נגד הזרם: גורמים המשפיעים על הצלחת ההסבה מהייטק להוראה מנקודת מבטם של בוגרי התוכנית

The "From High-Tech to Teaching" program retrains academics from the fields of mathematics, computer science, and natural sciences to become high school teachers. This study uses a mixed-methods approach to examine how graduates (2017-2023) perceive their career transition. The qualitative findings show that most of the participants considered their transition to teaching successful, which they attributed to their enjoyment of the profession and to meaningful relationships with students. They initiated projects that enhanced students' knowledge and connected them to the technological and scientific world. However, low salaries, bureaucratic obstacles, and difficult working conditions detracted from their sense of success in the transition. The quantitative findings indicate moderateto- high levels of satisfaction with pre-service preparation, school support, and graduates' integration into school. Multivariate analysis reveals that pre-service preparation which they perceive as relevant to teaching demands, together with school support (from both role holders and administrative) increase graduates' satisfaction with their integration into school. In contrast, teaching challenging classrooms reduces satisfaction with the integration process, but increases graduates' sense of contribution to the education system, which was evaluated as moderate. The findings highlight teacher preparation and school support as key factors that could potentially promote the successful integration and retention of career-changing teachers and increase their contribution to the education system. Keywords: induction, persistence in teaching, retraining programs, STEM teachers, teachers' initiatives