Thesis advisor: Dr. Lauri Johnson / This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of novice teachers and central office leaders in one Massachusetts school district about the job satisfaction of novice teachers. Data was gathered from interviews with school and district leaders and novice teachers as well as through the analysis of district documents in order to identify central office practices that contributed to novice teachers’ job satisfaction. The findings indicated a strong connection to the district’s mentoring practices and novice teachers’ job satisfaction. However, while central office leaders also cited the positive role of the induction program, novice teachers did not perceive it provided a high level of support. Recommendations are made for central office leaders to establish greater organizational clarity and to differentiate the induction program to better meet the varying needs of novice teachers. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

In an urban school district in North Texas, there was a problem retaining highly qualified novice teachers. This phenomenological study examined the experiences of novice teachers to understand why some teachers demonstrated the resiliency to succeed as professional educators and to suggest potential solutions to improve novice teacher retention. Guided by Henderson and Milstein's theory of resilience, 8 novice teachers with 2-5 years of teaching experience participated in semi structured interviews. Research questions elicited the experiences that empowered novice teacher resiliency, the perceived role of administrators and colleagues to cultivate and build capacity, and recommendations to promote resiliency. Data analyses included an inductive thematic coding process to separate the data and identify themes. According to study findings, novice teachers' support from instructional specialists and colleagues contributed to their resiliency and retention. Participants indicated that a university education alone did not prepare them for the realities of teaching in at-risk learning communities. The participants suggested differentiated professional development to address the challenges of teaching in at-risk schools. A Comprehensive Professional Development Plan was created to address the gap in novice teacher resiliency and retention and to improve instructional practices to meet the needs of novice teachers and to provide a stable and responsive learning community for students to achieve social, emotional, and academic success. This study has the potential to produce positive social change by building capacity, resiliency, and retention through a long-term comprehensive professional development plan for inducting novice teachers.

The first years in the teaching profession are challenging, unforgettable, and shape the professional development of novice teachers. This study aimed at exploring the participation experiences of novice teachers in English teaching communities of practice and examining if this participation influenced their reported approaches to teaching English. Wenger, McDermott and Snyder’s theory of communities of practice was used and data was collected from online close and open-ended surveys, interviews, and staff meeting observations. The findings show that, independently of the social background of students and the financial resources of different school contexts, community support has a direct impact on the quality of the practices of novice teachers in CoPs, their participation and integration in the communities, and their reported approaches to teaching English. Moreover, in supportive contexts, NTEs’ approach to teaching was communicative-focused because their communities allowed them to experiment with language and try new ideas. This study extends the work of Wenger, McDermott and Snyder on organisational and managerial communities by providing insights into the field of second language education. Furthermore, it extends the work of scholars with novice teachers in English language teaching by addressing the socioeconomic aspect of their experiences and by connecting community support directly to the approaches to teaching of novice teachers. This research offers insights to novice teachers on the practices carried out in English teaching communities in the Chilean context and offers experienced teachers the opportunity to reflect on how they treat and work with novice teachers.

The purpose of this study is to identify novice teachers’ perception of their preparedness to teach a class designed for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) after graduation from a traditional university-based special education program or from a special education alternative certification program. Teacher preparedness and the need for highly qualified teachers of students with ASD are relevant topics, as the prevalence rate of ASD continues to increase. This phenomenological qualitative study explores novice teachers’ perceptions of preparedness to teach students with ASD and their knowledge about teaching students with ASD. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with six novice special education teachers of students with ASD. Results indicated that novice teachers of students with ASD have knowledge of autism and evidence-based practices (EBP), which they ascertained primarily through experiences such as; working directly with students with ASD, however, preservice education programs provided the participants with cursory information related to knowledge of ASD and EBP.

This study looked at the transition from preservice teacher to teacher by considering novice teacher success stories. This investigation rested on the presumption that the first year of teaching may be a struggle for some. This claim was underscored by the prevalence of the sink or swim metaphor in discourse related to induction. To understand how novice teacher success stories can inform teacher education, narratives were captured using task-oriented, semi-structured interviews deliberately designed to elicit authentic responses. Iterative analysis of the narratives yielded two profiles and 10 stories that are presented in a combination of vignettes written in the voice of the participant and expository comments. Iterative analysis of the 10 stories using the features or elements of story (setting, character, tone, and theme) yielded a number of patterns. In sum, consideration of these findings informs a deeper and richer understanding of induction through the experiences and perspectives of the purposively and conveniently selected participant in this study. Her case supports the rationale for this inquiry. She demonstrated a keen awareness of the struggles novices face. Yet, she self-identified as successful and her administration concurred. The overarching finding is deep insight into the persona of the participant--a survivor that understood successes as a novice teacher to be occurrences marked in sometimes minimal relief upon a context of struggle.

