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First Years of Teaching
1
THE FIRST YEARS OF TEACHING: DISPARITIES IN PERCEPTIONS
OF SUPPORT
Shirley P. Andrews
Valdosta State University
Linda S. Gilbert
University of Georgia
Ellice P. Martin
Valdosta State University
Abstract:
With an inadequate supply of qualified teachers, education stakeholders
continue to investigate teacher attrition issues and induction/mentoring practices
in order to improve retention rates, especially in the critical first years of
teaching. What types of support do beginning teachers value and what do they
actually receive? What types of support do administrators believe are provided
for the beginning teachers in their schools? Answers to these questions were
sought in an investigation of the induction and mentoring practices of the partner
school districts of two universities. This article reports findings from that study.
The finding indicate discrepancies between the strategies provided for new
teachers as compared to those they valued, and there were disparities between
administrator and teacher reports.
What types of support do beginning teachers value and what do they
actually receive? What types of support do administrators value and what types of
support do they believe are provided for the beginning teachers in their schools?
Answers to these questions were sought in an investigation of the induction and
mentoring practices of the partner school districts of two universities. This article
reports findings from that study.
First Years of Teaching
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A growing concern among educators and other stakeholders in the field of
education has been the staffing of schools with qualified teachers, due in part to
the requirement of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which stipulates that
schools have a qualified teacher in every classroom. Many schools, especially in
urban districts and schools with low-income minority students, are faced with an
inadequate supply of qualified teachers (Murphy & DeArmond, 2003) because a
generation of veteran teachers is approaching retirement age, lower percentages of
people choose teaching as a career, and many younger and talented new teachers
choose to leave the education profession (Colb, 2001; Gonzales & Sosa, 1993).
Almost one out of every two beginning teachers (46%) has left the classroom by
the end of his or her first 5 years of teaching with 14% leaving within their first
year and 33% leaving the profession within 3 years (National Commission on
Teaching & America’s Future [NCTAF], 2003). Alarmingly, the number of
novice and experienced teachers leaving the profession is increasing (National
Education Association, 2006). Current initiatives such as teacher recruitment will
not solve the problem. Organizational sources that affect teacher retention must
also be addressed including a strong focus on retaining those already in the
profession (Darling-Hammond, 2003; Ingersoll & Smith, 2003).
Beginning Teacher Retention Issues
Several factors have been identified as influencing beginning teacher
retention. Pursuit of a better career and job dissatisfaction contribute to
First Years of Teaching
3
approximately two-thirds of all beginning teacher attrition (Ingersoll & Smith,
2003). Additionally, curricular support, networks of peer support, and student
relationships affect retention rates of new teachers (Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development [ASCD], 2004). Another factor is preparation for
teaching. Teachers who lack adequate initial preparation are more likely to leave
the profession than those teachers with adequate preparation (Darling-Hammond,
2003).
In addition to previously mentioned factors, beginning teachers are often
given more challenging teaching assignments than their colleagues, multiple class
preparations, are likely to be assigned to teach low-performing students, and are
not given professional support, feedback, and demonstrations of what it takes to
be an effective teacher (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2004; Danielson, 2002).
Other prevalent problems include underestimation of the difficulties of teaching,
inadequate orientation, no distinction between work requirements of beginners
and veterans, limited opportunities for collaboration with veteran teachers,
inadequate professional training in practical knowledge and skills (Deal &
Chatman, 1989), insufficient materials and supplies, discipline and classroom
management, student individual differences, parent relations, assessment,
organization of classwork (Brock & Grady, 1997; Veenman, 1984), lack of
emotional support, communication, understanding procedures and policies, using
First Years of Teaching
effective teaching strategies, planning and time management (Brock & Grady,
1997), and motivating students (Veenman, 1984).
Early attrition from teaching bears enormous costs for schools and school
districts. Schools in the United States lose approximately $2.6 billion each year
due to teacher attrition (Fulton, Yoon, & Lee, 2005) with an estimated cost of
$12,000 to replace a teacher who leaves the classroom (Alliance for Excellent
Education, 2005). Additionally, a large concentration of underprepared teachers
can drain a school district’s human and financial resources (NCTAF, 2003).
Moreover, the impact of teacher attrition is reflected in increased numbers of
inexperienced teachers, which adversely affects student learning (Antonucci,
1999; Darling-Hammond, 2003).
Efforts to Increase Beginning Teacher Retention
Another factor influencing the retention rates of beginning teachers is
induction, an enculturation process in which the first few years of teaching are
viewed as a phase when beginning teachers learn to teach (Feiman-Nemser,
2003). Data relating induction and teacher turnover substantiate that a
comprehensive induction program, including planning and collaboration with
other teachers, has a positive effect on beginning teacher retention (DarlingHammond, 2003; Fulton, Yoon, & Lee, 2005; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004),
especially in at-risk schools (TQ Source, 2005).
