The Activity of Becoming a

Second-Career Teacher
Executive Summary
Introduction
Questions about the teaching context in which I was steeped drove me
to apply to PhD programs. I needed to learn ways to answer the
questions that emerged around me. And presently, the questions that
surround me are not those that drove me to pursue a PhD but rather
those that have emerged from my work in the past five years. I have
grappled with questions about my studentsas I hope I always will
and with questions about my research. This project is a labor of love in
that it allows me to pursue both questions at the same time by joining
other scholars engaging in a critical evolution of the ever expanding
application of Vygotskys cultural-historical school as well as a muchneeded investigation of the experience of professionals transitioning to
a second career as teachers. Both the theoretical and practical
elements of this study are under-developed and/or under-investigated.
I am being true to my own need as a researcher and hope that I am
being helpful to both theory and practice communities in advancing
the theoretical and practical elements simultaneously. I hope that each
of my readers will find at least one component sufficiently compelling
to continue reading.

Theoretical Framework
This paper will emerge as a largely conceptual paper with 3 case
studies that help explore the application/evolution of Cultural-Historical
Activity Theory through the multi-voiced 3rd generation (Engestrom1)
and into critical responses of a Marxist object-oriented focus toward
subject-oriented approaches (W.M. Roth, A. Stetsenko). (See literature
review section for a more granular consideration)

Literature Base
The literature on second career teachers is limited to less than 150
articles despite recent research indicating that second-career teachers
comprise one third of the public school teaching workforce. Most of the
literature base is focused on teacher preparation, including a limited
subset of research on teacher identity and socialization that
investigates second-career teachers in teacher preparation or
induction programs. This study will add to the literature base as it will
be the only study to employ a critical CHAT approach to the
investigation of second-career teachers, to investigate life histories to
1 1st Generation characterized by Vygotskys object-mediate approach,
2nd generation expands this toward a stronger inclusion of Marxist
frameworks of labor, culture, and, most importantly, a shared objective
among actors.

explore how teachers draw on prior experience and constructions of

self (not merely professional competencies from previous careers),

Methodology
The locus of practicing (not in-preparation) second-career teachers is
appropriate for a CHAT exploration because they are in situ in the work
setting. This locus is relevant to an education study, not merely an
advance of this social psychological theory, because there is a very
limited research base on a population that comprises one-third of the
current teaching workforce.
An open approach to methodological considerations is appropriate for
CHAT and especially within the critical/subject-oriented approach to
CHAT. This study will employ a case-study methodology with three data
sources for creating a deep understanding of the phenomenon under
investigation.

Participants
This study will explore the experience of 3 second-career teachers.
Participants for this study will be second-career teachers who are in
year 3-5 of full-time teaching. They will be type-c career changers
those who left their previous career to seek other opportunities, not to

escape bad oneswho are identified as good teachers by their

administration.

Data Sources
Information on the lived experience of second-career teachers will
come from in-depth interviews largely framed from Seidmans
phenomenological approach. Vygotsky demands, as does
phenomenology, that understanding be pursued historically. This study
will pursue an historical picture of the second-career teacher to
understand how prior [professional] experience impacts the current
praxis (see, e.g., Billet 2006). This provides a strong data source for
pursuing a subject-oriented approach to CHAT.

A second data source will be professional records, particularly from

engagement in the profession of teaching: Committee work
(elected/appointed), professional organizations, workshop
presentations, etc. As I am elevating professional agency is a key
construct in the subject-oriented approach, these professional records
will help in constructing a profile of the teacher-as-leader, which will
add to an understanding of professional agency, even vis-a-vis Marxist
power frameworks. Though I have not explored this literature
thoroughly, Susan Johnsons work on second-stage teachers may
prove helpful in fulling out this framework of professional agency as

teacher-leaders. These professional records will be analyzed in a mini

interview (which may be included in the second interview and may
take place as an additional interview before or after the second
interview)

A third data source draws again from CHAT which recently has
investigated third spaces as locations in which informal activity
draws out different aspects of individuals. This data source will include
third-space interactions with reflective journalingthe underlying
question here is how second-career teachers engage with peers and
other members of the community of practice. Reflection on
engagement in third-spaces will be helpful to draw out in interview or
journal how this relates to a) personal agency in the new culture; b)
extension of professional agency in the new culture; c) respect/power
dynamic in new culture; d) comparison to third-space interactions in
previous culture.

Data Analysis
The intention of this project is not to tell rich histories of the
participants but rather to investigate the activity of becoming a
second-career teacher. The framework for data analysis will follow the
procedure recommended by by Seidman (2006). First, transcripts will
be read and coded for what is of interest. This is step requires a

subjectivity check on the part of the researcher. Profiles will be

constructed for each participant using the participants words, and
member checks will allow participants to review these profiles in the
final interview. From here, subjectivity must again be checked, but the
interviews are the data that can be used to investigate patterns and
deviations in participants experiences. While I situate this study within
the theoretical framework of subject-oriented CHAT, Seidman (2006)
notes that phenomenological investigations do not seek to prove
hypotheses. The strength of Seidmans process is similar to that of
Charmez (2006) grounded theory framework in that it provides a
structure for emergent data analysis which will provide a relevant
structure for allowing the theoretical and empirical work of this study
to engage in their own dialectical interaction as I make meaning of my
own research. My own learning will be the subject of an ongoing
analytical process, as recommended by Seidman.