Beginner Teachers in Primary Education: Comparisons among European Countries

Abstract

Beginner teachers represent a small percentage of the total number of primary school teachers in Europe. The research tries to identify the factors that are related to this fact by comparing different age categories in different states. Multiple regression was used to highlight the predictive power of certain educational or socio-economic variables. The percentage of young teachers and the percentage of older teachers were compared to estimate the teaching positions that will be available in the near future. The comparison between the states of Eastern Europe and the other states of the European Union led to the identification of some aspects that helped to the global understanding of the studied phenomena. Careful analysis of unexpected information obtained during research has helped to compile a list of research directions for future studies.