Career Change Teachers: Solving the Teacher Shortage?

Teacher shortages are a global problem. One solution to this problem, offered in Australian policy, is the notion of the career change teacher (CCT). This study analyses the responses from 23 teacher educators who were asked what they themselves thought might enable and/or constrain this cohort entering teaching as well as those they saw for the pre-service teachers and the systems of both the university and the school. Data were analysed inductively and then deductively using Margaret Archer's emergent properties as a robust theoretical frame. Findings highlight the range of programmes, models, and strategies that higher education providers are adopting to support these career-change pre-service teachers. Data suggests that schools are neither able to provide workplace flexibility and support that career change teachers are looking for nor the recognition of their prior skills, expertise, and experience. New approaches for school-university partnerships are suggested to better address some of these issues.