Induction and the early career substitute teacher workforce: problems, confusion and possible solutions

Internationally, support provided to teachers during their early career phase has long been referred to as ‘induction.’ However, little is known about the induction provided to early career teachers who are insecurely employed as substitute teachers. This article reports on a critical policy study that examined the Australian policy guidelines for teacher induction. Drawing on human resource development concepts for supporting new employees, this examination considers how induction policies understand early career substitute teachers and support them to perform their jobs and develop their careers. The findings show that the induction guidelines are more concerned with teachers who have job security, rather than providing an overall system of practices that develop all new teachers regardless of their employment mode. This limitation means that the guidelines are unlikely to support early career substitute teachers in insecure employment to maximise their development. A conceptual framework is offered for early career teacher induction that provides guidance for supporting the onboarding and development of new teachers.