More than a mentor

Purpose – The number of early career teachers leaving the profession continues to be an ongoing issue across the globe. This pressing concern has resulted in increased attention to the instructional and psychological conditions necessary to retain early career educators. However, less formal attention has been paid to the social infrastructure in which early career teachers find themselves. The purpose of this paper is to foreground the role of social capital and its effect on job attitudes and educators’ intention to leave the profession. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 736 teachers within ten secondary schools in Flanders (Belgium). Using social network and multilevel moderated mediation analysis techniques, the relationships between teachers’ social connectedness, job attitudes, and the intention to leave the profession for both novice and experienced teachers were analyzed. Findings – Findings indicate that being socially connected to other educators within the school is associated with a reduction in teachers’ intention to leave the profession, mediated by their job attitudes, for both early career and experienced teachers. However, social connectedness was significantly more important for early career teachers. No significant effects are found for being socially connected to the mentor. Originality/value – This study provides evidence for the importance of social capital for teachers, particularly early career educators. Moreover, by introducing teachers’ social connectedness as related to intention to leave, this study makes a significant and unique contribution to the literature.

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Two Ways to Teach: Direct Instruction and Indirect Instruction/Inquiry: Simplifying Planning Concepts for Early Career Teachers

Journal of Studies in Education ◽

10.5296/jse.v6i3.9862 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 113

Author(s):

Nancy Maynes ◽

Blaine E. Hatt

Keyword(s):

Direct Instruction ◽

Conceptual Models ◽

Early Career ◽

Experienced Teachers ◽

Approaches To Teaching ◽

Early Career Teachers ◽

Decision Points ◽

Career Teachers ◽

Planning Concepts ◽

Indirect Instruction

This paper describes two planning diagrams that support pre-service and early career teachers’ understanding of direct and indirect instructional approaches to teaching Conceptual models can support understanding of the embedded decision points that new teachers must address as they plan lessons. In this paper, we offer 2 models to support the understanding of pre-service and early career teachers with two conceptual diagrams that relate to lesson planning. One of these diagrams has been used for several years with pre-service teachers who have identified that this conceptual diagram has helped them understand planning concepts early in their planning experiences. This diagram demonstrates the phases of instruction used by experienced teachers when they plan for direct instruction. A body of prior research has been completed to demonstrate the existence of the main conceptions and relative times in the diagram as they are evident in teachers’ practice and to identify how the diagram is perceived by pre-service teachers. The second diagram has been designed as a complimentary method of helping pre-service teachers understand concepts related to planning for indirect instruction involving various forms of inquiry.

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Curricular coaches’ impact on retention for early-career elementary teachers in the USA

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education ◽

10.1108/ijmce-09-2017-0064 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 191-200 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

David De Jong ◽

Ayana Campoli

Keyword(s):

Elementary Teachers ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Teacher Turnover ◽

Early Career ◽

Early Career Teachers ◽

Content Type ◽

Early Career Teacher ◽

The Usa ◽

Career Teachers ◽

Career Teacher

Purpose Researchers have found that curricular coaches have had an impact on student achievement by supporting classroom teachers in providing high-quality instruction. However, few studies examine the association between curricular coaches and teacher retention, especially in urban areas. Given the high cost of teacher turnover and the high percentage of early-career teachers who leave the profession each year, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the presence of curricular coaches in elementary schools reduces turnover among early-career teachers. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors analyzed the observational data from the 2007-2008 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The SASS is a nationally representative cross-sectional survey that has been administered repeatedly to public and private kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers in the USA approximately every four years by the National Center for Education Statistics and the US Census Bureau. Findings The authors found that the presence of a curricular coach was associated with a substantial reduction in early-career teacher turnover. This finding suggests that curricular coaches could be a particular benefit to urban schools. Research limitations/implications This study was national in scope; therefore, it does not examine causes of attrition specific to local contexts. Practical implications Curricular coaches may indirectly save urban school districts thousands of dollars because of their impact on reducing early-career teacher attrition. Social implications In this study, the authors found a statistically significant and practically meaningful association between the presence of curricular coaches in schools and the retention of elementary teachers, especially in urban areas. Originality/value The model predicted that among early-career teachers, teachers in schools without curricular coaches are approximately twice as likely to leave the profession the next year compared to teachers in schools with curricular coaches.

