Date Available

5-4-2020

Year of Publication

2020

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

College

Education

Department/School/Program

Educational Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. John Nash

Abstract

Induction programs are comprehensive initiations or introductions to a position that provides beginning teachers with the necessary tools for starting their teaching careers, as well as specific guidance aimed at helping them meet performance standards. Induction programs may include mentoring, assistance in planning, professional development, and evaluation. Other terms used for induction include support, orientation, training, internship, assistance or assessment programs, retention programs, beginning teacher program, transitional program for existing teacher, cohort program, phase-in, professional development, and workshops. School districts across the country have turned to effective induction programs in response to rising teacher attrition rates. Comprehensive induction programs that develop highly efficacious teachers report a decline in teacher attrition and an increase in job satisfaction.

Research suggests that if teachers have appropriate support and training, they become more confident in their ability to positively impact student success. This, in turn, contributes to their likelihood of staying in the profession, thus increasing teacher retention rates. Quality programs for all beginning teachers are important, and research shows that beginning teachers who participate in induction programs are nearly twice as likely to stay in the profession as those who don't. Beginning teachers are typically expected to carry out the same tasks, in and out of the classroom, as more experienced teachers. As they do so, beginning teachers possess feelings of isolation and lack of support. These, as it happens, are major factors beginning teachers’ decisions to leave the education profession.

The intent of this mixed-methods action research (MMAR) study was to assess the level of self-efficacy of beginning teachers across the domains of instructional strategies, student engagement, and classroom management before and after the completion of a newly designed district induction program. The study explored the induction program’s structure in a large, suburban Kentucky school district to evaluate the extent of participant self-efficacy levels and to what degree best practices in induction are utilized, as defined in the review of the literature. Data were collected before, during, and after beginning teachers’ participation in a five-month induction program.

In this study, we learned that a beginning teacher induction program is a promising practice to increase teachers’ self-efficacy at Williamstown Public School District. Results of the study indicated positive influences for beginning teachers’ efficacy to implement high-yield instructional strategies, effectively engaging students, and design classroom management systems to impact student success.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.109

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