4
First Years of Teaching
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Mentoring, in which a new teacher is paired with a more experienced
teacher for guidance and support, has also been reported to have a positive impact
on teacher retention (Ingersoll & Kralik, 2004). According to Mandel (2006),
support from a caring mentor is crucial in helping new teachers survive their first
year. In a New Jersey study, Gold (1999) reported the first-year attrition rate of
teachers without mentoring was 18%, whereas the attrition rate of first-year
teachers with mentors was 5%. Smith and Ingersoll (2004) found similar results
when the mentor was in the same subject field.
Given the importance of induction, various researchers have attempted to
identify the most effective components. According to Ingersoll and Kralik (2004),
effective beginning teacher induction programs contain the following elements:
pairing beginning teachers with trained mentors in the same subject area and
grade level; reducing workloads of beginning teachers; common planning time for
collaboration among beginning teachers and mentors; continuous professional
development relevant to needs of beginning teachers; beginning teacher access to
an external network of beginning teachers; release time for beginning teachers
and mentors for observation and analysis; a standards-based formal assessment of
beginning teachers; a formal assessment of the induction program; and sufficient
and on-going fiscal resources. Other elements identified as critical to effective
induction practices include the provision of learning communities in which
beginning teachers network and build support; administrative support; a structure
First Years of Teaching
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for modeling effective teaching practices; provisions for beginning teachers to
visit demonstration classrooms (Wong, 2003); consideration for the dynamics of
novice/mentor and novice/administrator relationships; and continued induction in
the second and third year (Wilbur & Zepeda, 2004).
Smith and Ingersoll (2004) determined that some induction activities
appear to be more effective than others in reducing beginning teacher attrition.
They found the largest reductions in beginning teacher turnover were associated
with beginning teachers who had common planning time with other teachers in
the same subject, participated in collaborative networks with experienced
colleagues, and participated in an external network of teachers.
Of the aforementioned factors, teachers’ perceptions involving working
conditions have had a considerable impact on teacher retention. Feelings about
administrative support, resources for teaching, teacher input into decision-making
(Darling-Hammond, 2003; Hirsch, 2006), collaboration (Weiss, 1999), and
professional connections (Markow & Martin, 2005) were strongly related to
teachers’ decisions to remain in the profession. In fact, lack of support has been
identified as a prevailing factor that causes beginning teachers to leave the
profession at high rates early in their careers (Berry, Hopkins-Thompson, &
Hoke, 2002; Certo & Fox, 2002; Johnson & Birkeland, 2003).
Although the literature does address what beginning teachers perceive to
be the most helpful forms of support during their first years of teaching, the
First Years of Teaching
7
literature does not link those helpful forms of support to what beginning teachers
actually receive. In the context of a state-wide project, the following questions
were explored: (1) What do beginning teachers value as support? (2) What
support do they actually receive? (3) Who helped them the most? This paper
addresses the second question, both from the perspective of the beginning
teachers and from the perspective of administrators of beginning teachers. Thus,
the purpose of this paper is to report the support strategies new teachers across 14
school districts said they received and contrast that both to what beginning
teachers said they valued and to the support strategies that administrators said
were provided.
Context
To determine which support strategies were received and valued, a sample
of new teachers was surveyed. Administrators (building principals) were also
surveyed to determine what support strategies they had provided for their
beginning teachers. The two groups were then compared to determine whether
beginning teachers’ perceptions were consistent with what administrators reported
was provided.
The survey was administered in two areas of the state. Two different
institutions were working as partners in a grant that involved supporting teacher
induction. One institution was a large state university working closely with six
surrounding school districts that ranged from mid-city to semi-rural. The second
First Years of Teaching
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institution was a regional state university with a 41-county service area, primarily
rural.
The survey was developed at the large university in response to needs of
the six partner districts, with the primary goal of identifying factors related to new
teachers’ perceptions of the support they received. The data were intended to be
used to help the school districts make decisions about how to support and retain
new teachers. A second goal of the survey, which this paper reports, was to
determine the extent of actual implementation of induction and mentoring
programs based on perceptions of the teachers. What support strategies did
beginning teachers say they actually experienced?
An earlier version of the survey was developed in 2003 and administered
only in the six districts partnering with the large university. It was revised based
on survey responses and on additional focus group data from beginning teachers.
