Early-career primary school teachers as ‘watched watchers’: an analysis informed by feminist surveillance studies

Using concepts from feminist surveillance studies, this study followed three early-career teachers as they transitioned from an educator preparation program to professional employment as primary classroom teachers. In particular, this analysis highlights how surveillance constrained and contributed to participants’ experiences and available subjectivities. Outcomes suggest experiences of surveillance significantly influenced the early-career teachers’ negotiations of personal and professional selves, contributing to workplace compliance and uniformity, as well as impacting their well-being. Understanding participants’ experiences as young women and new teachers amid school spaces saturated with various forms of surveillance can contribute to a better-informed perspective for supporting early-career teachers.