This site has been created for newly qualified teachers (NQT's) in kindergartens, primary and upper secondary schools, employers and colleagues of NQT's, as well as teacher educators and researchers concerned with the transition from education to vocation. We aim to provide valuable information to anyone who wishes to focus on being newly educated.

The website is also ment as a meeting point for contact persons in the Directorate for Education and Training's national competency network "Mentoring Newly Qualified Teachers".

Eva Bjerkholt (Eva.Bjerkholt@hit.no ), coordinator for the network, is professionally responsible for the website. All administrative queries can be directed to Tonje.Brokke@hit.no, telephone (+47) 35 02 64 18.

News:

• The annual report (2007) and plan of action (2008) has been sent to The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training, and the contacts at all university colleges and universities. The rapport has not yet been translated into English. The report from 2006 can be found here.
• The Network has published the book "Det store spranget - Ny som lærer i barnehage og skole" (The Great Leap - New Teachers in Kindergartens and Schools). We wish to thank all contributors for interesting articles, and the editors Torlaug Løkensgard Hoel, Brit Hanssen and Sissel Østrem for a job well done. We also wish to thank the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training for giving us the financial opportunity to document our work in the program Mentoring Newly Qualified Teachers. What distinguishes the book, as well as the collection of articles "Når starten er god..." (June 07), is that the network reports a very positive picture of new teachers. They have plenty of competence, and are important to kindergartens and schools - a viewpoint which is seldom portrayed in media.
• Internal meeting at the Ministry of Education and Research for political management and employees. An internal seminar was held April 7th 2008 regarding mentoring newly qualified teachers. Minister of Research and Higher Education Tora Aasland was unfortunately unable to attend, but Minister of Education Bård Vegar Solhjell was present. The meeting ended in a discussion about the program. It was necessary for the network coordinator to emphasise that the program for mentoring newly qualified teachers is not a program where the teacher educators are mentoring newly qualified teachers, but a program which offers the employers support in their plans for following up their new teachers.