Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

New Teacher Induction and Mentoring for Educational Change

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Second International Handbook of Educational Change

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE,volume 23))

Abstract

In a period of less than two decades, we have seen worldwide a profound change in stance toward the new teacher. School systems began to see the first years in the profession as not a test of “sink or swim” but as a phase that required attention and support in order to keep new teachers from leaving the profession and to develop them into quality educators. Research chronicles that new teachers tend to leave within the first 3–5 years of teaching. In the USA, for example, approximately 30% of those who enter the profession leave within 3 years, and up to 50% leave within 5 years (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). Teachers in schools serving high-poverty communities have an even greater risk of leaving at the end of their first year (Smith & Ingersoll, 2004). This early departure has been attributed to job dissatisfaction and unsupportive schooling conditions (Ingersoll, 2001; Johnson, 2004). Beyond retention, developing the quality of new professionals is paramount given the influence on student achievement and reforms that call for complex teacher understandings. Further, from an educational change perspective, new teachers are the next generation responsible to promote equitable schooling for those underserved by the current system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 789.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 999.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 999.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    These frames expand on Wang and Odell’s (2002, 2007) initial conceptualizing assumptions about mentoring and mentor–novice relationships of a humanist perspective, a situated apprentice perspective, and a critical constructivist perspective.

  2. 2.

    “People of color” references ethnic and racial minority groups in the USA, including African-American, Latinos, Asian-American, and mixed race people. We recognize the limitations and contested nature of these terms. We also recognize that in varied international contexts quite different groupings and identifications would more effectively frame social representations.

