Informal learning in the workplace: a case study of new teachers

This paper focuses on the learning of new teachers in England where all such teachers have to complete a statutory induction year, with a particular emphasis on the part that may be played by non-formal or informal learning. Drawing on the work of Eraut, and Guile and Griffiths, it uses interview and survey data from work with new teachers to identify three aspects of workplace learning which, it is suggested, may not be best accommodated within current induction arrangements. Concluding that much of new teachers' professional learning is informal rather than formal, reactive rather than deliberative, and collaborative rather than individual, implications for the ongoing improvement of induction practice are considered.

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This paper focuses on the learning of new teachers in England where all such teachers have to complete a statutory induction year, with a particular emphasis on the part that may be played by non-formal or informal learning. Drawing on the work of Eraut, and Guile and Griffiths, it uses interview and survey data from work with new teachers to identify three aspects of workplace learning which, it is suggested, may not be best accommodated within current induction arrangements. Concluding that much of new teachers' professional learning is informal rather than formal, reactive ...  [+] Show more