ABSTRACT
The common thread among the themes presented in this part of the book is that they all concern factors that influence new teachers’ classroom practices. New teachers are naturally absorbed with what happens, or will happen, in their classrooms. How a teacher thinks about what is possible in her or his classroom is influenced by a number of factors, from how that teacher views what is good teaching-and new teachers vary in this-to the types of lessons or views about student learning encouraged by the school in which a teacher works. Other factors include the level of autonomy and support provided to the new teacher, and the relationship the beginning teacher develops with his or her students, as well as the home cultures of students, their native languages, socioeconomic and geographical status, and many other influences.
