Britt (1998) indicated that to get to the heart of the complex issues first year teachers face, it is necessary to give first year teachers an opportunity to tell their own stories of their experiences as neophytes. The purpose of this study was to share the experiences of first year teachers. Of particular interest was how well these first year teachers believed their teacher preparation program had prepared them. The research question posed for this study was: How do graduates of Mississippi State University describe their first year teaching experience? A multiple-case design was used in this research study. Because this research was exploratory and descriptive, and because it had multiple cases, the replication approach to multiple-case studies was employed. The researcher was the instrument used for the collection of data. Five first year teachers participated in this study. All graduated from Mississippi State University and were teaching for the first time during the 2003-2004 school year. Six major themes emerged from the data. These themes were: (a) a feeling of being overwhelmed, (b) dealing with student misbehavior, (c) concern for student learning, (d) ineffective mentoring, (e) understanding the local culture, particularly in the area of discipline, and (f) lack of commitment to remain in the teaching profession. Three additional concerns of three participants emerged as well. These were: (a) negative student teaching experience, (b) conflict with parents, and (c) difficulties with other professionals. Recommendations included: (a) re-examining the practicum experience throughout the teacher education program, (b) implementing a follow-up program for graduates of the teacher education program, (c) re-examining the critical needs scholarship, and (d) implementing a study concerning student teacher placement.

No description available.

This study examined whether the telementoring program had a positive impact on beginning teacher self-efficacy. Telementoring is an adaptation of mentoring, using telecommunications technology as the means to establish and maintain mentoring relationships between the participants. The program was intended to create an atmosphere of community; to provide expert training in the profession; to retain good teachers; and to offer support for the new teacher in times of self-doubt. A quasi-experimental design and mixed methods measures were used to determine the effect of a telementoring program on beginning teacher self-efficacy. Participants were members of a district induction/mentoring program. An experimental group of 20 first-year teachers that participated in a supplemental telementoring program were compared to 20 first-year teachers who did not. The Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale was used to collect data on beginning teacher self-efficacy. A pretest was administered prior to the treatment and members completed a post-test at the conclusion of the study. Results were analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance. The experimental and control group results from both assessments were measured and compared. No statistically significant differences were found between the experimental group that participated in the telementoring program and those in the control group who did not. Messages posted to a discussion board were analyzed by comparing concerns of beginning teachers in this study to concerns of beginning teachers found in current literature. A compilation of concerns served as a comparison framework. Participants in this study discussed many of the same issues and concerns found in current literature. Although statistically significant results were not found, discussion board postings suggest that telementoring is an effective form of mentoring and provides beginning teachers a forum for collegiality and support, which contributes to self-efficacy.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Leadership and Foundations. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1995. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: William G. Anderson. Dissertation Committee: Lenore M. Pogonowski. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-175).

Curricular decision making is foundational to teachers’ practice—every facet of the instructional process is the result of teachers’ decisions. For new teachers, learning to make curricular decisions that will satisfy institutional, public, and professional demands and facilitate learning in their classrooms can be especially challenging given today’s standards-based educational climate. In the primary grades, teachers find themselves having to manage competing demands of accountability and their own beliefs about effective instruction for young children. Despite the field’s renewed interest in studying teachers’ thinking as it relates to post-NCLB curricular decision making, few studies examine curricular decision making among beginning primary grade teachers who share the same accountability issues as their more experienced colleagues. Utilizing case study methodology, this investigation explored how five novice primary grade teachers approached curricular decision making for the core content areas within accountability-driven Texas public schools. Data included classroom observations, interviews and post-observation conversations, lesson planning think-alouds, and curricular documents. Cross-case analyses indicate that participants' curricular decision making was characterized by professional judgment in response to various dilemmas they encountered while attempting to address personal, professional, administrative, and organizational expectations. In many ways, the standards-based contexts in which participants taught made teaching especially difficult for these teachers who were only beginning to accumulate the wisdom of practice. Findings also suggest that participants' curricular decisions were informed by a combination of internal and external influences. Most significantly, curricular decisions were deeply rooted in who teachers are and who they hope to become as professional educators. Professional identity permeated all five teachers' approaches to curricular decision making, from the types of decisions they chose to address to the actual decisions they made in the classroom. Concomitantly, these teachers' conceptions of the teaching profession helped shape the nature of their curricular decisions. The study also reveals that professional colleagues played a strong role in guiding curricular decisions among the participants, although not all support offered to novices was necessarily beneficial for their development as effective decision makers. Finally, the study raises questions about incongruities between teacher preparation programs and the expectations graduates will face as beginning teachers. / text

The purpose of this study was to compare the self-efficacy of two groups of first year teachers working in a large urban school district in North Texas. Twenty-eight of the participants were certified teachers. Ten participants held college degrees unrelated to teaching and were undergoing an alternative certification process. The Teacher Efficacy Scale was administered at the beginning and the end of the school year. Data from this scale was analyzed to determine if there were differences between the regular certification teachers and the alternative certification teachers at the beginning and the end of the school year, and to determine if their sense of efficacy changed over the course of the school year.

M.Ed. / The core of this study is to review and analyse the management and effectiveness of induction processes for newly-appointed educators as they adjust to their entry into the teaching profession. The study employed a quantitative research method. The aim of the research study was to investigate the perceptions of educators with regard to the management of induction for newly-appointed educators. The study was prompted by the by the need to address challenges arising from a lack of a rigorous induction programme within the Ekurhuleni West District schools. These challenges are in line with the political changes that have taken place in South Africa. From the literature review it is evident that managers are having difficulties in adequately preparing and equipping newly appointed educators for the realities of the teaching profession which include, limited support for educators, unacceptable discipline among learners, overcrowded classes and poor salaries. This research indicates that it is necessary to support educators in a personal capacity in their absorption into the teaching profession. Furthermore, the literature study revealed that educators who are not properly inducted will experience adjustment difficulties at schools which may lead to frustration and loss of confidence and, in some instances, to resignation. It is thus the recommendation of this study that educators be inducted to avoid these unpleasant experiences as well as to prepare a career development path that is customised to individual needs. The researcher used structured questionnaires to gather data. The questionnaire was distributed to 20 schools in the Ekurhuleni West District to determine educators’ perceptions concerning induction. The finding was that, at present, there is no formal system to induct educators in South Africa and the majority of school management teams lack the capacity to induct educators.The recommendation was that school management teams must be trained on how to provide induction, and the workloads of school management teams need to be reduced. There is a need for further research on the induction programmes for Department of Education officials. / Dr.L.N Conley