“Life, it doesn't end here”: Aspirations and the maintenance of hope among primary teachers in Malawi

With pupil-qualified teacher ratios averaging 78:1 and high teacher turnover, the primary education system in Malawi urgently needs to retain teachers. This paper draws from an ethnographic study of teacher experiences to examine how and why teachers planned to leave primary teaching despite limited opportunities to do so. Engaging the sociological concept of boundary work, I argue that “aspiring to leave teaching” was a resource primary teachers used to distance themselves from a profession with low status and minimal growth prospects. This paper stresses the need for robust teacher support systems in order for governments to achieve education for all. •Many teachers in this study entered teaching due to limited job prospects. Planning to leave teaching was a source of hope.•Aspiring to leave primary teaching enabled teachers to demarcate a non-primary-teacher identity.•Understanding teacher experiences within the profession is crucial for achieving education for all. Teacher identity, developing countries.