The purpose of this basic narrative qualitative study was to explore the experiences of first- and second-year teachers and mentors regarding professional learning and new teacher mentoring programs from three highly effective schools in the state of Missouri through personal interviews and related documents. The three highly effective schools…

This report provides a snapshot of school district policies for mentoring new teachers in five Regional Educational Laboratory Central states (Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota). State education agencies collected survey data from school districts on who provides mentoring, how time spent mentoring changes after the first…

Educational leaders have widely implemented mentoring and induction programs to support beginning teachers as they enter the profession. A variety of contextual factors within the mentoring dyad and program may impact the mentoring relationship and subsequent support received by the beginning teacher. The purpose of this study was to describe the…

Like many professions, teaching is forever evolving. Due to several trends in the teaching force within the past forty years, the demographics of public school teachers have changed. Because many baby-boomers have reached retirement age, there has been an exodus of retiring teachers, which in turn has created a large number of open teaching…

The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of field experiences in traditional teacher preparation programs completed by first-year teachers in Missouri and how experiences vary by teaching certificate type. This descriptive study is based on data from a survey administered in early 2015 to first-year teachers in Missouri public…

Beginning teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate, financially draining the nation each year (Gonzales, 2007; National Commission on Teaching and America's Future [NCTAF] & NCTAF State Partners, 2002). One method schools enact to counter this problem is to require beginning teachers to participate in induction programs which…

Policy shapes practice, and the increasingly important realm of professional development is no exception. To identify effective professional development policies and strategies, a Stanford University research team examined the policy frameworks supporting high levels of professional development activity in four states--(1) Colorado; (2) Missouri;…

With state and national policymakers eyeing ways to improve teacher preparation, a handful of education programs are becoming more intentional about how such "cooperating" teachers--as they're known in the lingo of teacher preparation--are selected and trained. That interest could grow as programs wrestle with the finer points of how to…

The Comprehensive Teacher Induction Consortium, a group of similar teacher induction programs, has used a highly successful model for over 15 years. Four crucial aspects of that model are a full year of mentored support for first-year teachers, coursework leading to a master's degree, opportunities for sharing with other beginning teachers, and…

Higher education requires exemplary faculty to provide a high quality education to college-level students. When faculty is new to an institution, issues of transition can affect job satisfaction negatively. The literature concludes that job satisfaction can affect retention of quality personnel. As a result, college and university administrators…

Action research, also called classroom or teacher research, has been defined as "systematic, intentional inquiry by teachers". Action research encourages school personnel to systematically develop a question, gather data, and then analyze that data to improve their practice. Over the last 15 years, the complexities of using action…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons construction teachers in the CTE field left the teaching profession in their first five years of service. The study also sought to determine if there was a significant difference in the retention rate of two-year alternatively certified teachers and four-year teaching degreed teachers and if…

With the implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS), K-12 teachers, counselors, and administrators will be held accountable for meeting the explicitly defined standards of college and career readiness for every high school graduate. An equivalent and reciprocal challenge is also placed upon universities to prepare future education…

We investigated how and to what extent a school-university partnership might influence the teachers and the teaching in one school, Parkland. We interviewed 23 novice and veteran teachers, the principals, and the university liaison. The data suggest that the university structures (i.e., the practicum, the student teaching internship, the Senior…

For the new career and technical education (CTE) teacher, a teacher induction program and peer mentoring can make the first year a much more positive experience. In this article, the authors describe the Missouri Center for Career Education's (MCCE) teacher support systems intended to help new teachers succeed. These include the New Teacher…