Effective teacher retention : Sustaining quality novice instructors through induction

The purpose of this heuristic case study was to develop a rich understanding of the effectiveness a teacher induction program has on transitioning and retaining novice teachers on the suburban secondary level. Induction programs are defined as a comprehensive, coherent, and sustained professional development process that is organized by a school district to train, support, and retain new teachers and seamlessly progress them into a lifelong learning program. Case studies of six novice teachers located in two high schools in the same Midwest suburban school district were used to investigate the research questions: What factors of a current teacher induction program in the District support teacher retention? What factors do the teacher participants in the current induction program identify as critical to their return? What do teachers identify as key strategies to be used as part of the current program to support novice teachers? All six of the participants in the study had completed the two-year induction program provided by the District and had returned as current employees. Reflection documents submitted to Human Resources, exit surveys provided by the Professional Development department, and individual interviews were utilized for data collection and analysis. Findings supported the conceptual framework of Socio-cultural Theory, Professional Socialization, Induction and Mentoring, and Teacher Accountability. A synthesis of the research revealed strengths and growth opportunities in the current program regarding mentoring, induction, time constraints and meeting the needs of novice teachers as they matriculate into the system.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education (UMKC)

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Missouri--Kansas City

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• McNabb, Kelly A.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Davis, Donna M. (Donna Marie)

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10355/12371

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/12371