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External mentoring for new teachers: mentor learning for a change agenda

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education ◽

10.1108/ijmce-03-2017-0021 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 178-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Caroline Daly ◽

Emmajane Milton

Keyword(s):

School Improvement ◽

Professional Learning ◽

New Teachers ◽

Early Career ◽

First Year ◽

Early Career Teachers ◽

Learning And Development ◽

High Stakes ◽

Content Type ◽

Career Teachers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative study of the learning and development of 70 external mentors during the first year of their deployment to support early career teachers’ professional learning as part of a national initiative aimed at school improvement in Wales. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a narrative methodology that elicited accounts of external mentors’ learning experiences that were captured as textual data and analysed using an inductive approach to identify: first, the manifest themes that appeared at declarative level, and second, the latent (sub-textual) themes of external mentor learning and development. Findings Four key themes emerged that indicate the complexity of transition to the role of external mentor in high-stakes contexts. From these, eight theoretically-informed principles were derived which support mentors to embrace uncertainty as essential to their learning and development, and to harness the potential they bring as boundary-crossers to support the development of new teachers. Research limitations/implications The study investigated the first year of a three-year programme and worked with one form of qualitative data collection. The research results may lack generalisability and a longitudinal study is necessary to further explore the validity of the findings. Practical implications The eight principles provide a foundation for mentor development programmes that can support ambitious goals for mentoring early career teachers. Originality/value The study addresses the under-researched area of the learning and development of external mentors at a national scale.

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The role of mentoring in early career physics teachers’ professional identity construction

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education ◽

10.1108/ijmce-01-2017-0003 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 128-142 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

David Cameron ◽

Anna Grant

Keyword(s):

Identity Development ◽

Professional Identity ◽

Identity Construction ◽

Professional Practice ◽

Early Career ◽

Early Career Teachers ◽

Physics Teachers ◽

Content Type ◽

Career Teachers ◽

The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which external subject-specific mentoring can influence the professional identity construction of early career physics teachers (ECPT). Design/methodology/approach The methodology evolved from the evaluation of a mentoring project, involving semi-structured interviews with a number of early career teachers. Responses from 18 teachers, which related to the impact of the mentoring relationship on their professional identity development, were subject to a process of iterative thematic coding in the context of interpretative repertoires via a collaborative “developmental dialogue” between the managers of the mentoring project and its external evaluators. Findings The analysis of participants’ responses suggested that the nature of the relationship between early career teacher and mentor played a role in the emergence, or suppression, of their professional identities as physics teachers at the start of their teaching careers. In some cases, mentoring provision was little short of a “lifeline” for the teachers. Practical implications Mentors need the opportunity to develop their professional practice and identity through contact with the community of teacher educators. The practice of training, mentoring and coaching teachers should be valued at least as much as teaching itself and should be recognised as its own professional practice. Originality/value This study builds on a number of well-established pieces of research and concepts relating to the challenges facing early career teachers and their professional identity construction. It provides insight into the challenges facing ECPTs specifically, which includes the risk of isolation and unrealistic expectations from colleagues. It not only confirms the merits of external mentoring, but also demonstrates the significant responsibility, which comes with the mentor’s role and the negative impact on teachers’ professional identity construction caused by deficiencies in mentoring.

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Teacher noticing and its growth toward expertise: an expert–novice comparison with pre-service and in-service secondary mathematics teachers

Educational Studies in Mathematics ◽

10.1007/s10649-021-10128-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anton Bastian ◽

Gabriele Kaiser ◽

Dennis Meyer ◽

Björn Schwarz ◽

Johannes König

Keyword(s):

Mathematics Teachers ◽

Teaching Experience ◽

Early Career ◽

Experienced Teachers ◽

Early Career Teachers ◽

Teacher Noticing ◽

Professional Noticing ◽

Theoretical Approaches ◽

Career Teachers ◽

Education And Development

AbstractAlthough strong references to expertise in different theoretical approaches to teacher noticing have been made in the last decades, empirical knowledge about the development of teacher noticing from novice to expert level is scarce. The present study aims to close this research gap by comparing three different groups of mathematics teachers with different degrees of professional teaching experience—pre-service teachers at the master’s level, early career teachers, and experienced teachers—using data sampled in the frame of the research program from the Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M). Furthermore, the construct of teacher noticing is assessed in a differentiated way by analyzing different noticing facets. Findings confirm that three facets of teacher noticing can be empirically distinguished—perception of important classroom events, their interpretation, and decisions regarding further developments. The results reveal a considerable increase in professional noticing between master’s students and practicing teachers. However, in contrast to other studies, among examples from East Asia, a stagnation or decrease in professional noticing between early career teachers and experienced teachers could be observed. Overall, the study highlights the cultural dependency of expertise development regarding teachers’ noticing.

