Dispelling the myth that beginning teachers are fully equipped to handle the demands of their professions begins by acknowledging that the first months and years of teaching are full of pain, confusion, loneliness, and often humiliation. Schools can help by fostering beginner peer groups and encouraging early professional development and…

Mentoring programs for beginning teachers are designed to retain good teachers by providing them with psychological support and instructional assistance and introducing them to the cultures of the school and the district. Being a mentor also figures prominently in veteran teachers' professional development. An examination of the literature reveals…

Reports a study of new teachers employed in English primary schools. Case studies of inductees and interviews with all people involved in the management of the teachers' probation and induction indicated the linked importance of appropriate placement, affective human relationships, and inductees' attitudes in achieving success in the induction…

A forum, convened to consider the subject of beginning teacher induction, focused on questions about: (1) the importance of the induction phase; (2) whose domain induction is; (3) what happens to the teacher in this phase; (4) training that is most needed in this phase; (5) how induction is related to licensure; and (6) whether induction is unique…

This paper reports on an element of a long term research project on the development of a conceptual framework for the training of mentors of beginning teachers. Three aspects are being investigated: (1) mentors' perceptions about mentoring; (2) the relation between mentors' perceptions and their actions in practice; and (3) the effect of mentoring…

Year One of the 3-year Montana Beginning Teacher Support Program (BTSP) was conducted as a pilot study to investigate mentor-mentee pairing functioning under the study parameters as evidenced by a sampling of Montana participants, and to develop a manageable research model to be implemented during the second and third years of the study. The study…

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…

This report is the third of four reports on the Beginning Teacher Support Program (BTSP) on the effectiveness of mentoring new teachers. The paper focuses on technical aspects of the study. Study data are summarized in tables, including a comparison of teacher retention rates over the three years of BTSP, a summary of administrators' evaluations…

Teachers have different job skills, knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, and concerns at different points in their careers. A number of these characteristics follow a regular developmental pattern. Three stages of teacher career development have been identified, with different developmental characteristics at each stage. In the survival stage, which…

A national mail survey examined the experiences of beginning vocational teachers. The survey had three sections: demographics, a list of assistance items, and a list of events. The latter two sections had two scales: frequency of occurrence and degree of impact. The survey sought to determine the kinds of induction assistance that beginning…

The purpose of the final report on the Montana Beginning Teacher Support Program (BTSP) is to provide a comprehensive description of all phases of the program as it was conducted from 1992 through 1995. The purpose of the BTSP was to study the effect of a formal mentorship relationship between master teachers (mentors) and teachers in their first…

A study investigated the nature, dynamics, and scope of the induction process for beginning vocational teachers. Ten purposefully selected groups of beginning vocational teachers from eight different states participated in nominal group technique sessions. Two groups were selected for intensive follow-up for case study. A mail survey of a…