Stories of Beginning Teachers : First Year Challenges and Beyond

Stories of Beginning Teachers offers insight into the challenges and triumphs of beginning teachers, presenting both research findings and case studies on the challenges faced by new teachers. More than twenty categories and five hundred specific examples of potential problems and issues are cited in Part 1 of this book. Armed with such useful information about the most frequent, serious, and persistent challenges, Roehrig, Pressley, and Talotta assert, a young educator will be better prepared to teach and more likely to succeed.

Part 2 contains stories of the teaching experience of participants in the University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education. Included are nine vivid stories of the struggles and successes of new teachers reflecting on their first year, as well as sixteen shorter summaries of the daily lives of beginning teachers. Reading this book, a novice teacher will better understand student motivation, student learning, human development, classroom organization, classroom management, assessment techniques, and the administration of schools.

Alysia D. Roehrig is a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame.

Michael Pressley is director of the Master of Education Program, professor of psychology, and Notre Dame Chair in Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of numerous books and editor of the Journal of Educational Psychology.

Denise A. Talotta teaches at the Marist Brothers International School in Kobe, Japan.