A Lifelong Career: Studies on the Career Sustainability of Italian Teachers

This dissertation investigates the multifaceted dynamics of career sustainability among teachers in Italy, examining how individual, relational, and organizational factors interact across different career stages. Four empirical studies are presented to provide a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that support or hinder long-term professional development in teaching. The first study focuses on the broader landscape of teachers’ career sustainability across multiple career stages. Drawing on 33 in-depth interviews, this study investigates the factors that either facilitate or constrain sustainable careers, with particular focus on subjective career success. Teachers’ experiences reveal the central role of social support, professional development opportunities, and the challenges associated with excessive workload. Recognition from students and families emerges as a key component of perceived success, while employment status presents a nuanced picture: permanent contracts offer stability but may inadvertently foster career stagnation, whereas temporary or insecure positions can introduce variety yet increase vulnerability. This study lays the foundation for understanding how teachers navigate structural limitations and mobilize personal and social resources to sustain their professional engagement. Building on this foundation, the second study adopts a sequential mixed-methods design to explore the critical early career phase, which is often characterized by high attrition and “reality shock”. Through a combination of qualitative interviews and a longitudinal survey, this research examines how novice teachers draw on individual, relational, and organizational resources to sustain their careers. Findings highlight the importance of informal networks, such as peer mentoring and collegial collaboration, which compensate for the limited availability of formal supports like structured supervision and formal induction programs. Principals are found to provide strong emotional backing but less instrumental guidance. Teachers’ self-efficacy and proactive attitudes consistently predict higher levels of job satisfaction, well-being, and engagement. The study underscores the dynamic interplay between personal agency and supportive contexts, emphasizing the critical role of relational scaffolding and early induction measures in fostering resilience among early-career educators. The third study shifts the focus to late-career teachers, a demographic increasingly relevant in Italy’s aging educational workforce. Utilizing a large sample of 800 teachers aged 50 and above, this study employs latent profile analysis to examine patterns of perceived organizational support and their relationship to career sustainability indicators. Four organizational dimensions—organizational culture, leadership, work design, and individual development—are assessed alongside individual career resources measured through Career Adapt-abilities. Results reveal four distinct profiles, each differentially associated with work engagement, perceived health, and self-rated job performance. Organizational practices significantly influence engagement and health outcomes, though not self-rated performance, highlighting the capacity of supportive work environments to enhance career sustainability in late career stages. The findings offer practical insights for educational institutions seeking to sustain older teachers’ engagement and vitality. Finally, the fourth study addresses the emerging phenomenon of second career teachers (SCTs), individuals entering the profession later in life, often after age fifty. With a sample of 22 SCTs, semi-structured interviews explore factors influencing career sustainability and the experience of career shocks in the absence of formal induction pathways. Thematic analysis identifies both challenges—such as bureaucratic obstacles, precarious contracts, high workloads, and balancing family responsibilities—and supporting factors, including prior life experience, vocational commitment, collegial support, and targeted professional development. The study emphasizes the interplay of individual maturity and contextual supports in facilitating successful adaptation, highlighting the need for structured induction and organizational strategies to harness the potential of mature-age entrants. Collectively, these four studies provide a comprehensive picture of the factors shaping teachers’ career sustainability in Italy. They illuminate how career progression, professional support, and personal resources interact across early, mid, and late career stages, offering both theoretical insights and practical recommendations for fostering enduring and fulfilling teaching careers.