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The impact of mentoring on the Canadian early career teachers’ well-being

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education ◽

10.1108/ijmce-02-2019-0035 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 285-309 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Benjamin Kutsyuruba ◽

Lorraine Godden ◽

John Bosica

Keyword(s):

Beginning Teachers ◽

Well Being ◽

Teaching Profession ◽

Early Career ◽

Publicly Funded ◽

Early Career Teachers ◽

Content Type ◽

Career Teachers ◽

K 12 ◽

The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact that mentoring has on Canadian early career teachers’ (ECTs’) well-being. The authors describe findings from a pan-Canadian Teacher Induction Survey (n=1,343) that examined perceptions and experiences of ECTs within K–12 publicly funded schools, with particular interest in retention, career interests and the impact of mentoring on well-being. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was used to examine perceptions and experiences of ECTs within publicly funded K–12 schools across Canada. For this paper, the authors selectively analyzed 35 survey questions that pertained to mentorship and well-being of ECTs, using quantitative and qualitative procedures. Findings The findings revealed a strong correlation between the mentoring experiences and well-being of the participating Canadian ECTs. The teachers who did not receive mentorship indicated significantly lower feelings of well-being, and conversely, teachers who participated in some kind of mentorship demonstrated much higher levels of well-being. Research limitations/implications This paper draws on the selective analysis of the data from a larger study to elicit the connections between the mentoring support and perceived well-being. Due to inconsistencies in terminology and multifaceted offerings of induction and mentoring supports for ECTs across Canada, there might have been some ambiguity regarding the formal and informal mentorship supports. A longitudinal study that is designed to specifically examine the connection between the mentorship and well-being of ECTs could yield deeper understandings. A comparative study in different international contexts is commended. Practical implications The findings showed that the ECTs who did not receive any mentorship scored significantly lower feelings of well-being from external, structural, and internal well-being sources, and conversely, the ECTs who participated in some kind of mentorship scored much higher levels of feelings of well-being. Policy-makers should therefore continue to confidently include mentorship as an intentional strategy to support and help ECTs to flourish. However, inconsistent scoring between individuals and their levels of external, structural and internal well-being suggest that more research on the connection between mentoring and well-being of the ECTs. Social implications Work-life imbalance seems to be more challenging for ECTs than policymakers who provide these expectations are aware. Therefore, excessive work demands and intensive workloads need to be given proper attention for their potential negative effects (such as stress, burnout and absence) on the beginning teachers’ health and well-being. Likewise, purposeful strength-based approaches should be undertaken to establish generative and pro-social efforts to enhance the connectedness, collaboration, collegiality and resilience-building opportunities for novice professionals within flourishing learning communities. Originality/value In this paper, the authors have undertaken the first steps in exploring the impact that mentoring has on Canadian ECTs’ well-being. The study increases the understanding of how mentoring can be used as a purposeful strategy to support the well-being of ECTs and retain them in the teaching profession in Canada and potentially in different international contexts.

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Growth of professional noticing of mathematics teachers: a comparative study of Chinese teachers noticing with different teaching experiences

ZDM ◽

10.1007/s11858-020-01217-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xinrong Yang ◽

Johannes König ◽

Gabriele Kaiser

Keyword(s):

Mathematics Teachers ◽

Teaching Practice ◽

Teaching Experience ◽

Early Career ◽

Experienced Teachers ◽

Influential Factor ◽

Initial Teacher Education ◽

Early Career Teachers ◽

Teacher Noticing ◽

Career Teachers

AbstractThe last decade has witnessed increasing interest in the study of teacher noticing in mathematics education research; however, little is known about the growth of teacher noticing and how it is influenced by teaching practice. Departing from the expert-novice-paradigm, in this paper we address this research gap by a cross-sectional study that investigates how Chinese mathematics teachers’ noticing is affected by their developmental stage, measured by the length of their teaching experience. The study included 152 pre-service teachers at the end of their initial teacher education, 162 early career teachers with one to five years’ teaching experience, and 123 experienced mathematics teachers with more than 15 years’ teaching experience, who participated in a video-based assessment of their noticing competency conceptualized by the sub-facets of perception, interpretation, and decision-making. Our findings indicate a nearly linear growth in teacher noticing among Chinese mathematics teachers, with significant differences identified between pre-service and experienced teachers and only small differences between pre-service and early career teachers. Analyses using the method of Differential Item Functioning (DIF) further suggest that pre-service and early career teachers demonstrated strengths in aspects more related to reform-oriented or Westernized approaches to mathematics teaching, such as working with open-ended tasks, identifying characteristics of cooperative learning, and mathematical modeling tasks. By contrast, experienced teachers demonstrated strengths in perceiving students’ thinking, evaluating teachers’ behavior, and analyzing students’ mathematical thinking. Our findings further highlight that the three sub-facets of teacher noticing develop differently within the three participating groups of teachers. These findings suggest that teaching experience acts as one influential factor in the development of teacher noticing in the Chinese context.

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