PROFESSIONAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: CHALLENGES FOR INDUCTION TEACHERS

The purpose of this study was to identify challenges faced by induction-year teachers in Texas. The target population for the study was induction teachers inTexas during the 2005-2006 school year (N = 98). A census was conducted and 73 teachers responded resulting in a 77% response rate. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire administered over the internet. The questionnaire contained three parts. Part one sought to determine teachers perceived level of importance of 44 teaching competencies representing five effective teaching competency categories. Part two of the instrument soughtto determine the teachers perceived level of preparation on the same competencies and categories. The final section of the instrument sought to describe demographic characteristics of participants. Mean weighted discrepancy scores were calculated to determine the teaching competencies that are most challenging. Correlations were conducted to determine the relationshipsbetween the summated weighted discrepancy score and selected personalcharacteristics . Introduction/Theoretical Framework Education has been frequently described asa profession that eats its young (Halford, 1998). The cannibalistic reputation has been earned by the alarming rate at which the profession looses teachers in the early career stages. As many,as 15% of new teachers leave the profession during the first or second year(Darling-Hammon d, 1997). As many as half of all teachers reportedly leave by the end of their sixth year (Marso & Pigge, 1997). The complexity of this issue has been compounded,by legislative reform challenging school districts to provide “highly qualified” teachers. Even more alarming is the trend that those with the most potential for success are among the most likely to leave the profession (Rosenholtz, 1989). As researchers have studied the phenomena surrounding the early careers of teachers, we have seen a shift in language and thought (Lawson, 1992). Early career teachers have been