References

  • Achinstein, B. (2006). New teacher and mentor political literacy: Reading, navigating and transforming induction contexts. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 12(2), 123–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Achinstein, B. (2007). An investigation of the early careers of diverse teachers (Working Paper). Santa Cruz, CA: The New Teacher Center, University of California, Santa Cruz.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achinstein, B., & Aguirre, J. (2008). Cultural match or cultural suspect: How new teachers of color negotiate socio-cultural challenges in the classroom. Teachers College Record, 110(8), 1505–1540.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achinstein, B., & Athanases, S. Z. (2005). Focusing new teachers on diversity and equity: Toward a knowledge base for mentors. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(7), 843–862.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Achinstein, B., & Athanases, S. Z. (Eds.). (2006). Mentors in the making: Developing new leaders for new teachers. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achinstein, B., & Barrett, A. (2004). (Re)Framing classroom contexts: How new teachers and mentors view diverse learners and challenges of practice. Teachers College Record, 106(4), 716–746.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Achinstein, B., & Ogawa, R. T. (2006). (In)fidelity: What new teacher resistance reveals about professional principles and prescriptive educational policies. Harvard Educational Review, 76(1), 30–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achinstein, B., & Ogawa, R. T. (2007). Dilemmas of organizational control for new teachers of Mexican descent: Responding to immigration debates. Paper presentation on Symposium, American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achinstein, B., & Ogawa, R. T. (2008). Change(d) agents: New teachers of Mexican descent as role models, culturally relevant teachers and agents of change. Paper presentation on Symposium, American Educational Research Association, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achinstein, B., Ogawa, R. T., Sexton, D., & Freitas, C. (2009). The socialization and retention of new teachers of color: Promises and challenges. Paper presented at Symposium, American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achinstein, B., Ogawa, R., & Speiglman, A. (2004). Are we creating separate and unequal tracks of teachers? The impact of state policy, local conditions, and teacher background on new teacher socialization. American Educational Research Journal, 41(3), 557–603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Athanases, S. Z., Abrams, J., Jack, G., Johnson, V., Kwock, S., McCurdy, J., et al. (2008). Curriculum for mentor development: Problems and promise in the work of new teacher induction leaders. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 40(6), 743–770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Athanases, S. Z., & Achinstein, B. (2003). Focusing new teachers on individual and low performing students: The centrality of formative assessment in the mentor’s repertoire of practice. Teachers College Record, 105(8), 1486–1520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Athanases, S. Z., & de Oliveira, L. C. (2007). Conviction, confrontation, and risk in new teachers’ advocating for equity. Teaching Education, 18(2), 123–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Athanases, S. Z., & de Oliveira, L. C. (2008). Advocacy for equity in classrooms and beyond: New teachers’ challenges and responses. Teachers College Record, 110(1), 64–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Athanases, S. Z., & Martin, K. J. (2006). Learning to advocate for educational equity in a teacher credential program. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 22(6), 627–646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bacharach, S. B., & Conley, S. C. (1989). Uncertainty and decision making in teaching: Implications for managing line professionals. In T. J. Sergiovanni & J. H. Moore (Eds.), Schooling for tomorrow: Directing reforms to issues that count (pp. 311–329). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballantyne, R., Hansford, B., & Packer, J. (1995). Mentoring beginning teachers: A qualitative analysis of process and outcomes. Educational Review, 47(3), 297–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Britton, E., Paine, L., Pimm. D., & Raizen, S. (2003). Comprehensive teacher induction: Systems for early career learning. Dordrecht, The Netherlands & San Francisco: Kluwer Academic Publishers & WestEd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cochran-Smith, M. (1991). Learning to teach against the grain. Harvard Educational Review, 61(3), 279–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cochran-Smith, M. (2001). Learning to teach against the (new) grain. Journal of Teacher Education, 52(1), 3–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cochran-Smith, M., & Paris, P. (1995). Mentor and mentoring: Did Homer have it right? In J. Smith (Ed.), Critical discourses on teacher development (pp. 181–202). London: Cassell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Newmann, S. (1989). The new apprenticeship: Teaching students the craft of reading, writing and mathematics. In L. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing, learning, and instruction (pp. 453–494). Hillside, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darling-Hammond, L. (1997). Doing what matters most: Investing in quality teaching. New York: National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darling-Hammond, L., French, J., & Garcia-Lopez, S. P. (Eds.). (2002). Learning to teach for social justice. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darling-Hammond, L., Wise, A. E., & Klein, S. P. (1999). A license to teach: Raising standards for teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, B. (2006). Curriculum to support mentor development: Lessons from field-tested practices. In B. Achinstein & S. Z. Athanases (Eds.), Mentors in the making: Developing new leaders for new teachers (pp. 109–121). New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Oliveira, L. C., & Athanases, S. Z. (2007). Graduates’ reports of advocating for English language learners. Journal of Teacher Education, 58(3), 202–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delpit, L. (1995). Other people’s children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: The New Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Education Week. (2005). Quality Counts 2005 (No Small Change: Targeting Money Toward Student Performance). Bethesda, MD: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001a). From preparation to practice: Designing a continuum to strengthen and sustain teaching. Teachers College Record, 103(6), 1013–1055.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001b, January/February). Helping novices learn to teach: Lessons from an exemplary support teacher. Journal of Teacher Education, 52(1), 17–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feiman-Nemser, S., & Buchmann, M. (1987). When is student teaching teacher education? Teaching and Teacher Education, 3(4), 255–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feiman-Nemser, S., & Parker, M. B. (1993). Mentoring in context: A comparison of two US programs for beginning teachers. International Journal of Educational Research, 19(8), 699–718.