Thesis advisor: Lauri Johnson / This qualitative case study examined the perceived influence of servant leadership on the job satisfaction of novice teachers in one Massachusetts school district. Servant leadership was defined as “an understanding and practice of leadership that places the good of those led over the self-interest of the leader” (Laub, 1999, p. 81). Data were gathered from interviews with school and district leaders and novice teachers as well as through the analysis of school and district documents. The results of the study found the job satisfaction of novice teachers was positively influenced by servant leadership. In particular, both school leaders and novice teachers perceived leaders who valued novice teachers, behaved ethically, and empowered others to have a positive influence on the job satisfaction of novice teachers. While the research literature also highlights humility as an important element of servant leadership, the majority of novice teachers did not perceive it to have a positive influence on their job satisfaction. The results of this study substantiate prior research suggesting servant leadership plays a positive role in the job satisfaction of teachers. Recommendations include additional psychological empowerment of novice teachers and a continued emphasis on the practice of behaving ethically and valuing others. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

The literature is convincing that the revolving door presently occurring in schools as new teachers prematurely leave the profession is difficult not only on children and families, but also school staff and school-wide improvement efforts. However, there is also adequate literature that supports new teacher induction coupled with a qualified mentor as a means for reducing new teacher attrition. While mentoring has been found to be an effective approach for retaining new teachers in the profession, there has been little attention on the supports needed to implement and sustain such programs. The primary purpose of this study is to identify those components of infrastructure necessary to support the implementation and sustainability of a developmental mentoring program. Using literature from the areas of Improving Workplace Conditions and Educational Systemic Change along with Project CREATE and the national standards for mentoring programs a model for infrastructure is proposed. These components along with implications for including or deleting infrastructure from program design are considered. The outcomes from this study will be useful for those in the midst of creating and improving district level mentoring programs. The findings offer the potential to identify the root causes of instability reducing the possibility of program ineffectiveness in planning, implementing, sustaining and improving developmental mentoring programs.

The purpose of this study is to identify the perceptions of novice and veteran teachers regarding the role of the principal in retaining teachers in the profession. Also, the research investigated whether and to what extent there are differences in the perceptions of novice and veteran teachers on the role of the principal in teacher retention. Participants for the study were selected from 15 elementary schools in an urban school district in the Southwestern part of the United States. The study included 270 novice and veteran elementary teachers who completed a Likert Scale questionnaire consisting of 23 questions. The study revealed that novice and veteran teachers believe principals play a key role in the retention of novice teachers. Specifically, the study revealed that teachers want to know the expectation of principals and their evaluation of them as a novice. In addition, they expect principals to play a major role in providing professional development support for teaching strategies, classroom management, and they expect continuous collaboration and encouragement. The results of the study revealed that there was not a statistically significant difference in the perceptions of the novice and veteran teachers in regards to the role of the principal and teacher retention.

This descriptive study provided a synthesis of the form, structure, activity and relationship components utilized by online teacher induction programs designed to support novice teachers. Mentors involved in online teacher induction programs responded to an online questionnaire. The perceptions of 51 mentors involved in 36 online teacher induction programs in 16 states and one country in addition to the United States were examined to determine the effectiveness of components incorporated. A synthesis of the technological venues utilized was provided through a statistical analysis of the mentors’ responses. The mentors’ perceptions of the effectiveness of incorporated technological venues were statistically examined. Additionally, their perceptions of professional development, emotional support, reflection, and formative observation components in relation to the program’s characteristics were also examined through the analysis of their responses to the online questionnaire. Analysis of the mentors’ perceptions appeared to indicate the effective implementation of professional development and emotional support components via technological venues to support novice teachers. The professional development component was perceived as effective regardless of the school districts’ sizes, grade level taught or certification route of the novice teachers. To improve novice teachers’ pedagogical knowledge, it is suggested that online teacher induction programs employ video streaming, videotapes, and websites to deliver the professional development component. Additionally, it appeared that mentors perceived electronic mail as most effective for providing emotional support. However, telephones, bulletin boards, video conferences, and chats were also effectively utilized to support novice teachers emotionally.

