Exploring the dynamics and role that school leadership plays in the provision of professional support for novice teachers in the foundation phase

Novice teachers come into the teaching industry with their own preconceived notions and perceptions of what the profession entails. In their 1-3 years of teaching the realities of the roles and expectations from various stakeholders are revealed. This paper seeks to explore the dynamics that pertain to the professional support that novices receive or not in the schooling context. Furthermore, an investigation of the role that school leadership plays in the support of novices will also be done to gain perspectives from both ends of the spectrum. What novices identify as their challenges, who they identify as being supportive and what needs to be done to solve the challenges and successes that are identified. The theoretical and conceptual framework underpinning this paper is the communities of practice (Wenger, 2011) and The Human Capital Theory (Becker, 2009). The conceptual framework is foregrounded by the triangulation of Mentorship, Initial Teacher Education and Professional Identity. The answer to our leading question is that pedagogical 'know-how' gathered from training is not the only knowledge that novice teachers require to become successful long term teachers but expert support and mentoring into the profession as a diverse array of factors may influence the navigation of this process.