Professional development of early career teachers: a pedagogical focus on cooperative learning

Teacher retention has long been recognised as a significant problem in many education systems, while retaining early career teachers is particularly problematic. Although a variety of interventions have been suggested to support beginning teachers, too little attention has been paid to the importance of enhancing their knowledge about pedagogy in the early years of teaching. This paper examines data from an action research study that explored the impact of cooperative learning pedagogy on the professional learning of early career teachers. It focuses on the experiences of two early career teachers, one in her first year of teaching and the other in her third year, who participated in professional development on cooperative learning. Classroom observations and teacher interviews are analysed to explore the teachers’ implementation of the cooperative learning strategy, their understanding of the practice and its impact on their attitude to teaching. The paper argues that a focus on pedagogy was significant in enhancing these early career teachers’ professional accomplishment, as well as maintaining their enthusiasm in the early years of teaching with implications for retaining quality teachers in the profession.