Open AccessFirst-Year Teachers and Induction Support: Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens
Author(s) -
Sara Winstead Fry
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2007.1635
Subject(s) - teacher induction , attrition , phone , psychology , qualitative research , pedagogy , medical education , mathematics education , professional development , medicine , sociology , linguistics , philosophy , social science , dentistry
Novice teachers often struggle during the transition from being students of teaching to teachers of students. Consequently, high attrition rates characterize the first 3 years of teaching, underscoring a need to provide better support for beginning teachers. This investigation sought to answer the following question: How are 1s t-year teachers supported during induction and how do they respond to this support? Four 1st-year elementary teachers participated in a year-long case-study investigation. Primary form of data collection was monthly semi-structured phone interviews. Participants faced similar challenges, while adjusting to their new profession, but received varied, often inadequate, forms of support during their 1st year. The results suggest that rather than identifying the prevalence of induction support, future research should endeavor to assess program quality and guide educators in the provision of valuable induction for new teachers.