This qualitative study investigated six beginning elementary teachers' beliefs about mathematics and mathematics pedagogy and explored the relationships between their mathematics beliefs and teaching practice. A key question that was addressed was "What are the primary factors that influence beliefs, practices, and the consistency between beliefs…

This paper describes a new portfolio-based assessment program for beginning science teachers who seek a license to teach in Connecticut's middle and high schools. This is part of the comprehensive Beginning Educator Support and Training (BEST) induction program for beginning teachers in Connecticut. The science portfolio assessment requires all…

This 3-year longitudinal study was conducted in order to help students, enrolled in a graduate level teacher certification program designed for career change individuals, clarify their beliefs and perspectives about teaching and develop skills in reflective analysis. The study used perspectives including attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors,…

Teachers who had received a specialized preparation for middle level teaching were studied to determine the effectiveness of such a preparation program and to help form a knowledge base from which teacher education institutions could document, design, and implement middle level preparation programs. The paper reviews the literature investigating…

Enroute to exploring the role which school culture plays in the teacher induction process, this study compared and contrasted the induction experiences of two exemplary beginning teachers, one an early childhood special educator in an urban setting and the other an elementary educator in a suburban setting. The teachers confronted the same…

This study was conducted to investigate factors that contribute to the development of classroom management and discipline problems for novice teachers. A case study of Marilyn, a 45-year-old beginning teacher, guided the research, along with observation, interviews, journal writing, and autobiographical information. Marilyn viewed herself as a…

In attempting to identify causes of the high rates of attrition of beginning teachers and possible solutions to their exodus, this study identified what beginning high school and middle school teachers in the Baltimore County Public School system found were their most urgent concerns and most valuable types of assistance. A questionnaire was sent…

Statistics indicate that 15 percent of beginning teachers leave the profession after the first year of teaching, and more than 50 percent leave within 6 years. This study was conducted to identify the problems and concerns faced by neophyte teachers at the middle and high school levels, and to distinguish between the concerns of first-year,…