Becoming a Teacher in Times of Corona – A Qualitative Study on the Professionalisation of (Prospective) Teachers under Pandemic Condition

A Qualitative Study on the Professionalisation of (Prospective) Teachers under Pandemic Conditions

Abstract

The Corona pandemic with its effects and restrictions poses major challenges for the school system, which are being extensively researched. The overall picture includes teacher training, which is also affected by the consequences of the pandemic (e.g., loss of practical experience due to school closures), but has not yet been a focus of research. This is where this article comes in with the aim of examining the importance of the pandemic for the professionalisation of (prospective) teachers. The qualitative study presented, based on twelve problem-centered interviews, examined how teachers experience and interpret becoming a teacher in different phases of their education programme (teaching degree, preparatory service and career entry), how they encounter development tasks and what options for action and design result for them. The result shows seven relevant aspects of practice, each of which refers to contrasting orientations, with which it is possible to distinguish the cases from one another in comparative analysis. Abstracted from the peculiarities of the individual cases, three types are formed: Type 1 cases manage to come to terms with the pandemic situation (e.g., by establishing new routines that are adapted to the situation). Type 2 includes cases who experience the pandemic as a time of suffering, which significantly impairs their own professionalisation. Type 3 cases see the Corona period as a space of opportunities and seize them. A summary and discussion of the necessary consequences for action for the various actors in teacher education complete the article.