Hello!
I recently received access to the NEPS/LAP data for my doctoral dissertation at the University of Cologne.
My dissertation focuses on the self-efficacy growth trajectories of novice teachers, specifically participants who were in the early stages of their teaching career during the NEPS/LAP study period between 2015 and 2022.
While exploring the dataset, I noticed that the sample also includes highly experienced teachers, including some participants who appear to be well beyond the novice stage. Since these cases are not suitable for my study, I have been trying to identify and exclude experienced teachers from the sample. However, the variables “length of service at the school” and “year of second state examination” have not helped me to do this (as there are many N/A responses there).
I would therefore like to ask whether you could suggest a way to identify novice teachers in the NEPS/LAP data and exclude more experienced participants. For example, is there any variable or indicator that would help determine participants’ career stage at the time they first entered the study, or information on when they began and completed their Referendariat?
Thank you very much in advance for your help.
Saniye