New Teacher Induction: A Program Evaluation

• Main Author: Hunter, Warren
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: W&M ScholarWorks 2016
• Subjects: Education
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1463428445; https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=etd

The purpose of this qualitative program evaluation was to examine the impact a two-year new teacher induction program had on teachers’ feelings of support, satisfaction, and self-efficacy. The program purports that higher feelings of support, satisfaction, and self-efficacy in teachers will lead to lower teacher attrition. In turn, research shows that if teachers stay at a school they are more likely to improve their instruction and positively impact student performance. The goal of the study was to identify areas of the induction program that work well in increasing teachers perceptions positively in the three focus areas and to look for ways to improve the program moving forward to better serve future new hires at the school. Data were gathered through an interview process with ten questions focusing on the three main research areas of support, satisfaction, and self-efficacy. Participants included the eight teachers that had most recently completed the two-year induction program. The teachers reported feeling high levels of support, satisfaction, and self-efficacy following their two years at the school, but the impact the induction program had on those levels was mixed. A number of non-induction related activities were identified that also impact the teachers’ levels in the three focus areas. Recommendations were made to strengthen identified areas of induction already in place that were important to the participants as well as additions that could be added to the induction program in order to maximize the effectiveness of the program.