Teacher Socialization

Abstract

Teacher socialization is a complex, communicative process by which individuals selectively acquire the values, attitudes, norms, knowledge, skills, and behaviors of the teaching profession and of the particular school or educational culture in which they seek to work. It is a widely held view that the effectiveness of teachers, and thus the quality of education, is related to teacher preparation and early teaching experiences. Unlike primary socialization, which occurs from birth, teacher socialization is a form of secondary socialization, a subsequent, ongoing process in which people continually socialize into new realms of their lives. Prospective and beginning teachers have been the main focus of teacher socialization research, on the assumption that socialization occurs during teacher training and the initial years in the teaching position. Researchers acknowledge, however, that teacher socialization also continues throughout the career as veteran teachers change roles and enter new educational environments.