Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Induction and Mentoring Program on Novice Educators’ Teaching Efficacy and Impact on Pedagogical Skills

Abstract

An essential part of novice teachers' development of pedagogical and classroom management skills in a district is a supportive induction and mentoring program (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). Novice teachers can combat the challenges that directly contribute to dissatisfaction with the teaching profession, attrition rates, and an overall teacher shortage by implementing a successful induction and mentoring program (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014).

This study intended to understand the effectiveness of an induction mentoring program on novice teachers' efficacy and the impact on pedagogical skills based on varying levels of support provided and which components were implemented. The participants in the study included novice teachers and the coordinator for the induction and mentoring program in a low socioeconomic school district in East Texas. Data were collected in May of the 2020-2021 school year.

This study was an explanatory sequential, mixed methods action research study that examined novice teachers' perceptions in 2020-2021 during the inaugural year of the induction and mentoring program. An instrument known as the Teacher Efficacy Scale survey created by Gibson and Dembo (1984) and later modified by Woolfolk and Hoy (1990) was administered to the novice teacher participants. The Teacher Efficacy Scale survey was administered to study the teacher induction and mentoring program's effects on teaching efficacy (Woolfolk & Hoy, 1990). In addition, demographic information was collected from novice teacher participants. Quantitative data was collected from the demographic information and survey of novice teachers. The qualitative data was gathered from the semi-structured questions administered to participants in the focus groups and data collected from the district induction and mentor coordinator to analyze the perceptions of teaching efficacy and elements of the induction and mentoring program that impacted the development of pedagogical teaching skills. The results did not reveal any statistically significant data. However, the results informed the district leaders of the novice teacher's perceptions regarding the induction and mentoring program and provided suggestions for future development.