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New Strategies to Curb Teacher Flight
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and Scope of Induction Varies Dramatically, New Study Finds
Washington, D.C. - July 27, 1999 - As a shortage of teachers grows
toward crisis proportions, the nation's schools are struggling against
twin burdens to hire well-prepared new teachers and to keep them
from leaving the profession. Many schools, particularly those in
urban areas, have turned to formal programs of training and support
for novice teachers as a way of easing what for many is a make-or-break
first year, according to a new study by the Belmont, Mass.-based
Recruiting New Teachers, Inc. (RNT).
The study, Learning the Ropes: Urban Teacher Induction Programs
and Practices in the United States, contends that the scope and
quality of these induction programs has taken on unprecedented significance
in the face of the nationwide demand for teachers.
The attrition rate among new teachers stokes schools' hiring needs.
Nationally, more than 20 percent of new teachers leave the classroom
within three years. Nearly 10 percent leave in the first year of
teaching alone. This is part of the reason for the projected need
for 200,000 new teachers a year over the next decade, with demand
highest in urban districts.
The school districts responding to a survey taken for Learning
the Ropes reported an average 93 percent retention rate for teachers
participating in their induction programs. The findings were released
today at a press briefing sponsored by RNT and followed by a policy
forum on the issue hosted by RNT and the National Partnership for
Excellence and Accountability in Teaching.
David Haselkorn, RNT president and one of the study's authors,
said the data show unequivocally the importance of induction programs
in helping to reduce high teacher turnover and in bridging the gap
between teacher preparation and the reality of the classroom. "In
many school systems, particularly in urban areas, the so-called
reality shock can take a toll on novice and veteran teachers alike,
affecting morale, the schools' recruitment efforts, and student
achievement."
Although more new teachers are receiving support, orientation,
and formal training in their crucial first year in the classroom,
how their induction experience is defined varies widely, according
to the study. Despite wider acceptance of the idea of formal induction,
the quality and scope of the programs range "from comprehensive
to cursory," RNT found.
The study found, for example, that mentoring by veteran teachers
is one of the most common activities cited by school districts as
part of their induction programs. But the roles, responsibilities,
training, and deployment of mentors vary enormously across different
school systems. In addition, not all districts offer release time,
stipends, graduate credits, tuition, or other incentives to mentors.
While 94 percent of school districts described their programs as
"formal, in-depth and sustained," more than a quarter
of them said their programs did not serve all new teachers.
"We took on this study to examine the role of induction in
developing and retaining teachers early in their careers,"
said Elizabeth F. Fideler, coauthor of the report. "Few areas
of the professional development continuum are as important as the
induction years."
"In education, teachers who make the transition from novice
to seasoned professional often do so by navigating solo through
uncharted waters," said Fideler. "What new teachers experience
is in stark contrast to the experiences of medical residents, law
associates, and even rookie basketball players, who are required
to go through extended training, development, and mentoring during
their respective induction periods."
Nationally, more than 50 percent of first-year public school teachers
participate in some type of induction program, while the participation
rate rises to 60 percent for new teachers hired to work in urban
schools.
The study found that induction programs improve new teachers' knowledge,
skills and performance, provide personal support, introduce new
teachers to school system norms and procedures, and familiarize
them with school system values.
While states have grown more active in pushing for teacher quality,
school districts have taken the lead in establishing and coordinating
induction programs, with or without state funding. The study found
that 84 percent of the programs were managed by school district
personnel, typically without higher education (or other) partners.
Learning the Ropes offers recommendations to federal, state and
local policymakers and school leaders to consider as they develop
policies and strategies to meet the needs of novice teachers. Among
the recommendations:
* View induction as a multiyear, developmental process. Inductees
have different needs as they pass through stages of their professional
development, ranging from basic survival to teacher leadership.
* Train principals so that they understand how to orient and support
inductees. Principals need training in effective ways to create
supportive working conditions, develop mentoring and informal support
relationships, assign classrooms, and recognize and address inductees'
professional needs.
* Establish a first-class mentoring program backed up by enough
funding to serve all eligible inductees. A formal process should
be set up to identify and train highly competent classroom teachers
to work with and mentor inductees on a regular basis. Mentors should
be given release time to observe, coach, and demonstrate lessons,
and to attend meetings. They should be offered stipends to cover
their time and materials, assistance from district coordinators,
and annual evaluations.
* Link new teacher evaluations to district- and state-level standards.
Inductee performance assessments should be both formative (for improvement)
and summative (for decisions about employment status).
* Invest in technology to facilitate communication among teachers.
Electronic mail, online forums, and bulletin boards are easy and
inexpensive ways for inductees to share ideas, concerns, and encouragement,
and communicate with mentors, program directors, and university
faculty.
* Evaluate induction's effectiveness in resolving attrition and
building teacher competence. Effective programs require regular
evaluation of all program components and desired outcomes.
The RNT study is based on 118 usable responses to a survey of 1,050
school districts in large cities and towns. The 118 districts were
located in 35 states and the District of Columbia. As part of their
study, the researchers conducted a review of existing literature
on induction and visited programs in 10 major cities. Those cities
were: Albuquerque; Cincinnati; Chicago; Clark County (Las Vegas);
Jefferson County (Louisville); Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Norfolk;
Rochester; and San Diego.
U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), author of the Teacher Excellence
in America Challenge (TEACH) Act which was signed into law as part
of the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1998, stated, "Our
challenge, as a nation, is to prepare and sustain the best teachers
in the world. All teachers should participate in an ongoing collaborative
and comprehensive effort to improve their teaching skills and increase
the achievement of their students."
Reed will soon introduce the Professional Development Reform Act,
which would transform professional development from ineffective,
short-term, fragmented, and isolated approaches to one that research
shows works - sustained, intensive activities that are content focused
and integrated into the daily work of the school.
The legislation would create a new formula program to fund skills
and leadership training for mentors, to ensure that mentors have
the skills necessary to help our newest teachers, in addition to
team teaching, peer observation and coaching, curriculum-based content
training, and dedicated time for collaborative lesson planning.
Reed's legislation would also provide teachers opportunities to
visit other classrooms to model effective teaching practice; training
on integrating technology into the classroom, addressing the specific
needs of diverse students and involving parents; and partnerships
between elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher
education to provide advanced training opportunities.
Recruiting New Teachers, Inc. (RNT) is a national nonprofit organization
which was formed in 1986 to raise esteem for teaching, expand the
pool of prospective teachers, and improve the nation's teacher recruitment
and development policies and practices. Based in Belmont, MA., RNT
pursues its goals through innovative public service outreach; action-oriented
research; local, state, and national advocacy; networking; technical
assistance; and national conferences.
Learning the Ropes was conducted on behalf of the John D. and Catherine
T. MacArthur Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the DeWitt
Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund.
http://www.recruitingteachers.org/channels/clearinghouse/audience/media/1g16_media_pressnewstategies.htm
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