In 2004, the revised survey was re-administered to the original districts. The same
year, a slightly modified version of the survey was administered in selected
school districts associated with the regional university to determine the extent of
induction and mentoring programs in those districts. The regional university also
conducted additional data collection from mentor teachers and administrators to
explore consistencies between perceptions of administrators, mentor teachers, and
beginning teachers in this area. This report uses the 2004 data across all surveyed
school districts, focusing on comparable items.
First Years of Teaching
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Methodology
Survey design. The Support for New Teachers Survey included questions
about support strategies experienced by respondents and the extent to which they
valued those strategies (see Figure 1). The list of strategies was generated both
from literature and from strategies identified by district representatives with
knowledge of measures employed in their school systems. This section consisted
primarily of selected response items, but an open-ended question was included to
allow respondents to offer comments. The survey was administered on paper in
the large university partner schools and online in the regional university’s selected
school districts. (Other sections of the survey will be reported separately in
forthcoming articles.)
Sample selection and survey administration process. In both regions the
survey targeted beginning teachers; however the sampling processes differed. In
the large university region, contact information for all first and second year
teachers was provided by the six school systems, and surveys were distributed
through school mail. Surveys were to be completed anonymously and returned
through the U. S. Postal Service to the researcher for analysis and reporting.
Reminders were sent by school personnel and the researcher, and additional
survey forms were included. Of the 317 beginning teachers surveyed, 222
responded, and the resulting response rate was 70%.
First Years of Teaching 10
In the 41 counties served by the regional university, 8 were chosen for
survey participation based on superintendent permission for participation, their
designations as partners with the university, or as systems that were sites for offcampus graduate programs. The eight systems chosen included four systems with
a total student population below 6000 and four systems with a school population
above 6000. A range of socioeconomic levels from 39% to 79% economically
disadvantaged was represented, as measured by eligibility for free and reduced
price lunches. Administrators in these systems provided names and email
addresses of all first, second, and third year teachers and their mentors.
In addition to the beginning teacher form of the survey, mentors and
administrators were requested to respond to a form of the instrument asking about
the same strategies but in reference to whether these supports were provided for
their teachers. Requests for survey participation were sent by email with a link to
the survey. Results were collected from online submissions and given to the
researchers without individually-identifying information. Of 58 surveys sent to
administrators, 33 were returned (57%). Of 149 surveys sent to mentor teachers,
57 were returned (38%), and of 243 beginning teacher surveys sent, 54 were
returned (22%). The combined response rate for beginning teachers across both
large university and regional university regions was 49%.
The disparity in response rates between the two regions is noticeable and
can be attributed to several factors. First, the survey administered by the large
First Years of Teaching 11
university was conducted based on the needs expressed by the participating
school districts, and thus had very strong support from the district administrations.
In contrast, the regional study was researcher-initiated, so the school districts
were less involved in promoting the survey. Second, the change in format from
paper to online responses was probably a factor in return rate as well: the
following year, when the larger university experimented with an online format,
their response rates dropped dramatically despite continuing district support.
Finally, the timing of the survey administration may have been a factor as well,
depending on how the survey intersected with normal work loads of the teachers.
Results
The 12 support strategies responded to by beginning teachers are
identified in Table 1 in order of frequency of receiving that support. The percent
of surveyed teachers who reported receiving each support is displayed in the
second column, followed by the percent of administrators who reported that this
support was provided for their teachers. The final column shows the value (on a
scale of 1-6 with 6 being most valuable) placed by teachers on that support, as
reported in previous articles (Gilbert, Martin, & Andrews, in progress).
Only 4 of the 12 strategies in the survey had been provided for half or
more of the teachers in the sample. These supports included being assigned a
mentor (87.3% had this support), having a special orientation session (85.4%),
having special handbooks, guides, or other materials (60.8%), and having new
First Years of Teaching 12
teacher professional development sessions during the school year (57.9%). As the
final column shows, these strategies were not those most valued by teachers.
There was a noticeable discrepancy between the supports given to new
teachers and those they valued. The 6 most valued supports from the list of 12
were separated from the 6 valued least by a statistically significant difference
(t(271) = -2.61; p < .01). Of the 4 types of support provided most often, only 2
were in the top half of the list: being assigned a mentor and having special
orientation sessions.
Four supports were highly valued by teachers but were provided for fewer
than half of them. The opportunity to observe other teachers was valued most but
was provided for only 41.9% of the responding teachers. Co-planning time with
other teachers was the second most valued support but was provided to only
45.0% of respondents. Only 17.7% were assigned to smaller classes, and feedback
on nonevaluative classroom observations was reported as being provided to only
33.7% of the teacher respondents.