The study investigated activities initiated in different rural secondary schools to assist novice teachers with less than three years in the field to cope with challenges arising during the transitional phase. The study arose out of challenges encountered by novice teachers attached to my school and other neighbouring rural secondary schools as observed by me due to the lack of clear professional development activities aimed at assisting them to cope with the challenges at work which in most cases lead them into exiting the profession prematurely. I posed a primary research question: How do novice teachers cope with the transition from university to the workplace? Twelve novice teachers working in rural secondary schools in the Capricorn North District in Limpopo Province were sampled purposefully as participants in this study. The study indicated some of the challenges encountered by novice teachers in their first three years of teaching which normally kills their spirit and results in a high rate of attrition. The study employed a descriptive qualitative research approach and multiple case study design to explore the problem. The study used the theory that was developed by Fuller (1969). The theory compared a novice teacher to a new-born child that just got thrown into a new place of which he knew nothing. The theory holds that teachers go through three stages of concern, namely a state of survival, self-adequacy and thirdly, acceptance. The findings revealed that novice teachers working in rural schools experienced a different form of developmental support from their schools due to the lack of a clear professional development policy and the lack of support from the Department of Basic Education. In some rural schools, novice teachers are not being assisted at all, they depend on consultations with senior teachers which they had to initiate themselves. / Mini Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / ETDP SETA / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

In this national study, a combination of factors that affect teacher satisfaction and retention were examined. Domains that discriminate between teachers who choose to stay or leave the teaching profession were investigated. A research-developed questionnaire was administered to 450 randomly selected first, second, and third year teachers. Survey items were related to domains affecting teacher satisfaction and retention. A demographic section was included to collect background information. A principal components analysis resulted in the emergence of domains that were used in the final analysis. They are: emotional factors; school and community support; instructional support; prepration in teaching curriculum, managing students, and assessing students; collaboration; compensation and benefits; motivation to teach; and culture shock. Eleven percent of the respondents chose to leave the profession. Results of the discriminant analysis indicated that the best predictor in choosing to leave or stay in the teaching profession was emotional factors followed by compensation and benefits and culture shock. The analysis was used to determine if the individuals in the two groups were correctly classified based on their scores on the eight predictor variables. The number of cases correctly classified was 91.4 percent. / Ed. D.

Science education reform in the United States has been slow to reduce the troubling science achievement gap between students from mainstream and non- mainstream backgrounds. Recent data suggest the gap persists in spite of improved attention to the multicultural education of teachers, and in spite of recent, more culturally inclusive and responsive curricular materials and instructional recommendations.In this study, I examine the cases of two European American male novice science teachers in middle schools with highly diverse populations, exploring their perceptions of the necessity of adapting their instructional approaches and the science curricula in order to meet the needs of their predominantly Native American, Mexican American, and African American students. Two theoretical frameworks inform this study, Rodriguez's (2005) sociotransformative constructivism, and Freire's critical pedagogy.I apply a qualitative case study method, to better understand and analyze the classroom setting and power relations of the context. Data consist of semi-structured interviews with each teacher, classroom observation and other field notes, the science curricular and instructional materials, and teachers' lesson plans.Each teacher acknowledged the ethnicities of students positively and noticed distinctive ethnocultural features (e.g., quinceañeras, Mexican Americans). Yet, their teaching approaches were primarily teacher-centric and monocultural. Each followed the book, usually lecturing, and striving dutifully to "cover" the topics. They did not solicit students' knowledge or engage them in dialog to explore their thinking. Even when the curriculum guide detailed relevant science knowledge students of some culturalgroups might have, both teachers declined to use it. These well-meaning teachers did not fully perceive that students whose culturewas different from their own might have different and relevant knowledge, experiences, or histories which were resources for learning. As a result, even when the teachers tried more student- centered, inclusive strategies, such as implementing authentic science activities, they did not support students' construction of knowledge through responsive dialog.Teachers assigned to ethnically and culturally diverse students must be helped to fully understand that learners from other cultures have differing knowledge resources. Science teachers in particular must recognize the social and ideological landscape in which their teaching take place.

Thesis advisor: Lauri Johnson / This qualitative case study examined the influence of the processes of supervision and evaluation on the job satisfaction of novice teachers in one suburban Massachusetts school district. The conceptual framework guiding this research was the “Three Factor Theory” developed by Dinham and Scott (1998) which emphasizes the role of school-based factors on job satisfaction. The data collection included interviews with novice teachers, school leaders and central office leaders. A document review was also conducted. The results of this study found that supervision and feedback that was specific and timely, provided from a coaching standpoint was perceived to be an important factor influencing job satisfaction. Building leaders felt that evaluation, through the self-reflection and goal setting process, also positively contributed to the job satisfaction of novice teachers, however, novice teachers did not confirm this finding. Recommendations include additional professional development for both building leaders and novice teachers that focuses on the use of supervision and feedback to inform the evaluation process, including the self-reflection and goal setting stages. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

This study was designed to evaluate the perceptions of novice and veteran teachers’ level of stress and their attitudes toward their profession. Stress may be caused by many different factors. Work related stress is common amongst many people in the work force. In education stress is endured, in some cases on a daily basis. There are many demands put on teachers to ensure student learning. These demands can cause an overwhelming amount of stress for teachers. This stress can have a positive or negative impact on teachers’ attitude toward their profession. The qualitative research method is the method that was used in this study. Qualitative research provides an opportunity for the researcher to have an individual interaction with participants. Interviews and focus groups were used to collect data. Twelve elementary teachers in Northeast Tennessee were interviewed. Of the 12 teachers who were interviewed, novice and veteran elementary teachers in Kindergarten through fourth grades participated in this study. During data analysis, 9 themes were identified. These themes were (a) resources, (b) testing, (c) lack of time, (d) changes in curriculum, (e) relationships with coworkers, (f) internet sources and technology, (g) school community and culture, (h) personal life, and (i) job satisfaction. Based on the research the following conclusions were presented. Some of the most common stressors among teachers are evaluations, paperwork, testing, and students’ academic and behavioral needs. Positive relationships with other teachers and staff members within a school are important throughout the school year. Support from school and district administrators is very much needed and appreciated in order to retain teachers. Providing support and encouragement for teachers could be beneficial to schools and school districts. Recommendations from this study’s findings may assist school districts and administrators in retaining teachers and supporting them in their profession.