Teachers are dealing with a profession characterised by rapidly evolving educational research, societal shifts, and political agendas. They are faced with unforeseen events that create educational futures that are yet unknown, with the global pandemic a clear example. Mentoring has a long history as an approach to support teachers, particularly those in the early stages of their careers, to navigate the challenges of the profession and build professional capacity. The unprecedented complexity of the current educational landscape demands now, more than ever, that mentoring for early career teachers (ECTs) extends beyond standards-driven capacity building to nurture future-focused dispositions. This paper conceptualises the Future-focused Mentoring model (FfM) for the current educational context, framed by the intellectual virtues for the transformation of self, relationships, and teacher practice that leverages and celebrates intellectual imagination, courage, open-mindedness, and tenacity. In proposing this model, we draw on a strong theoretical and empirical base to articulate the principles of a mentoring model that is relational, mindful and future-focused. This model has been conceptualised as a way forward to support and sustain ECTs’ effectiveness for the future and longevity in the profession.

Current teacher attrition in Australia and globally has created an untenable situation for many schools, teachers and the profession. This paper reports on research that examined the critical issue of teacher attrition from the perspective of former classroom teachers and school leaders. Although there is extensive national and global research related to teacher shortages and intentions to leave the teaching profession, minimal research has sought insights from those who have left the profession in Australia, including ascertaining what they are doing now. Using an online survey, data were collected from 256 former teachers from all states and territories, sectors and career stages who had left the profession between 2016 and 2022. Using descriptive statistical and thematic analysis, this study highlights the potential loss to teaching and the education profession more broadly due to teacher attrition. For these participants, the reasons for leaving were often multifaceted and the process of leaving was often protracted. Many of these former teachers have maintained links to the education profession occupying various associated roles and positions. We call for a reconsideration of the ways that strategies to ameliorate teacher attrition are conceptualised and implemented.

Across the world, many university-based early career researchers (ECRs) are experiencing an unprecedented intensification of research expectations on transition from doctoral research to academic life. Countries such as Australia have put into place national frameworks of research excellence to remain globally competitive. Pressure on universities to elevate global research rankings has soared, with many regional universities and disciplines such as education responding with a rapid escalation of research performance expectations for academics. Consequently, concerns have been raised for ECRs embroiled in intensified research agendas in these contexts. Framed by concepts of liminality and identity construction, we argue that intensified expectations do not take account of liminality experienced by ECRs during times of transition, compromising perceived academic progress. We report on the identity journeys of ECRs in a School of Education at one regional Australian university. Data was collected from nine ECRs using online focus groups and analysed using a hybrid thematic approach. Key findings indicate that ECRs transition into the Academy post-doctorate with varying experiences of identity liminality that impact their capacity to manage research expectations. ECRs experiencing shorter periods of liminality are best positioned to manage the intensified expectations of academic life while ECRs experiencing persistent liminality and identity ‘struggle’ are more likely to perceive a diminished sense of achievement and support. These findings have significant implications for university leadership and research supervisors, in Australia and globally, regarding the ways they support ECRs to productively navigate the hyper-invigilated audit cultures of what we have termed the neo-academy.