Administrators took the same survey, with questions reworded to ask
whether supports were provided to their new teachers, and their responses were in
some cases at odds with new teacher responses. For example, only 41.9% of new
teachers responded that they were given opportunities to observe other teachers
(their highest valued support), but 84.8% of administrators reported that this
opportunity was provided for their new teachers. In responding about co-planning
First Years of Teaching 13
time with other teachers (the second highest valued support), 84.8% of
administrators reported providing this support, but only 45.0% of new teachers
reported having this opportunity.
In summary, those strategies which teachers valued most were related to
opportunities to collaborate with and learn from other teachers. In general, those
are strategies that a fairly low percentage of teachers reported having but a high
percentage of administrators said were provided for their new teachers. However,
one area of major agreement was in the value of and provision of a mentor
teacher, with teachers (87.3%) and administrators (90.3%) reporting that this task
was done.
At the same time, the optional open-ended comments tend to caution
against blanket assumptions about strategies. Comments about mentor teachers
were especially polarized. One participant raved about her mentor teacher
“Having a mentor teacher is the best support that a new teacher can have,” while
another was much less enthusiastic: “My mentor teacher has been NO help.” A
third diplomatically offered that “the value of having a mentor teacher depends
greatly on the mentor.” Similar pro-and-con comments occurred with regard to
observations and professional development. Implementation of strategies clearly
mattered to these respondents. Similarly, administrator attitudes expressed in
comments also varied, from “All of these strategies are important” to “Although
some of these strategies sound wonderful, they are unrealistic.”
First Years of Teaching 14
Discussion
The 12 items on this survey were identified from both the practices of the
participating districts and the mentoring and induction literature (Gilbert, 2005).
The responses from teachers in this study indicate that teachers most value
opportunities to collaborate with other professionals. These findings agree with
the literature. Collaboration with veteran teachers has been cited by a number of
researchers (Smith & Ingersoll, 2004; Weiss, 1999) as strongly contributing to the
success and retention of new teachers, and a lack of this opportunity has been
reported in the literature (ASCD, 2004; Deal & Chatman, 1989) as a reason for
leaving the profession.
These results may signal a move away from teaching in isolation toward a
true community of professionals at a worksite. They may also be an indicator that
new teachers have been exposed in their teacher preparation to literature, ideas,
and practice related to learning communities, collaboration, working on teams,
etc., and they may have to come to expect that their teaching situation should
support a collaborative relationship.
New teachers did value having a mentor, and both new teachers and
administrators agreed that this practice is occurring in most instances. The value
placed on a mentor by teachers affirms conclusions by Mandel (2006) and Gold
(1999) who reported the strong positive effects of assigning mentors.
First Years of Teaching 15
Teachers are also asking for feedback on classroom performance in a
nonevaluative way. This particular need of beginning teachers has been generally
addressed in some works (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2004; Smith &
Ingersoll, 2004), though specific methods for providing this kind of support were
not clearly delineated. The negative effect when this feedback is missing was
documented by Berry, Hopkins-Thompson, and Hoke (2002), who found that
unsupported new teachers resorted to survival practices that were not necessarily
effective practices.
In interpreting these results, the open-ended comments add a note of
caution. Even strategies that were generally highly-ranked, such as observations
or mentoring, were criticized by some teachers. Attention must be given to the
actual implementation of the strategy to ensure that it provides the intended
support.
The disparity between administrator responses and teacher responses may
indicate a problem related to perceptions. Administrators may have assumed that
the opportunity for new teachers to observe other teachers was informally
provided, though beginning teachers did not perceive that to be the case.
Administrators may consider team, departmental, and student support meetings as
times for collaboration, when teachers may perceive them to be more about
business than about working together to improve teaching. Administrators may
feel that their expectations for professional collaboration are understood when
First Years of Teaching 16
they are not explicitly expressed. In addition, collaboration may require logistical
support that administrators underestimate or do not perceive. Differences between
responses of administrators and beginning teachers may also have resulted from
the desire of administrators to portray school support of beginning teachers in a
positive light, even though the support strategies may not have been consistently
provided.
Unfortunately, the study design did not include matching administrators
and teachers. Therefore, the administrators who took the time to respond to this
survey may also reflect a subset of administrators who more consistently provide
supports to their beginning teachers, while beginning teacher respondents may or
may have not had that set of administrators. If it were possible to separate those
teachers whose administrators did respond from those whose administrator did
not, a more definitive picture would result.
Recommendations
A dialogue between new teachers, mentors, and administrators each year,
based on the findings of this research, could be the basis for administrator
recognition that new teachers may have special needs and special problems, and
that certain effective strategies of support can be provided for them. A frank
discussion involving administrator or district philosophies about certain supports
(such as smaller classes or fewer preparations) may clear up any misconceptions.
