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Supporting New Teachers in an Urban School Setting: A Case Study of Induction Practices
Abstract
Research shows that teacher quality is the single most critical factor in whether students succeed. However, efforts to improve teacher quality are often offset by the high rates of turnover, with 40-50 percent of public school teachers leaving within the first five years, and even higher rates in schools serving less advantaged students (Ingersoll, 2003). The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe an urban school district's new teacher induction program. For this study, an urban school district was defined as a school district located in an urban area, had high rates of poverty, students of color, and Limited English Proficient students. New teacher induction program was defined as any formal, district-level and site-based support given to any teacher with three or less years of teaching experience. The central research question was: How did the teacher induction program support teachers with three or less years of experience? The sub-questions were: 1. What were the perceptions of the induction program? 2. What professional development activities supported the induction program? 3. What was the structure of the induction program? 4. What were the promising practices reflected in the induction program? 5. How were the special issues in an urban district addressed by the induction program? Interviews were conducted with 15 individuals. Two new teachers at each level (elementary, middle school, and high school) were interviewed along with three principals and four mentors (one elementary, two middle school, and one high school). In addition, the director of induction and the former director of mentoring participated in the study. Five themes emerged from an analysis of the interview transcripts. These themes were: Professional Development, Mentoring, Support, Requirements, and Demands on New Teachers.
Subject Area
Educational administration
Recommended Citation
Warner, Christina M, "Supporting New Teachers in an Urban School Setting: A Case Study of Induction Practices" (2012). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI3522091.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI3522091