Developing Activities to Enhance Teachers’ Career Adaptability through Photovoice-Based Experience Exploration

Abstract

Career adaptability refers to an individual’s readiness to cope with both anticipated and unanticipated challenges in the workplace. Teachers with high career adaptability can regulate themselves when dealing with difficult and unfamiliar situations in their professional practice. This study aimed to: 1) explore teachers’ work experiences and challenges in schools through Photovoice, and 2) develop activities to enhance teachers’ career adaptability. The participants were five primary school teachers with no more than three years of teaching experience under the Office of the Basic Education Commission in Bangkok. The research instruments included photos, a semi-structured interview and an evaluation form assessing the appropriateness and feasibility of the developed activities. Data were analyzed using directed content analysis. The findings revealed that 1) teachers’ work experiences encompassed four dimensions: (1) awareness and preparation for their future teaching career, (2) self-discipline and responsibility for assigned tasks, (3) self-development beneficial to their future teaching profession, and (4) confidence in their own capabilities. In addition, the challenges encountered in schools included adapting to the school context, being assigned duties beyond teaching responsibilities, and managing instructional activities. And 2) the developed activities consisted of four modules: understanding change and career choices, defining a desirable future, managing situations, and building self-confidence. These activities were rated at the highest level of appropriateness (M = 4.51, SD = 0.44) and a high level of feasibility (M = 4.29, SD = 0.64). The findings suggest that these activities can serve as guidelines for developing preparatory programs for pre-service teachers.