New qualified teachers in small schools. Development of competences and educational professionalism

Abstract

The research related to the subject of teaching and learning in rural schools converges on the idea that the issues of professional development in response to the skills required by teachers are the basis of a change that brings small schools to be good schools, too. The need to gain greater awareness about the
educational environment of rural schools and to be accompanied to the understanding of the skills mentioned by rural teaching appointments finds in the New Qualified Teacher path (Neoassunti) an action functional to the self-assessment of personal skills and to their better representation. The Induction
path is characterized by a model that is deeply rooted in the national and international literature.
Reflection, as a view on action and a constituent part of teacher competence, allows one to become aware of his/her professional identity and to self-direct the personal evolution and transformative trajectory. Based on retrieved data, this article presents a case study on a random set of teachers who face
the test year in small schools of the Amalfi Coast. It makes an early qualitative representation of time emerge, where teacher’s profile is built with respect to specific areas and expertise descriptors typical of a professional in action in rural settings, as well as to a future education perspective also in the light of the recent National Plan for Teachers Training.