Tapping the Potential - Alliance for Excellent Education

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TA P P I N G T H E P O T E N T I A L : R E TA I N I N G A N D D E V E L O P I N G H I G H - Q U A L I T Y N E W T E A C H E R Sing door,” where large numbers of qualified teachers depart their jobs for reasonsother than retirement. He also addresses criticisms of those who argue that concernover teacher turnover is exaggerated. The report concludes that teacher recruitmentprograms will not solve the staffing problems of schools if they do not also address theorganizational sources of low teacher retention.Ingersoll, Richard, and Jeffrey Kralik. The Impact of Mentoring on Teacher Retention:What the Research Says. Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States, 2004.This report reviews ten quantitative and evaluative studies with the primary objectiveof providing policymakers, educators, and researchers with a reliable assessment ofwhat is known and not known about the effectiveness of teacher induction programs.In particular, this review focuses on the impact of induction and mentoring programson teacher retention. While the impact of induction and mentoring differed significantlyamong the ten studies reviewed, collectively the studies do provide empiricalsupport for the claim that assistance for new teachers and, in particular, mentoringprograms have a positive impact on teachers and their retention.At the same time, while the studies point to the likely value of some induction andmentoring programs in decreasing the attrition of new teachers, a number of questionsremain concerning mentoring and induction that require more controlled andsystematic research than currently exists:1. What kinds of teachers are helped most by induction and mentoring programs?2. Which elements, supports, and kinds of assistance make induction and mentoringprograms most helpful in addressing the various weaknesses among new teacherswith differing backgrounds?3. Which aspects of induction and mentoring programs contribute most to theincreased retention of new teachers? Do these differ from the factors that contributemost to teachers’ enhanced classroom effectiveness?4. Do the selection, preparation, training, assignment, and compensation of mentorsmake a difference?5. Is it possible to document links between teacher participation in mentoring andgains in student outcomes?Developing carefully controlled studies to answer these key questions will be crucialto allow policymakers and educators make informed decisions regarding mentoringand induction policies and programs for their schools.Ingersoll, Richard, and Thomas Smith. “Reducing Teacher Turnover: What Are theComponents of Effective Induction?” Paper presented to the American EducationalResearch Association annual meeting, April 2003.This study examines whether support, guidance, and orientation programs—collectivelyknown as induction—have a positive effect on the retention of beginning teachers.Using data from the nationally representative 1999–00 Schools and Staffing Survey(SASS), the report focuses on a number of different types and components of induction,including mentoring programs, group induction activities, and the provision ofextra resources and reduced workloads. The results indicate that beginning teacherswho were provided with mentors from the same subject field and who participated in59
A L L I A N C E F O R E X C E L L E N T E D U C AT I O Ncollective induction activities, such as planning and collaboration with other teachers,were less likely to move to other schools or to leave the teaching occupation after theirfirst year of teaching.Johnson, Susan Moore. Finders and Keepers: Helping New Teachers Survive andThrive in Our Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2004.This book, based on a longitudinal study of fifty new teachers during their first yearsin the classroom, highlights the cases of ten teachers who illustrate the experiences ofnew teachers in public schools. The author documents why they entered teaching,what they encountered in their schools, and how they decided whether to stay or moveon to other schools or other lines of work. By tracking the ten teachers’ eventualcareer decisions, the book reveals what matters most to new teachers as they enter theteaching profession. The book uncovers the importance of the school site and the crucialrole that principals and experienced teachers play in the effective hiring andinduction of the next generation of teachers. The author concludes that inductionprograms must be comprehensive—that is, provide multiple sources of support—to bemost effective.Kardos, Susan. “New Teachers’ Experience of Mentoring, Classroom Observations,and Teacher Mentoring: Toward an Understanding of Professional Culture.” Paperpresented to the American Educational Research Association annual meeting, 2002.A qualitative analysis of a quantitative survey of Massachusetts and New Jersey teachersthat examines the relationship between professional culture and new teachers’ satisfactionwith their school and teaching. Kardos finds that formal structures of inductionprograms must be imbedded in the culture of the school to be most effective. Theauthor also concludes that embedded programs contribute to job satisfaction and thus,possibly, to increased teacher retention.Moir, Ellen. “Launching the Next Generation of Teachers Through QualityInduction.” Paper prepared for the National Commission on Teaching and America’sFuture 2003 Annual Commissioners and Partner States’ Symposium, 2003.The report details how one mentor-based induction program in California has hadsuccess in breaking the cycle of teacher attrition. The author explores the responsibilities,training, and selection of high-quality mentors in the Santa Clara New TeacherProject (SCNTP). This model, also implemented in North Carolina, New York City,and Maryland, includes mechanism for accountability and assessment. The authorexplains how the components of the SCNTP program are cost-effective and retainteachers at high rates. The paper concludes with recommendations on the role ofmentors in induction programs, based on qualitative research.National Center for Education Statistics. Teacher Quality: A Report on thePreparation and Qualifications of Public School Teachers. Washington, D.C.: U.S.Department of Education, 1999.The results of this national profile of teacher quality, the first in a series of biennialreports, specifically focus on teachers’ learning (both preservice and continued) andthe environments in which they work. Included is important information regarding60
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Tapping the Potential - Alliance for Excellent Education

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