From trainee to newly qualified teacher: Drivers and barriers to using ePortfolios as an NQT

The potential for ePortfolio processes to support of life long learning has been widely extolled1. However the practicalities of extending ePortfolio activity across work/life transitions is under researched. This study reveals some of the drivers and barriers to taking ePortfolio practices developed by trainee teachers during a University based PGCE programme into a professional environment as they begin work as Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) in schools. Findings suggest
that the ePortfolio context of use appears to have a strong influence on the extent to which the benefits of ePortfolio practices for NQTs can or cannot be realised. Tutor support, allocation of time and the requirements of assessment in part move the ePortfolio process forward during the PGCE year. This was not the case when the trainees as NQTs attempted to continue their ePortfolio work in their first teaching post. Despite trainees’ high expectations and commitment to ePortfolio activity for their NQT year it typically became a predominantly solitary activity that proved hard to sustain.