Career Termination: Experiences regarding Professional Transitions of Middle School (Gymnasium) Teachers

Abstract

The dissolution of middle schools (gymnasiums) terminated professional careers of thousands of teachers who were forced either to transform their schools into educational facilities of other types or to find employment in primary or secondary schools. In each case, transition from one environment or context to another one was associated with terminating professional practices employed thus far and adapting oneself to a new situation in a different organizational environment. 

This paper presents the results of the second stage of qualitative empirical research devoted to the analysis of the dynamics and course of professional transitions of teachers originally employed in middle schools (gymnasiums) that were closed down. To analyze the experiences of the studied teachers in the second phase of transition, the notion of career liminality is applied.