The purpose of this study was to examine teacher induction strategies and effectiveness at the school level, specifically focusing on how the principal designed and implemented induction activities. It also investigated if the following factors influenced teacher retention: (a) number of instructional staff members, (b) number of first-year teachers, (c) number of second-year teachers, (d) number of third-year teachers, (e) principal's gender, (f) principal's age, (g) principal's highest degree earned, (h) principal's total years in education, (i) principal's years in an instructional position, (j) principal's administrative experience, (k) year the school opened, (l) student enrollment, and (m) free and reduced lunch percentages. Common patterns and trends in the data were analyzed to reveal differences between schools with high teacher retention and schools with low teacher retention. All principals of elementary schools in Hillsborough County Public Schools, Florida and Orange County Public Schools, Florida were invited to participate in the study. Data were collected through a researcher created, 32-question, online questionnaire. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered. A total of 147 principals completed the survey. Descriptive statistics were used to report the findings and recommend various areas in need of further study. Analyses of these data found that induction activities that were cited in literature as important were being implemented in schools. These induction activities, organized from most implemented to least implemented, were: (a) formal observation by the principal, (b) mentoring, (c) offer school-level professional development, (d) provide an open door policy, (e) visit classrooms of new teachers often, (f) final (end of year) assessment conferences, (g) provide common planning time for grade levels, (h) encourage district level professional development, (i) give time to observe veteran teachers, (j) involve new teachers in decision making, (k) mid-year assessment conference, (l) provide positive feedback for effective practice, (m) preliminary assessment conference, (n) team building activities, (o) allow new teachers to teach same grade level for at least two consecutive years, (p) offer in-service targeting school policies and procedures, (q) reduce number of students with discipline issues when assigning students to new teachers, (r) provide common planning time with mentor, (s) implement professional reading book club (t) reduce workload of new teachers, and (u) certification exams study group. Data also revealed that schools with high teacher retention tended to be older schools, smaller schools, and schools with fewer percentages of students who received free and reduced lunch. When compared to principals in low retention schools, the principals in high retention schools tended to have more teaching experience, were assigned to their present school for several years, and were older. High retention schools showed significantly less teacher migration and attrition than low retention schools. Recommendations based on this study include investigating how school culture relates to teacher retention and examining teacher migration in more detail. Research is needed to determine how mobility of a school district, new construction, rezoning, allocation cuts, and the reappointment process for teachers affects teacher migration rates of schools. In addition, further study could be done to target specific induction components to determine how to make them effective at the school level. Mentoring, team-building activities, and scheduling are components of induction that need further study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-4193 |
| Date | 01 January 2007 |
| Creators | Handley, Junella |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
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