Such a dialogue may also assure new teachers and mentors that the administrator
First Years of Teaching 17
supports the time and effort given by the mentors as well as efforts to improve on
the part of the new teachers. School systems can make such a dialogue a planned
part of new teacher orientation.
Nonevaluative feedback needed by new teachers could come from mentor
teachers, colleagues, or administrators. It must be clear to the teacher that these
observations are not for the purpose of evaluation and that the feedback is
nonthreatening. Opportunities to observe other teachers and having coplanning
time with other teachers are highly valued but low-cost support strategies.
Scheduling problems may be solved with careful planning.
Retention of new teachers is imperative, and a successfully supported first
year is essential to that retention. Both new teachers and school districts have an
investment of money and time in teacher preparation and in acculturation over the
course of the first year. If teachers become frustrated and leave the profession,
both they and the systems have economic and time losses. Research should
continue to examine the issue of how best to support beginning teachers, to find
out whether that support is being provided, and to train administrators to provide
that support in their schools.
Shirley P. Andrews is an associate professor of Early Childhood and Reading
Education at Valdosta State University. Her professional interests include
induction and mentoring practices and teacher leadership and quality.
Linda S. Gilbert is Associate Public Service Faculty at the University of Georgia
College of Education. She serves as project evaluator on several grant-funded
projects related to education.
First Years of Teaching 18
Ellice P. Martin is an assistant professor of Middle Grades and Secondary
Education at Valdosta State University with a focus in mathematics. Her interests
also include school size and mentoring/induction.
First Years of Teaching 19
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First Years of Teaching 20
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First Years of Teaching 23
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First Years of Teaching 24
Table 1
Beginning Teacher (BT) Values and Reports of Support Compared to
Administrator Reports of Support
Value by
BTs (scale
of 1-6)
1. Assigning mentors to new teachers
%
BTs
who
report
having
this
87.3
%
Admins
who
report
their BTs
having it
90.3
4.93
2. Holding a special orientation session for
85.4
97.0
4.96
60.8
78.8
4.69
57.9
81.8
4.42
45.0
72.7
4.31
45.0
84.8
5.01
41.9
84.8
5.28
33.7
90.3
4.93
21.8
12.5
4.41
10. Assigning new teachers to smaller
classes
17.7
40.6
4.98
11. Limiting the number of different class
preparations assigned to new teachers
12. Scheduling field trips that give new
teachers an opportunity to learn about
the school district and available
resources
14.3
36.4
4.66
13.9
21.2
3.91
Support Strategy
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
new teachers before the school year
begins
Providing new teachers with special
publications (handbooks, guides, other
materials)
Holding special professional
development sessions for new teachers
during the school year
Having informal meetings of groups of
new teachers for peer support.
Providing new teachers with coplanning time with other teachers
Giving new teachers the opportunity to
observe other teachers
Providing new teachers with
constructive feedback based on nonevaluative classroom observations
Reducing new teachers’ non-teaching
duties (lunchroom, bus, etc.).
First Years of Teaching 25
Survey on Support for Beginning Teachers
Strategies for Supporting Teachers. The following strategies have been used by
some districts to support their newer teachers. As you read each strategy, please indicate
how valuable you think the strategy is. Please rate all strategies, whether or not you have
actually participated in them.
In your opinion, how valuable do you think each strategy is for
helping new teachers succeed? (Please circle one number only.)
1. Assigning new teachers to smaller classes.
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
2. Reducing new teachers’ non-teaching duties (lunchroom, bus,
etc.).
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
3. Limiting the number of different class preparations assigned to
new teachers.
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
4. Holding a special orientation session for new teachers before
the school year begins.
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
5. Providing new teachers with special publications (handbooks,
guides, other materials).
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
6. Holding special professional development sessions for new
teachers during the school year.
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
7. Having informal meetings of groups of new teachers for peer
support.
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
8. Assigning mentors to new teachers.
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
9. Providing new teachers with constructive feedback based on
non-evaluative classroom observations.
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
10. Giving new teachers the opportunity to observe other teachers.
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
11. Providing new teachers with co-planning time with other
teachers.
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
12. Scheduling field trips that give new teachers an opportunity to
learn about the school district and available resources.
Was this strategy provided for you?
Yes
No
Not
↔
Very
Valuable
Valuable
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First Years of Teaching 26
Please share any comments you have about any of these strategies or other strategies you
experienced.
Figure 1. Survey on Support for Beginning Teachers, Beginning Teacher version,
Section I. This survey was developed in conjunction with the Georgia Systemic
Teacher Education Program (GSTEP).