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 neighbourhood 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.

EB00000002467K

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• Examining the Socialisation of New Teachers Through the Lenses of Positioning Theory and Micropolitical Theory