One aspect of teacher training that often takes ITT students by surprise is the degree to which they need to learn to work alongside their teaching colleagues. Beginning teachers expect that there will be emotional labour involved in teaching pupils, but they rarely think about what it will look like to navigate professional relationships with fellow beginning teachers (and colleagues in school). This can be especially hard when they find themselves questioning their commitment, conduct, or suitability for the profession.
Lindqvist, Weurlander, Wernerson, and Thornberg’s research paper (2023) explores how student teachers respond emotionally when they encounter peers who they believe fall short of the implicit ‘suitability norms’ of teaching (norms relating to values, social skills, and commitment to learning) (Lindqvist et al., 2023, pp. 798–806).
When I first read this paper, it resonated strongly with the real-life stories beginning teachers often share about the challenges they faced in working with their peers and other colleagues in school. Let’s look at an example of one of these stories.
Jatinder and Belinda: A Scenario of Frustration
Jatinder and Belinda are on a paired placement in a large department. They each have their own mentor but twice a week they are both timetabled for the same Year 10 lesson, with the idea that they team teach the class.
Jatinder prides himself on being thoughtful, prepared, and committed. Over several weeks he has been growing increasingly frustrated with Belinda who he feels is unreliable and reluctant to take on responsibility for the class. He feels Belinda isn’t interested in developing the subject knowledge required to plan and teach the next lesson sequence, and instead always looks to him to pick up the slack. Jatinder reads this as a lack of professionalism. Even worse, he thinks this is a sign that Belinda doesn’t take teaching seriously at all.
As his frustration grows. Jatinder frequently sounds off about Belinda to others in their cohort:
- “I just don’t see how she’ll cope in the classroom.”
- “Honestly, I’m doing all the work. How is that fair?”
- “People like her really shouldn’t be teachers.”
Jatinder believes he is simply telling the truth and saying what everyone else is thinking. However, while criticising Belinda’s professionalism, Jatinder is now slipping into unprofessional conduct himself. His venting is not about problem‑solving or finding a way to work professionally with Belinda. He just wants a good moan.
Suitability norms and identity threats
Lindqvist et al. (2023) found that student teachers often feel emotionally challenged when they perceive their peers lack the necessary values to be a teacher, evoking feelings of discomfort, frustration, and even anger (the emotions they often have to suppress in pupil-facing contexts where they are expected to be calm, rational and caring). Making these comparisons with their peers, then becomes a way of stabilising their own emerging teacher identity.
This is precisely the trap Jatinder falls into. Belinda’s behaviour disrupts Jatinder’s internal narrative of what a good beginning teacher looks like. Instead of engaging with Belinda directly, or seeking ways to understand the situation more fully, Jatinder reinforces his own identity by regaling others with Belinda’s shortcomings.
When sounding off becomes unprofessional
It’s important to acknowledge that Jatinder’s feelings are valid. Feeling let down by Belinda is understandable. Worrying about the future quality of the profession is reasonable too. But emotional validity does not give free license to unprofessional conduct.
In trying to preserve a sense of themselves as suitable, beginning teachers may unintentionally:
- slip into character judgements
- assume motivations they cannot see
- spread negativity in peer groups
- close down opportunities for dialogue or collaborative growth
For Jatinder, the very act of repeatedly venting about Belinda becomes a breach of the professional norms he is claiming to defend.
What could Jatinder do differently?
- Recognise the emotional and personal root of his frustration
Jatinder’s frustration is not just about workload; it’s about identity. Naming this (“I feel anxious about the quality of our work and how this reflects on me as a future teacher”) can help shift from judgement to reflection.
- Avoid making assumptions
Belinda’s behaviour may have unseen causes. For example, she may be experiencing issues with workload, confidence, home pressures, or have additional learning needs. Suitability cannot be inferred from surface behaviours.
- Use professional communication
Clear, respectful dialogue is needed to develop a professional way forward. For example, Jatinder might need to clarify roles and responsibilities with Belinda, explaining he is perceiving the workload to be uneven and asking to allocate planning and teaching roles within their shared lessons more explicitly.
- Reflect on what professionalism really means when seeking support
Professionalism is not about supressing your emotions. Rather it is about managing your emotions in the moment of a professional interaction. It is also the willingness to consider that your interpretation may not be the whole story. Jatinder needs to work through his frustration in a safe space away from the school and training provider context so he can raise his concerns in a structured way that seeks solutions rather than simply an opportunity to sound off.
Preparing to work in a team
Throughout his teaching career, Jatinder will constantly be called to work alongside colleagues who challenge his view of what a teacher should be like. The challenge is learning to manage the inevitable frustrations that arise with generosity, humility, and a commitment to personal professional growth.
So if you ever find yourself in Jatinder’s shoes (frustrated, incredulous, or silently questioning whether a peer should even be here), pause and ask yourself:
What is this moment teaching me about the kind of teacher I want to become?
Am I acting in a way that aligns with that aspiration?
Often, this shift in perspective is where real professional maturity begins.
For more on professionalism see What New Teachers Should Know About Professionalism: It’s about more than your shoes. – Becoming a History Teacher
Reference
Lindqvist, H., Weurlander, M., Wernerson, A., & Thornberg, R. (2023). The emotional journey of the beginning teacher: Phases and coping strategies. Research Papers in Education, 38(4), 615–635. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2022.2065518
Becoming a History Teacher 