, 2000; Ingersoll & Smith, 2003; Maciejewski, 2007; Le Maistre & Pare, 2010), involving both personal and professional costs. Halford (1998, p.33), for instance, refers to teaching as “the profession that eats its young”. Researchers have focussed on the school context, with its often desperate lack of resources, professional development opportunities, parent involvement, and community support, to explain why so

FAQs

What does the paper investigate about beginning teachers?

It examines how beginning teachers experience intensification during the first year of teaching through their electronic conversations.

How is the research conducted?

The study uses a narrative approach to analyze electronic exchanges from 16 beginning teachers on a self-initiated group email site.

What qualities are highlighted in the participants’ exchanges?

The exchanges demonstrate agency, efficacy, and resilience (AER) along with a growing sense of self-determination across typical first-year phases.

Oct 15, 2026

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