Building knowledge and identity as a teacher – transitioning into teaching through a short teacher education programme

High quality teacher education plays a crucial role in the development of successful educational systems around the world. However, educational systems face challenges in relation to attracting and retaining excellent teachers. To meet the teacher shortage, the Swedish government introduced alternative educations that are more flexible than traditional teacher educations.

This project investigates a one-year-long teacher education governmental initiative and provides a deeper insight into student teachers’ as well as newly graduated teachers’ transition into the teacher profession. Research questions asked are which students choose to become teachers, why individuals from other professional backgrounds choose to become teachers, and what aspects student teachers
emphasise as crucial for developing their professional identity as teachers of their particular subject content. As such, the project might give implications for the way student teachers are recruited to teacher education programmes and how newly graduated teachers can develop professionally.