“I sorta felt like I was out in the middle of the ocean”: Novice teachers’ transition to the classroom

The design of initial teacher education courses is to provide pre-service teachers with skills, processes and knowledge about the practice and profession of teaching. This allows graduate teachers tobest service the learning needs of future students. A disposition of inquiry in relation to ongoing teacher learning is a significant aspect of initial teacher education programs. The contribution that teacher education programs make in the transition from pre-service teachers to teacher challenges the experiences that occur during the teacher education program. The impetus for this study was to examine the graduate teacher’s transition to novice teaching and the impact of their initial teacher education course in preparing them for this transition.