Structural and personal influences in the socialization of beginning teachers

Abstract

The socialization of teachers is discussed with reference to personal and structural influences of the classroom, the institution, the society, and the teacher's own recollections of experiences as pupils in schools and students in teacher education. It is suggested that the structural influences at the classroom level, which are determined by structures at the institutional and societal levels, are of major importance, and that the influences from other persons in the systems should not be overestimated. Similarly, experiences as a pupil and as a teacher education student probably have more limited impact. New teachers develop practice-generated theories in daily interactions in the classroom, and these theories guide their teaching.