Self-efficacy is an individual’s judgment of the relative probability of her or his likely success in attaining desired outcomes (Bandura, 1977). For teachers, efficacy beliefs serve as an assessment of their own abilities to promote student learning. Efficacy beliefs are content-specific and are believed to form early in teachers’ professional careers. While studies on teachers’ sense of efficacy have examined content areas such as math and science (Mulholland & Wallace, 2001; Riggs & Enochs, 1990), very little research has been conducted to explore the perceived efficacy beliefs of beginning foreign language (FL) teachers. Using a mixed methods approach, this investigation explored factors influencing the teaching efficacy beliefs of FL teachers in a major urban school district in north Texas, as well as the potential relationship between their perceptions of efficacy and professional support. Quantitative data included surveys of FL teachers’ efficacy beliefs and perceptions of support. Qualitative data was comprised of case studies, including interviews, observations, and documents collected from four novice FL teachers, all of whom entered the classroom via alternative routes to certification. Cross-case analyses suggest that FL teachers often felt their content area was devalued by administrators, colleagues, and students as a result of its status as a non-tested content area. The efficacy beliefs of the novice FL teachers were influenced in part by contextual factors of their respective schools, including professional isolation as a result of being the only FL teacher on campus, support of colleagues, and the availability of time and resources. Because the four case study participants lacked the benefit of traditional university-based certification, they demonstrated tendencies to rely on their “selected memories,” making sense of their role(s) as teacher via the perspective acquired when they were students. Findings of the study suggest that FL teachers often experience “Stepchild Syndrome,” marked by professional isolation, a lack of relevant professional development opportunities, and a shortage of pertinent resources for FL teaching. The speculative nature of alternatively certified FL teachers’ efficacy beliefs is also examined. The study draws implications for supporting beginning FL teachers, particularly those who enter the profession through alternative routes. / text

The connection between teacher practices and efficacy beliefs and the connection between teacher practices and professional development has been explored empirically (Allinder, 1994; Boardman & Woodruff, 2004; Cohen & Hill, 2001). However, there is a need to examine how mentoring and professional development opportunities for novice teachers function in relation to their efficacy beliefs and teaching practices. This study contributes to the novice teacher literature by examining the interrelations among these constructs. Data for this study were collected from 81 first-year teachers across seven school districts. Data were collected during the fall, winter, and spring using a classroom observation rubric, interviews, and a survey measure. Data were analyzed to look for relationships among teachers' perceptions of their mentoring and professional development experiences, actual classroom practices, and their efficacy beliefs. Results indicated considerable differences in mentoring for teachers in K-2, 3-5, and 6-8; they also indicated grade-level trends on the focus of professional development activities. Findings suggest the stability of teacher efficacy beliefs across the school year. For some districts, there appeared to be a relationship between efficacy scores and the frequency with which teachers reported meeting with their mentors. Lastly, findings suggest that mentors and professional development play important roles at the beginning of the school year. Results also suggest a relationship between teaching practices at the beginning of the school year and efficacy beliefs at the end of the school year for some teachers and districts.

This research study documents the perceptions of Manitoba teachers working with educational assistants as schools comply with the Appropriate Educational Programming Amendment to the Public Schools Act (Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, 2005). Eight teachers who work with educational assistants in rural and urban Manitoba were asked about four aspects of this emerging role: (i) What are their experiences working with educational assistants in the classroom (what roles do they perceive educational assistants to perform), (ii) the competencies they think they need for their work, (iii) how they have been prepared for this responsibility, and (iv) how they think teachers should or could be (better) prepared for their work with educational assistants. The study invited four novice teachers (less than two years of teaching experience) and four veteran teachers (more than 10 years of teaching experience) to participate in one-on-one face-to-face interviews. Open-ended questions based in current research prompted the participants to reflect on their own practice. The study reveals some of the perceived issues teachers report as challenges in their changing role to meet new legislative mandates. It examines the need to introduce collaboration with educational assistants during pre-service training and access to professional in-service learning opportunities to facilitate teachers understanding of the role of educational assistants in Manitoba schools. The study also reveals some of the competencies required for managing the activities of educational assistants.

