Semantic Representation of Teachers’ Experiences of Career Path

Due to the significance of the concept of career path, the present study seeks to explore teachers’ perceptions and experiences of the concept of career path. This research was conducted by an epistemological interpretive paradigm and a strategy of qualitative phenomenography. Potential participants were teachers in the city of Sanandaj, during the year 2016. In a process of purposive sampling by a snowball method and with maximum diversity, 49 teachers (34 male, 15 female) were selected and semi-structured interviews were conducted until theoretical data saturation. After the implementation and three-step coding of interview data, the results demonstrated three different perceptions by which teachers experienced their career path. Descriptive categories of the concept of career path included attainment of administrative posts, professional development, and lack of career path in teaching profession. Male teachers reported the existence of different discriminations and political relations as the most significant intervening factors in the career path; however, female teachers reported the culture of society and patriarchy as the key obstacles in the way of the completion of different levels of their career path.