Reciprocal causation and the effect of environmental determinants upon the technology beliefs and practice of career-change pre-service teachers

Studies continue to highlight the value career-change teachers bring to teaching. Yet, little research has investigated the incumbent technology skills and beliefs of this cohort, and how these skills impact their future teaching practice. This article presents the results from a mixed-method explanatory case study investigating this phenomenon. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 career-change pre-service teachers enrolled in a graduate-entry initial teacher education (ITE) course. The principles of reciprocal determinism were applied to findings to understand how environmental factors affect technology pedagogy beliefs and practice. Analysis revealed experiences within previous workplaces endowed career-changers with expertise mastering occupation-specific technology. Metacognitive capabilities fostered from omnipresent technological change within prior workplace environments supported technology integration during Professional Experience. Influencing the technology pedagogy beliefs and practice of this cohort were inconsistent mentoring and mastery opportunities during ITE, and IT infrastructure issues during Professional Experience placements that buoyed disenfranchised school cultures.