ERIC Number: ED390802
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1994-Jul
Pages: 54
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Montana Beginning Teacher Support Program. Research Report for Year Two 1993-94.
Spuhler, Lee; Zetler, Alan
This report is the second of three annual reports to the Montana Certification Standards and Practices Advisory Council (CSPAC) on the effectiveness of mentoring new teachers. Specific research topics for the study were: (1) whether mentoring conducted under an exclusive one-on-one relationship has an effect on the new teacher's development as measured by performance and attitude over the life of the study; (2) the association between successful mentoring and selected contextual conditions under which the relationships function in a cross-section of Montana schools; and (3) mentorship program options that could be recommended to CSPAC and Montana educators based on the effects and conditions examined during the study. The survey sample consisted of 12 beginning teachers from 7 teacher preparation programs. Performance indicators--including attitude and retention indicators, Concerns Model, mentor's assessment of mentee, mentee's self-assessment, and administrator's attitude survey--are analyzed. Journal entries, onsite interviews, and observation provide additional data. Based on the study's findings, two preliminary statements are presented. First, the performance and attitude indicators point to positive professional growth as perceived by the major players, and the pace of that growth appears to be more rapid compared to non-mentored beginners. Second, the contexts in which new teachers work cause some conditions to be individually serious or trivial, but across all new teachers, the first year is not generally a cognitive but rather an affective experience. Good mentors help novices work through the personal ramifications of teaching in school systems, allowing attention to shift toward higher level goals of instruction and learning. The data for each research question are summarized and presented in table form. Data collection forms and the survey instrument are included. (ND)
Descriptors: Beginning Teacher Induction, Beginning Teachers, Elementary Secondary Education, Faculty Development, Helping Relationship, Inservice Teacher Education, Interpersonal Relationship, Journal Writing, Master Teachers, Mentors, State Programs, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Certification, Teacher Persistence, Teacher Supervision
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Administrators; Teachers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Montana State Board of Education, Helena.
Identifiers - Location: Montana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A