Rather than supporting stereotypes about teachers at different stages in their professional lives, this book both scrutinises prevalent stereotypes and explores the great variety of veteranship in teaching, in different cultures and different subject matter domains. Teacher retention is an increasingly difficult issue and there are severe problems of high staff turnover and attrition in many countries - so recognition of the qualities of more experienced teachers is timely, as well as valuing the potential contributions of veteran teachers in schools. The book also addresses broader issues about teachers’ lives and identities, the vulnerability of different groups of teachers to the effects of change and reform, and the various forms of teacher knowledge and teacher development.
This book was previously published as a Special Issue of Teachers and Teaching.
Miriam Ben-Peretz is Professor Emerita at the Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Israel.
Gary McCulloch is Brian Simon Professor of the History of Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, UK.