Beginning Teachers’ Experiences Across Three Southern States

Abstract

This brief reports on themes from interviews of 30 early career teachers in three Southern states in the fall of 2024 from a variety of education preparation pathways. We first overview themes from across the interviews and then provide profiles of five beginning teachers, showcasing the variety of experiences of beginning teachers.

Key Findings

1. Beginning teachers who plan to remain in the profession enjoy working with students, find support through colleagues, and prioritize work-life balance.
2. Beginning teachers who plan to exit teaching or are undecided about their plans cite workload challenges, student behavior, lack of autonomy and support, and lack of resources.
3. The expectation that teachers sacrifice personal time for their work often begins in preparation programs and continues into their early years in the classroom, making the job very difficult for those who do plan to stay.
4. Preparation program support for navigating certification and hiring processes, reduced the stress and complexity for beginning teachers, but not all programs provide this support.
5. Traditional route teachers say student teaching was more helpful than their coursework, but most beginning teachers say that their preparation programs did not adequately prepare them for the reality of the job.

Suggested Citation

Booker, L., Powell, R., & Pierce, S. (2025). Beginning teachers’ experiences across three southern states. (Tennessee Education Research Alliance Working Paper).