ENVISIONING THE FUTURE: SECOND CAREER TEACHERS' HOPES AND CONCERNS

SHOSH LESHEM Abstract: Teacher shortage has become a serious problem for many educational systems around the world which offer alternative programmes. Many of these programmes recruit candidates from different professions. The study sought to explore Second Career Teachers’ hopes and concerns in an Intensive Alternative Certification Programme for teachers of TEFL in a teacher education college, focusing on second career teachers’ future orientation and possible-selves. The study adopted an inductive approach and included 32 candidates who responded to an open-ended questionnaire inquiring about their hopes and concerns at their initial steps in the programme. The theoretical perspectives draw on future orientation and possible selves theories. The study exposed teachers’ multiple possible-selves that might need nurturing. This should raise awareness among curriculum planners of teacher education programmes and foreground the skills and backgrounds that career changers bring with them and help them see the value and relevance to their practice.