The importance of designing and delivering comprehensive induction programmes for newly qualified school teachers (e.g. Draper and O’Brien, 2006) is widely accepted. In China, ongoing curriculum reform and teacher professionalization require such programmes to address issues such as teacher turnover, teacher performance and student learning outcomes.This thesis reports on the findings of a PhD project exploring induction of newly qualified teachers in Yinchuan city, China. The project centred on a qualitative case study involving new teachers, mentoring teachers, school principals and local education officials. Against a background review of the relevant induction policies and provision, topic-focussed interviews were conducted in 2009-10 on two separate occasions in their first year of teaching with 23 new secondary school teachers from different subject departments across 7 schools of various type, and with 6 local education officials, and 17 school principals and mentoring teachers. Drawing on an autobiographical approach, personal accounts from the participating teachers were subject to narrative analysis to explore the extent to which teachers’ perspectives changed during the first year of teaching. The conditions under which perspectives were more likely to change were also considered and three main themes emerged: job motivation, self-image and subjective educational theory. Within each of these themes, sub-themes with respect to the relational context in which teachers’ worked were identified as contributing to developing teachers’ professional identity. By using a voice-centred relational analytical method to allow flexibility in taking advantage of different types of narrative analysis methods, the data revealed interesting issues concerning new teachers’ expectations and perceptions of the teaching profession and the induction programme offered. The narratives were further explored based on the theoretical considerations of teacher’s professional identity, early professional learning (McNally, 2004) and various factors influencing teachers’ professional identity (Day and Gu, 2007). This study aims to deepen and further the emerging studies on teacher induction in China which mainly focused on large-size cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, and to identify some of the key characteristics of induction programmes by locating the study in the unique context and essential conditions of Yinchuan city, a medium-size city in China. It also attempts to benefit from a narrative approach and innovative analytical methods which give voice to the participants which hopefully would contribute to a more humanistic approach in looking at the phenomenon of new teacher induction in China.

International literature on induction within education consistently states that induction programs provide a variety of benefits for new teachers. In Ontario in 2006, to support new teachers, the Ministry of Education introduced the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP). The NTIP consists of three main components: an orientation for new teachers, individual mentoring for new teachers, as well as ongoing professional development opportunities tailored to new teachers. In 2006-2011, the NTIP underwent an evaluation by a research team from the University of Ottawa charged with evaluating the implementation and efficacy of the program. To date in Ontario, there is a gap in the literature on the qualitative experiences of new teachers involved in induction programs. This study, as part of the larger evaluation, sought to address the lack of empirical work in this area by presenting the lived experiences of new teachers in Ontario. Data have been generated through semi-structured interviews with 20 new teachers at the high school level in Ontario, six of whom are presented as typical cases of a range of new teacher experiences. Three existing induction programs are profiled and through an analysis of the experiences and observations of the new teachers in this study, six essential elements of induction have been described. It is anticipated that the results of this study will help inform future policy and practice in the area of induction programs.

It is a well-known fact that entering the teaching profession can be a challenge for nearly anyone (Kronowitz, 2004). Recently, the discussion has shifted to looking at strategies to assist the new teachers in making the transition (Portner, 2005; Sweeny, 2008), with an attempt in the province of Ontario through the implementation of a provincially mandated New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) legislated 2006. Yet, since programs like Ontario’s NTIP are still fairly new, concerns exist as to the effectiveness and ideal structure of induction programs (Glassford & Salinitri, 2007; Tait, 2005; Cherubini, 2009; Robinson, 1998; Johnson & Kardos, 2010), with little recognition of the role of school culture only peripherally addressed within induction literature. Therefore, the intent of this study was to examine the experiences of new teachers who have previously completed the Ontario NTIP program in order to understand the impact of induction programs on the process of new teacher socialization. In order to carry out this study, a combination of document analysis and individual interviews was used. The findings reveal an emphasis upon evaluation within the program documents, unclear roles, the absence of school culture, and little information to ensure proper implementation of the program. Three themes emerged from the interviews. First, the participating new teachers identified the need for support beyond the first year of teaching. Secondly, there seemed to be a general confusion about NTIP with regards to elements, outcomes, and roles among the participants. Finally, responses indicated that mentoring was important for a teacher to feel comfortable in his or her role. Implications of this research extend to the design and long-term support specifically needed for new teachers, establishing the need for direct consideration of school culture and teaching context upon a new teachers’ transition. This research suggests that NTIP documentation be revised to consider all elements more appropriately and for school boards and schools to recognize the role of a new teacher within the environment, and attempt to establish a mentoring culture. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-07 20:46:39.579

