Abstract
The transition from teacher education to working in the profession is significant. Teacher education programmes are tasked with preparing new graduates to be profession ready, and views on readiness are contentious. In this article we offer contemporary insights into the professional experiences of early career primary teachers in New Zealand. Using liminality as a theoretical framework, we take a longitudinal view capturing the perspectives of early career teachers across three years. Data for this project comprised participants' self-selected visual images and explanations from interview transcripts. Thematic analysis was used to identify prevalent themes. The visual images and reflective descriptions captured a rare window into how as 'liminaries' these early career teachers experienced the uncertain space that is beginning teaching. Concepts of liminality were used to discuss the participants' data which brought moments of personal insight and transformation into view. The participants' data revealed four themes across three years: initial disequilibrium that surprised us by quickly settling, followed by continual growth and greater clarity about the complexity of their role as teachers.