New Teacher Support

New teacher support

A comprehensive induction program can increase teacher retention and improve performance

By Kathy Wiebke and Joe Bardin

January 2009

New teachers need help. From day one, new teachers, largely on their own, are responsible for running a classroom and ensuring student learning, as well as fulfilling administrative requirements. Little wonder that 14% of new teachers leave by the end of their first year, 33% leave within three years, and almost 50% leave in five years (Ingersoll, 2003). Teachers cite lack of support and poor working conditions as primary factors. The Arizona K-12 Center, which provides professional development — including new teacher support — throughout Arizona, has studied the topic extensively in order to develop best practices for our programs. This has been especially relevant for the Arizona Master Teacher Mentor Program, which is designed to reduce new teacher attrition and improve performance. Below is

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References

Alliance for Excellent Education. (2004). Tapping the potential: Retaining and developing high-quality new teachers. Available online at www.all4ed.org/files/ archive/publications/TappingThe Potential/TappingThePotential.pdf.

American Federation of Teachers. (2001, September). Beginning teacher induction: The essential bridge (Educational Issues Policy Brief No.13). Washington, DC: Author.

Feiman-Nemser, S. & Parker, M.B. (1992, Spring). Mentoring in context: A comparison of two U.S. programs for beginning teachers (National Center for Research on Teacher Learning Special Report). East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.

Gless, J. (2008, Winter). Making our voices heard. New Teacher Center Reflections 10(1), 12.

Hanushek, E.A., Kain, J.F., O’Brien, D.M., & Rivkin, S.G. (2005, February). The market for teacher quality (National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 11154). Available online at www.nber.org/papers/w11154.

Ingersoll, R.M. (2003, September). Is there really a teacher shortage? (Document R-03-4). Seattle: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy and the Consortium for Policy Research in Education.

New Teacher Center. (2008, Winter). High-quality mentoring and induction practices. New Teacher Center Reflections, (10)1, 14-15.

Odell, S.J. (1990). Mentor teacher programs:What research says to the teacher. Washington, DC: National Education Association.

The Principals’ Partnership. (2003, May). Mentoring program (Research Brief ). Available online at www.principalspartnership.com/ mentoringnewteachers.pdf.

Strong, M. (2005, December). Mentoring new teachers to increase retention: A look at the research (New Teacher Center Research Brief Issue #05-01). Santa Cruz, CA: University of California.

Weiss, E.M. & Weiss, S.G. (1999). Beginning teacher induction. (ERIC Digest No. ED436487). Available online at www.ericdigests. org/2000-3/induction.htm.