| Summary: | National efforts to reform public schools in the last few decades have focused mainly on tests and mandates, rather than teacher quality, and have been generally unsuccessful. What teachers know and can do directly impact what students learn. Unfortunately at a time when the student population is growing, and good teachers are most needed, young teachers are leaving the profession because of problems they encounter. To keep promising new teachers in the profession, we need to identify the problems and provide the support that will help them succeed. This study investigated the instructional, curricular, classroom management and collegial problems new teachers encounter. It also explored what new and experienced teachers consider important characteristics of a mentoring program intended to help new teachers teach effectively. The sample included 158 new and experienced teachers in eight elementary school districts in Western Massachusetts. The resulting data provided evidence that new teachers experience difficulties in many aspects of teaching during their first year. Classroom management presented the most difficulty followed by curricular, instructional, and collegial issues. Experienced teachers also reported similar problems. With both new and experienced teachers, however, the extent to which individual teachers experienced these problems varied. The mentoring components chosen by new and experienced teachers related closely to the problems identified. Based on the data, guidelines for a mentoring program to meet the flexible needs of new teachers were presented. Four recommendations for further research were advanced: replication studies to extend the generalizability of this investigation; inquiry into additional teacher competencies to be included in teacher preparation programs; an investigation into the preparation of experienced teachers for mentoring; and an exploration of induction practices that should be integrated into wider school reform efforts. The effective mentoring of new teachers is an important step toward teacher quality and ultimately student achievement. When we enhance the capacity of teachers to explore and develop effective solutions to their students' individual learning difficulties, we improve schools in the most fundamental way, increasing the chances for both students and teachers to succeed.
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