Are we Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for the Reality of the Present: Casual, temporary and/or permanent employment?

New teachers are increasingly joining the ranks of the profession as casual and/or temporary teachers, rather than as permanent teachers. The itinerant nature and subsequent alienation of this work, plus the lack of systemic support received by the majority of these beginning casual teachers, have ramifications for their job satisfaction, professional development and longevity within the profession. Some major research findings have been highlighted in this paper concerning the nature of casual teaching and the contradictions with which casual teachers struggle in schools.