Mentoring has become an extremely popular policy for improving the retention and performance of new teachers, but we know little about its effects on teacher and student outcomes. I study the impact of mentoring in New York City, which adopted a nationally recognized mentoring program in 2004. I use detailed program data to examine the…

When graduate students enter special education programs, they arrive with dispositional knowledge that can assist or hinder them in their professional development. Over the course of two years, the researchers in this study assessed the dispositions of beginning teachers in a special education program at a west coast state university. The…

Seven higher education institutions in Massachusetts collaborated to develop and implement Project QUEST (Quality Urban Education and Support for Teachers), a support program for beginning urban teachers. Motivated by both the need to retain beginning teachers beyond the first few years of teaching and the desire to increase urban school…

As school districts, universities, and local education agencies begin to provide induction programs for beginning teachers, there is a growing need to attend to quality and more carefully evaluate such programs to ensure they meet the needs of beginning teachers. This paper specifically addresses the nature of induction programs for secondary…

This brief examines the underlying research-based rationale for the American Federation of Teachers' (AFT) policy on beginning teacher induction, noting that among the most often-cited reasons young teachers give for leaving teaching is lack of support, and considerable evidence shows that induction is an effective means of retaining them. Five…

As part of an effort to improve program quality at the Education Unit of Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU), a survey was sent to ECSE graduates who were recommended for teacher certification from 1999 through 2001. This report presents ECSU graduate assessment of the Beginner Educator Support and Training (BEST) program. Of the 340…

This study examined how the needs of beginning teachers, teaching context, and the New Jersey District Induction Program affected beginning teacher induction success. This program compels districts to implement an induction program for traditionally prepared teachers during their first teaching year. From the 18 Bergen County (New Jersey) school…

This study comparatively analyzed three exemplary beginning teacher induction programs that involved university-school district collaboration. Researchers sent letters to leading researchers in the field of induction and mentoring requesting nominations of exemplary programs. They made contact with nine of the programs and interviewed program…

This article describes a program, designed by the Brighton Central School District (NY), which utilizes recently retired teachers as mentors for newly hired teachers. Selection of retirees, program outcomes, and implications of this program for the school district are also discussed. (IAH)

This pilot study with eight beginning teachers examined the value of a mentorship program to assist novice special education teachers during their induction year. Results indicated that (1) perceptions of important mentor characteristics changed with training; (2) all novices valued having a mentor; and (3) most mentor-novice pairs met regularly.…

A new generation of faculty is entering the academic workforce and they are increasingly dissatisfied with current working environments. Institutions must begin to address the changing nature of this new generation. This article reports on a New Faculty Orientation program based on elements of the learner-centered pedagogy. The goal was to achieve…

The purpose of this article is to review the rural area administrator's role in the areas of teacher recruitment, hiring and staff development. State and Regional Policies reveal that these areas are chief among the concerns of rural school leaders (Johnson, 2005). The rural school administrator's role often requires him/her to become involved in…

This article describes a full-time teaching internship program, where, in lieu of student teaching, interns serve as classroom teachers in urban area schools. Through a partnership between a university and participating school districts, all interns received intensive mentoring and induction during their first year. Among the program results, were…

The Beginning Teacher Induction Program (BTIP) began in 1993 for all Anglophone school districts in New Brunswick (Canada). The goals were to improve the teaching performance of new teachers, lower their attrition rate, and improve the system of collegial support within schools. Questionnaires were developed to gather data from the participants in…

This paper describes the contextual dimensions of eight school sites that ameliorate or restrain relationships between mentor and novice teachers. Interview data from 23 mentors, 16 novice teachers, and 8 principals suggest 5 contextual themes that ameliorate or restrain an effective induction for novice teachers: (1) early experiences; (2)…