Research in Comparative
and International Education

ISSN 1745-4999

Volume 4 Number 1 2009

CONTENTS [click on author's name for abstract and full text]

SPECIAL ISSUE
Mentoring and Teacher Induction
Guest Editors: JOAN STEPHENSON & STEVE BARTLETT

Joan Stephenson & Steve Bartlett. Introduction. Mentoring and Teacher Induction, pages 1‑3 doi:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.1.1 VIEW FULL TEXT
Marion Jones. Supporting the Supporters of Novice Teachers: an analysis of mentors’ needs from twelve European countries presented from an English perspective, pages 4‑21
Teresa O’Doherty & James Deegan. Mentors, Not Models: supporting teachers to be empowered in an Irish context, pages 22‑33
Sou-Kuan Vong & Matilda Wong. Towards a Formalised Teacher Induction System: the Macau experience, pages 34‑41
Jim O’Brien. Teacher Induction: does Scotland’s approach stand comparison?, pages 42‑52
Sue Hudson, Denise Beutel & Peter Hudson. Teacher Induction in Australia: a sample of what’s really happening, pages 53‑62
Maria Assunção Flores & Fernando Ilídio Ferreira. The Induction and Mentoring of New Teachers in Portugal: contradictions, needs and opportunities, pages 63‑73
Janet Draper & Victor Forrester. The Induction of Beginning Teachers in Scotland and Hong Kong: getting it right?, pages 74‑86
Lorraine M. Ling. Induction: making the leap, pages 87‑96
Gayle A. Wilkinson. Supportive Induction Slows the Revolving Door, pages 97‑110
Maxine Cooper & Joan Stewart. ‘Learning Together, Shaping Tomorrow’: new teachers try new ways, pages 111‑123

Supporting the Supporters of Novice Teachers: an analysis of mentors’ needs from twelve European countries presented from an English perspective

MARION JONES Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.1.4

This article is located within the wider European context of teacher development and is specifically concerned with the needs of those supporting novice teachers during the early stages in their professional career. Currently, induction systems across Europe are largely fragmented, locally based and with little transference of best practice. There is therefore a perceived need to develop a common focus on the specific needs of those supporting new entrants to the profession particularly with regard to improving the quality of teaching and learning, but also in terms of improving teacher recruitment and retention. This article reports the results of a needs analysis exercise which was conducted as part of a Comenius project (Teacher Induction: Supporting the Supporters of Novice Teachers in Europe). Data collection by means of semi-structured questionnaires involved a total of 282 practising teachers from 12 European member states and was supplemented by follow-up interviews. The aim was to identify key themes around which common support strategies for mentors assisting new teachers in their professional learning could be developed. These emerged as: the aspect of nurture; quality assurance and accountability; reflective practice; collaborative learning communities; and interpersonal and communicative competence. The data generated revealed a high diversity in terms of respondents’ perceptions of the multiple aspects of the mentoring role and the tensions inherent and reflected the idiosyncratic nature of the various educational contexts. As such the findings highlight the need for developing a common focus on mentor training and development for those supporting novice teachers and promote the values and principles underpinning a democratic professionalism.

Mentors, Not Models: supporting teachers to be empowered in an Irish context

TERESA O’DOHERTY & JAMES DEEGAN Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland

doi:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.1.22

This article explores the values and perceptions of Irish mentor teachers who have been involved in mentoring novice teachers. While situating this research within the historical context of the teaching profession in the Republic of Ireland, the article chronicles the establishment of the National Pilot Project on Teacher Induction and reports on a survey of the perceived needs of Irish mentors. The article illustrates that respondents gained personally from the mentoring process and recognised its potential to be a transformative agent within Irish schools, creating a framework for professional dialogue and supporting extended learning communities within staffs. The article concludes by examining the potential implications of these findings for policy and practice in new mentoring programmes.

Towards a Formalised Teacher Induction System: the Macau experience

SOU-KUAN VONG & MATILDA WONG University of Macau

doi:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.1.34

This article discusses the importance of teacher induction not only for sustaining teacher retention and reducing attrition, but also for supporting beginning teachers, helping them develop professionally as they progress within the profession and enhancing effective teaching and learning. While acknowledging the importance of teacher induction, the article examines the development of teacher education in Macau and attempts to analyse the reasons for the absence of a formal teacher induction system at present. It discusses how informal developments in pre-service teacher preparation that have taken place could be considered as a sort of ‘gradual induction’ to help Macau teachers assimilate into the profession and how these developments could be facilitated for the future. The article concludes by suggesting that, to ensure quality and on-going professional development, a formal teacher induction system or programme in the form of a university and school partnership is desirable.

Teacher Induction: does Scotland’s approach stand comparison?

JIM O’BRIEN Centre for Educational Leadership, Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.1.42

The 2-year probationary experience of new teachers was described by the McCrone Report as scandalous and led to the development of an induction standard (as part of an emerging framework or continuum of standards for various stages of teacher development) with related structures of support for beginner teachers in Scotland provided by schools and Education Authorities. The approach adopted by the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre review of the international literature since 1998 on teacher induction offers a lens through which to review developments in Scotland. Hastily implemented but generally regarded to be a success by the General Teaching Council for Scotland and the Scottish government, how do the Scottish developments measure up?