Teacher induction programs are a means to support and guide new teachers in bridging the gap between pre-service preparation and assuming the role as a professional educator. This qualitative case study reviews the perceptions of second-year teachers regarding the induction program, Beginning Educators Support and Training (BEST) they experienced. The in-depth study explores the relationship between an induction program in a small urban Texas school district and the second-year teachers participating in that program. The participants in the study were three, second-year elementary teachers. The methods of data collection were one-on-one interviews, a questionnaire, and journal responses from all participants. My research question was: What are the second-year teachers' perceptions of the BEST program? In addressing this question, this study obtained responses to four sub-questions: 1) Do the second-year teachers? perceptions of the BEST program correlate with their perceived effectiveness as teachers? 2) What are the problems new teachers face? 3) How do second-year teachers perceive the impact administrators have on induction programs and new teachers? and, 4) What components of the induction program are recognized by these second-year teachers? Research supports the assertion that new teacher induction programs have been proven to provide support to new teachers in the critical first few years, and this study supported the induction process in relation to the new teacher socialization process and transitioning from pre-service preparation to classroom teacher of record. The induction process was not the salient factor the teacher participants attributed to their job satisfaction and to their remaining in the school district. However, the support, nurturing, and guidance provided through the mentoring culture fostered by the BEST program were significant to the subjects' teaching success during their critical first years of teaching.

Thesis advisor: Joseph J. Pedulla / This paper describes the literature on teacher attrition as either focusing on the working conditions faced by beginning teachers or highlighting variations in teachers' characteristics as causes for early teacher attrition. This study uses responses to the School and Staffing Survey (SASS) along with the Teacher Follow-Up Survey (TFS) to compare these contrasting views of early teacher attrition. Two logistic regression models were constructed and their relative efficacy in explaining teacher attrition were compared using three statistical techniques; model fit characteristics (e.g. pseudo-R2, Akaike Information Criteria, Bayesian Information Criteria); a comparison of their classification effectiveness, and results from Davidson and MacKinnon's J test (1981). A final model was also constructed using the predictive elements of each of the previous models. Results suggest that the working conditions model better fits the observed data than the teacher characteristics model. The final model highlights the importance of teacher commitment and engagement in the profession in teachers' career decisions. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation.

Using a single case study methodology, the purpose of this research was to investigate how school culture, induction programs, and a beginning teacher’s prior beliefs and experiences influenced a beginning teacher’s understanding of parent engagement. Literature was reviewed pertaining to teacher induction, teacher interactions with parents, the effects of culture on beliefs, and the importance of an individual’s prior beliefs on future beliefs. The data for this study was obtained from three semi-structured interviews with a beginning teacher, single semi-structured interviews with the school’s principal, vice principal, and an experienced teacher, reflections from cultures walks performed by the experienced teacher and the researcher, and document scans of division and school records. It was found that the most important experiences that influenced the beginning teacher’s thinking about parents were her involvement in an undergraduate class focused on community and parent engagement, and her own experiences growing up with her parents. Other findings revealed that the beginning teacher needed further assistance in creating meaningful relationships with parents, the school culture had a limiting effect on the beginning teacher’s growth, and that the weakest influences on the beginning teacher’s understanding of parent engagement could be attributed to her inductions program. Implications include recommendations that beginning teachers have experience with parents off the school landscape, have access to professionals who successfully create parent-teacher relationships, and have taken a course focused on parent engagement during their undergraduate work. As well, a recommendation that school-based administrators receive parent engagement training is proposed. It is suggested that further research be done to understand the interplay between a beginning teacher’s prior beliefs about parent engagement and different school cultures and induction programs.

No description available.

This study is an auto-ethnographic examination of reflections of a novice itinerant art teacher. The teacher taught at four schools within her first two years of teaching. Reflections of her first two years are recorded, then analyzed, and suggestions for other novice itinerant teachers are provided

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.

This study is an auto-ethnographic examination of reflections of a novice itinerant art teacher. The teacher taught at four schools within her first two years of teaching. Reflections of her first two years are recorded, then analyzed, and suggestions for other novice itinerant teachers are provided