Newly qualified teacher's needs : a comprehensive analysis among teachers in Poland and Spain

Abstract

Se presenta un análisis exhaustivo de las necesidades de formación entre los docentes de Polonia y España. El interés de esta investigación radica en proporcionar las bases teóricas y diagnósticas para el proyecto ''Digital Academy in teaching practice for a seamless transition from pre-service to in-service (Digital TA)'', específicamente en la convocatoria ''Erasmus+ Teacher Academies'' financiado por la Unión Europea. Se utiliza una metodología cualitativa donde se realiza una encuesta a 134 profesores que tienen máximo 5 años de experiencia en la profesión: 68 de Polonia y 66 de España. La encuesta se estructura en 6 ejes: necesidades profesionales de los encuestados; relaciones personales en un nuevo contexto; formas de aprender, formación docente en la universidad, desarrollo personal y desarrollo profesional. Se extrae que la gestión del aula y las necesidades de trabajo individual representan los principales problemas para los docentes. Asimismo, se considera que un tutor que brinde acompañamiento personalizado y especializado es una de las mejores herramientas para superar las adversidades de los profesores. Por último, los docentes consideran que el trabajo cuando conlleva cargas y estrés superiores a lo deseado, se convierte en un beneficio para la sociedad.

This article sets out to understand the training needs of New Qualified Teachers (NQTs) in two countries: Spain and Poland, to establish, first, similarities and differences between them in a comparative way, and then, as a cornerstone and starting point in the European project ''Digital Academy in teaching practice for a seamless transition from pre-service to in-service-Digital TA- (Project ID: 101055620; Erasmus+ Teacher Academies)'', with negative impacts for the education system on a large scale. The methodology used is qualitative, whereby a non-probabilistic purposive sample of NQTs was administered a questionnaire structured in 6 axes: respondents' professional needs; personal relationships in a new context; ways to learn, teacher education at the university, personal development, and professional development; which was validated by statistical methods, and after collecting empirical data in both countries, it was integrated, compared, and analysed. The main results show that classroom management and individual work needs represent the main problems for NQTs and that a tutor who provides personal and specialized accompaniment represents one of the best aids to overcome the adversities of NQTs, but also the exchange of experiences in common spaces helps to overcome the lack of confidence. It is also evident that even though educational work is one with workloads and stress above what is desirable, NQTs believe that it represents change and benefit to society.