Teacher Induction in Australia: a sample of what’s really happening

SUE HUDSON, DENISE BEUTEL & PETER HUDSON Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

doi:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.1.53

Retention rates and stress levels of beginning teachers are of concern. Well-planned induction programs can assist beginning teachers to make the transition successfully into the profession, which may increase retention rates. This qualitative, year-long study aims to explore and describe the induction experiences of eight beginning teachers as they negotiated their first year of teaching. Data gathered through interviews and emails indicated that these teachers required further development on: catering for individual differences, assessing in terms of outcomes, relating to parents, relating to the wider community, and understanding school policies; however, relating to students and understanding legal responsibilities and duty of care were not issues. At the conclusion of their first year only one beginning teacher was assisted by a mentor (veteran teacher) on whole-school programming, and planning for improving teaching with opportunities to visit other classrooms. This was also the only beginning teacher who received a reduced workload in order to meet with the mentor to discuss pedagogical developments. The inadequate support provided to beginning teachers in this study highlights the need for principals and school staff to reassess induction processes, which includes providing time, funding, mentoring support and clear guidelines for a quality induction program.

The Induction and Mentoring of New Teachers in Portugal: contradictions, needs and opportunities

MARIA ASSUNÇÃO FLORES & FERNANDO ILÍDIO FERREIRA University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

doi:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.1.63

In this article, policy and research on teacher induction in Portugal are examined. The lack of a formal induction system (despite recognition of its relevance in legal policy documents) and the mismatch between national regulations and practice are also discussed. The authors argue the need for a coherent and sustained induction and support system, drawing on empirical research carried out in Portugal according to two main themes: 1. images of the teaching profession: the balance between conservatism and innovation, and 2. the experience of teaching: implications for mentoring. A number of key issues and questions are identified taking into account the transition period currently underway in the Portuguese context especially as far as teachers’ careers are concerned, with implications for induction and mentoring.

The Induction of Beginning Teachers in Scotland and Hong Kong: getting it right?

JANET DRAPER & VICTOR FORRESTER Department of Educational Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, SAR China

doi:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.1.74

Where the continuing professional development (CPD) process is being increasingly articulated and circumscribed by policy and central specification, the initial year of teaching may significantly shape career-long expectations of CPD. This article contrasts the early experiences of beginning secondary teachers in Scotland and Hong Kong and the emergent model that highlights a tension between the systems’ support structures and individual autonomy. To resolve this impasse, the authors conclude by arguing for a different model that places as synonymous new teachers’ induction, CPD and approaches to becoming autonomous.

Induction: making the leap

LORRAINE M. LING La Trobe University, Australia

doi:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.1.87

This article provides a critical examination of a variety of approaches to induction focusing especially upon Australia and other Pacific Rim countries. The question of the purposes induction serves for graduate teachers, experienced teachers and education systems is addressed in terms of whether it is a technical exercise which preserves the existing teacher culture, or whether it is a means to critically approach teaching as a profession and to bring about change and renewal. In an era where the local and the global intersect to bring about glocalisation, it is suggested here that new approaches to induction are required which do more than preserve the status quo or which are narrowly about understanding and official knowledge of the existing systems. A ‘radical centre’ model is proposed which blends elements of the Old Democratic Left and the New Right to provide the basis for a new approach to teacher induction.

Supportive Induction Slows the Revolving Door

GAYLE A. WILKINSON Division of Teaching and Learning, University of Missouri-St Louis, USA

doi:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.1.97

The revolving door appropriately describes the attrition among beginning teachers. Especially high attrition plagues our urban schools where highly qualified teachers are most crucial. Even though research over 3 decades has provided the basis for intricate induction programs, not all new teachers experience them. Effective mentoring has provided the greatest impact on increasing teacher retention, but often is not sufficient support alone. Alternative teacher certification programs have increased the numbers going into teaching, but no firm evidence has proven they remain longer. This report explains one example of induction support that results in greater retention.

‘Learning Together, Shaping Tomorrow’: new teachers try new ways

MAXINE COOPER & JOAN STEWART School of Education, University of Ballarat, Australia

doi:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.1.111

Teacher induction programs provide the critical support that new teachers need as they move from university teacher education studies to the everyday realities of teaching. Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) work through a range of new and challenging experiences as they explore their sense of themselves as professionals. Their identities are being constantly constructed and reconstructed as they work through their subjective experience of being a teacher and the objective structures of the wider educational field of the classroom, school and the local community. A high percentage of NQTs leave the teaching profession within the first 5 years of beginning teaching as they grapple with and succumb to the challenges caused by a number of stressors they encounter. New teachers frequently become dissatisfied with the outcomes of their work and decide that they are unsuited to teaching and leave the profession. This article is based on a study of beginning teachers in two Australian states. The focus is on multiple ways to meet the needs of new teachers to establish their professional identity within the context of a community of learners and to value diversity and complexity in the professional community. Key issues addressed included: teacher induction and quality teaching, changing school cultures and the culture of professional learning, teacher learning and responding to changes in the wider community.

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