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feiman-Nemser, S., & Remillard, J. (1996). Perspectives on learning to teach. In F. B. Murray (Ed.), The teacher educator’s handbook (pp. 63–91). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feiman-Nemser, S., Schwille, S., Carver, C., & Yusko, B. (1999). A conceptual review of literature on new teacher induction. A work product of the national partnership on Excellence and Accountability in Education report. Washington, DC: US Department of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, S., Strong, M., & Villar, A. (2008). An investigation of the effects of variations in mentor-based induction on the performance of students in California. Teachers College Record, 110(10), 2271–2289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1983). Pedagogy of the oppressed (M. B. Ramos, Trans.). New York: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gold, Y. (1990). Psychological support for mentors and beginning teachers: A critical dimension. In T. M. Bey & C. T. Holmes (Eds.), Mentoring: Contemporary principles and issues (pp. 25–34). Reston: Association of Teacher Educators.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gold, Y. (1996). Beginning teacher support: Attrition, mentoring, and induction. In J. Sikula, T. J. Buttery, & E. Guyton (Eds.), Handbook of research on teacher education (2nd ed., pp. 548–616). New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grimmett, P., & MacKinnon, A. (1992). Craft knowledge and the education of teachers. Review of Research in Education, 18, 385–456.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, P. (1990). The making of a teacher: Teacher knowledge and teacher education. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guskey, T. R. (1995). Professional development in education: In search of the optimal mix. In T. Guskey & M. Huberman (Eds.), Professional development in education: New paradigms and practices (pp. 114–132). New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargreaves, A. (1995). Development and desire: A postmodern perspective. In T. R. Guskey & M. Huberman (Eds.), Professional development in education: New paradigms and practices (pp. 9–34). New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2000). Mentoring in the new millennium. Theory into Practice, 39(1), 50–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haycock, K. (2001). Closing the achievement gap. Educational Leadership, 58(6), 6–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huling-Austin, L. (1990). Teacher induction programs and internships. In W. R. Houston (Ed.), The handbook of research on teacher education. New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Imig, D. G., & Imig, S. R. (2006). What do beginning teachers need to know? An essay. Journal of Teacher Education, 57(3), 286–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingersoll, R. M. (1996). Teachers’ decision-making power and school conflict. Sociology of Education, 69(2), 159–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingersoll, R. M. (2001). Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 499–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingersoll, R. M. (2003). Who controls teachers’ work: Power and accountability in America’s schools. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingersoll, R. M., & Smith, T. (2003). The wrong solution to the teacher shortage. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 30–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, S. M. (2004). Finders and keepers: Helping new teachers survive and thrive in our schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, D. M. (1992). Professional growth among preservice and beginning teachers. Review of Educational Research, 62(2), 129–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelchtermans, G., & Ballet, K. (2002). The micropolitics of teacher induction. A narrative-biographical study on teacher socialisation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(1), 105–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelchtermans, G., & Ballet, K. (2003). Micropolitical literacy: Reconstructing a neglected dimension in teacher development. International Journal of Educational Research, 37, 755–767.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelchtermans, G., & Hamilton, M. L. (2004). The dialectics of passion and theory: Exploring the relation between self-study and emotion. In J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of research of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (pp. 785–810). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, J. (1991). Dysconscious racism: Ideology, identity, and the miseducation of teachers. Journal of Negro Education, 60(2), 133–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lacey, C. (1977). The socialization of teachers. London: Methuen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladson-Billings, G. (2001). Crossing over to Canaan: The journey of new teachers in diverse classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2002). Teacher sorting and the plight of urban schools: A descriptive analysis. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24(1), 37–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawson, H. (1992). Beyond the new conception of teacher induction. Journal of Teacher Education, 43(3), 163–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Little, J. W. (1990). The mentor phenomenon and the social organization of teaching. In C. B. Cazden (Ed.), Review of research in education (Vol. 16, pp. 297–351). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, J. (1992). Teaching: Making sense of an uncertain craft. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, M. A. (2005). The integration of social justice in teacher education: Dimensions of prospective teachers’ opportunities to learn. Journal of Teacher Education, 56(5), 418–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin, M., & Talbert, J. E. (2001). Professional communities and the work of high school teaching. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merino, B. J., Martin, K. J., & Pryor, K., in Collaboration with Goldman, B., Murai, H., & Teacher Education Work Group. (2001). Graduates’ perspectives on the role of their teacher education program in facilitating their growth as advocates for equity in learning: Survey results relating the experimental model to the standards. Report to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

    Google Scholar 

  • NCTAF. (1996). What matters most: Teaching for America’s future. New York: National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping track: How schools structure inequality. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odell, S. J., & Ferraro, D. P. (1992). Teacher mentoring and teacher retention. Journal of Teacher Education, 43(3), 200–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orland, L. (2001). Reading a mentoring situation: One aspect of learning to mentor. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(1), 75–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Page, R. (1991). Lower track classrooms: A curricular and cultural perspective. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, A., Youngs, P., & