Not every teacher’s journey into education begins with a childhood dream. Elfa Jirgensone had originally chosen a different career path – customer consulting, sales and business management – and for many years had no connection with teaching at all. However, after unexpectedly finding herself in a preschool environment and realising that this was where she truly felt she belonged, Elfa decided to take an important and courageous step. In 2024, she obtained a teaching qualification from the University of Latvia and began working at a preschool – this time as a teacher. The Induction Year programme for new teachers also provided significant support during these first steps in her teaching career.
Although Elfa now confidently says that she has found the profession that is right for her, the journey there was not something she had planned in advance.
Even before graduating from university, Elfa had the opportunity to try out her skills in a preschool setting. From 2018, she worked as a teacher’s assistant at the “Bitīte” preschool, Pabaži branch, in Saulkrasti Municipality. But chance also played a role in this experience. One day, while saying goodbye to her son’s preschool teacher, Elfa half-jokingly remarked that if the teacher ever opened her own preschool, she would be happy to come and help. Only a couple of months passed before the phone rang.
“Three months later, she called me and said, ‘I’m waiting for you,’” Elfa recalls.
She considered the offer and accepted it, beginning work at the preschool as a teacher’s assistant.
As she settled into the new environment and became increasingly confident in her daily work at the preschool, her colleague Zeltīte Osmane – who had previously been her son’s teacher – encouraged her not to remain in her comfort zone but to take the next step and become a preschool teacher. Elfa admits that initially she was sceptical about the idea and even resisted it, but eventually decided to continue her studies, obtain a teaching qualification and take on the responsibility of becoming a teacher.
In 2024, Elfa returned to the preschool as a teacher. She remembers that, at the beginning of her career, she sometimes even wanted to take a step back and return to the role of a teacher’s assistant.
“When you are a teacher’s assistant, you can step away and take a break from everything. When you are a teacher, you have to be with the children continuously,” she says.
This constant presence was the most difficult part at first: managing her own emotions while keeping an eye on the whole group and, at the same time, on each individual child.
During the first months, what Elfa missed most was professional and specific feedback. Not general reassurance that everything would be fine, but real support – what to do in a particular situation, what to do differently and how to handle things better.
She openly admits: “At that time, there was no one who would encourage me but also say, ‘Yes, you are doing this right, but here is an option you could try next time to make it even better.’”
The answer to these inner questions came a few months later, when she received an email inviting her to apply for the Induction Year support programme for new teachers, implemented by the University of Latvia. Elfa now acknowledges that this experience was precisely what helped her connect the theoretical knowledge she had acquired during her studies with the practical experience she had already gained at school – experience that had raised many additional questions.
“You graduate from university – you bake the cake. The Induction Year was what put the cherry on top,” she says.
Supported by European Union funds, the programme provides new teachers with a practical “safe start” during their first year at work – regular group meetings and opportunities to exchange experiences, as well as individual support from a mentor, including lesson and activity observations and discussions that help teachers look at situations from the outside and find solutions that work best for them.
The Induction Year support programme offers regular meetings in professional development groups, individual mentoring, lesson and activity observations with feedback, a professional competence development programme and a targeted stipend. This practical support helped Elfa feel more confident in her role as a teacher and became an important investment in her professional development.
The support of her mentor, Asja Vanaga, has remained particularly vivid in Elfa’s memory.
“My mentor was the person and the tool that put everything into perspective, organised my thoughts and gave me confidence for my future work,” she says.
The connection has continued even after the programme ended – whenever questions or doubts arise, Elfa can write to her mentor and receive an answer. This practical support and targeted feedback helped her feel more confident when working with children.
During the Induction Year, Elfa also completed a speech development course, which became a practical tool in her everyday work.
“We practise morning exercises with our tongues and immediately recite a little poem. Then you can see how the children’s speech changes and how they begin to pronounce each letter,” she says.
In moments like these, the impact of a teacher’s work on children becomes truly visible.
The confidence Elfa gained during the Induction Year became a solid foundation for her everyday work – and it was precisely this foundation that opened the door to the creativity she had missed most in her previous professional life. When constant doubts fade away, there is room for ideas and the courage to put them into practice. That is when everyday life can become a celebration.
Elfa regularly organises exhibitions of children’s handicrafts, celebrates Meteņi with sports activities, wakes the bear with the children in spring and puts it to sleep in autumn. It is precisely these kinds of events that bring colour to children’s days and remain in their memories.
Elfa’s story shows that the strong foundations of an education system are built by the people who work with children every day. She grew from a teacher’s assistant into a teacher thanks to targeted support and her own courage to learn. This affects the entire educational process – a teacher becomes more confident, starts working independently sooner and is able to provide children with more comprehensive support. At the same time, Elfa brings creativity and initiative to her team – ideas and activities that help shape the preschool culture and create a positive learning experience for children.
During her first year working as a preschool teacher, Elfa learned one very practical truth: a teacher does not grow professionally alone – confidence develops when there are people around who encourage you, help you and tell you, “You can do this.” And when that confidence grows, so does the joy of work and the desire to give children more – presence, security and a colourful everyday experience.
As Elfa herself says: “If you have it in you, you have to go for it and do it.”
The Induction Year support programme for new teachers is intended for graduates of teacher education programmes during their first year after obtaining a teaching qualification, as they begin working at a school. The aim of the programme is to help new teachers successfully integrate into the educational institution, strengthen their professional skills and encourage them to remain in the teaching profession. During the Induction Year, participants receive a targeted stipend, individual professional support through development groups, lesson observations with feedback, and the opportunity to participate in a professional competence development programme. The project is implemented by the University of Latvia in cooperation with regional partners – Daugavpils University, RTU Rēzekne Academy, RTU Liepāja Academy, Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music and the Latvian Academy of Sport Education, ensuring that the programme is available throughout Latvia.
Apply – esiskolotajs.lu.lv
This story was created with the support of EU Funds.