This research study documents the perceptions of Manitoba teachers working with educational assistants as schools comply with the Appropriate Educational Programming Amendment to the Public Schools Act (Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, 2005). Eight teachers who work with educational assistants in rural and urban Manitoba were asked about four aspects of this emerging role: (i) What are their experiences working with educational assistants in the classroom (what roles do they perceive educational assistants to perform), (ii) the competencies they think they need for their work, (iii) how they have been prepared for this responsibility, and (iv) how they think teachers should or could be (better) prepared for their work with educational assistants. The study invited four novice teachers (less than two years of teaching experience) and four veteran teachers (more than 10 years of teaching experience) to participate in one-on-one face-to-face interviews. Open-ended questions based in current research prompted the participants to reflect on their own practice. The study reveals some of the perceived issues teachers report as challenges in their changing role to meet new legislative mandates. It examines the need to introduce collaboration with educational assistants during pre-service training and access to professional in-service learning opportunities to facilitate teachers understanding of the role of educational assistants in Manitoba schools. The study also reveals some of the competencies required for managing the activities of educational assistants.

This study investigated the role played by School Management Team (SMT) members in the induction of novice teachers in rural schools. The study arose out of the challenges experienced by the researcher as a member of the SMT with regard to the lack of clarity and direction in the induction of novice teachers attached to his school and a high attrition rate amongst novice teachers.The researcher posed this primary research question: How do members of the SMT in rural schools induct novice teachers? A sample of six rural schools in the Limpopo Provincial Education Department that had recently employed novice teachers was purposefully selected. Particpants uncluded the principal or the Deputy Principal, the HOD or the senior teacher and a novice teacher. Research has documented an array of challenges that novice teachers encounter in schools and hence the high attrition rates. This study used a qualitative research approach and a case study design to investigate the problem. The study was framed by Feldman’s (1981) theory of organisational socialisation, which stated that newly employed incumbents need to be inducted into their new organisation by management in order to become effect employees. The findings reveal that SMT members in rural schools do indeed induct their novice teachers, but that their dutis and efforts in this regard are negatively affected by a lack of induction policy, lack of support from the Education Department personnel and a lack of training. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

Many new teachers in the United States leave the profession within 3 to 5 years of service. School district leaders often fall short in their efforts to efficiently mentor novice teachers and examine the novice teachers' perspectives of effective mentoring relationships. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine novice teachers' mentoring relationships during the critical first year. The conceptual framework was Bandura's self-efficacy theory, a tenet of which is that people believe in their ability to attain certain goals if they possess self-efficacy. The guiding research questions focused on what roles mentoring relationships play in the first year of teaching, what their impacts are on novice teachers remaining in the profession, and how the choice of mentor affects the outcome of the mentoring relationship. A purposeful homogenous sample of 6 Grade 9 and 10 novice teachers who were also involved in mentoring relationships with experienced teachers was used. Data were collected through semi structured interviews and a group observation during an administrative support meeting for new teachers. Relationship and social code analysis of data followed an open coding process to identify categories and themes. The key findings were that participants rely on professional and emotional support; however, age and path of certification dictated mentoring needs. A positive mentoring relationship inspired novice teachers in the study to become mentors themselves. Study findings were the basis for the creation of a staff development for veteran teachers who are chosen as mentors. This study may bring about positive social change by bringing awareness of what makes a productive mentoring relationship, which in turn may positively affect student achievement through teacher retention. Many new teachers in the United States leave the profession within 3 to 5 years of service. School district leaders often fall short in their efforts to efficiently mentor novice teachers and examine the novice teachers' perspectives of effective mentoring relationships. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine novice teachers' mentoring relationships during the critical first year. The conceptual framework was Bandura's self-efficacy theory, a tenet of which is that people believe in their ability to attain certain goals if they possess self-efficacy. The guiding research questions focused on what roles mentoring relationships play in the first year of teaching, what their impacts are on novice teachers remaining in the profession, and how the choice of mentor affects the outcome of the mentoring relationship. A purposeful homogenous sample of 6 Grade 9 and 10 novice teachers who were also involved in mentoring relationships with experienced teachers was used. Data were collected through semi structured interviews and a group observation during an administrative support meeting for new teachers. Relationship and social code analysis of data followed an open coding process to identify categories and themes. The key findings were that participants rely on professional and emotional support; however, age and path of certification dictated mentoring needs. A positive mentoring relationship inspired novice teachers in the study to become mentors themselves. Study findings were the basis for the creation of a staff development for veteran teachers who are chosen as mentors. This study may bring about positive social change by bringing awareness of what makes a productive mentoring relationship, which in turn may positively affect student achievement through teacher retention.