The purpose of this study is to examine the socialisation of new teachers into teaching in a school in Singapore through the lenses of positioning theory and micropolitical theory. Individually, they have been drawn on to discuss the socialisation of teachers. To the best of my knowledge, there has been no prior study that examines the socialisation of new teachers from both positioning theory and micropolitical theory perspectives which would be interesting because positioning theory, on one hand, is concerned with explaining what people do and how they do it; micropolitical theory, on the other, is concerned with explaining why people do it. The selection of participants for the study is based on purposeful sampling. It comprises seven new teachers from one neighborhood school in Singapore. The data are collected primarily through interviews with new teachers and mentors. It is supplemented by non-participant observations of new teachers’ lessons and informal observations of their interactions with their colleagues. The analyses of the data are performed using thematic analysis. The findings suggest that the socialisation of new teachers into teaching probably begins earlier, and that both formal and informal mentoring play a significant role in their socialisation into teaching. Colleagues and students also play a part in their socialisation into teaching. This in-depth case study not only contributes to the socialisation scholarship, but also provides policy makers, schools and teacher educators with useful insights on how they could improve the socialisation experiences of new teachers.
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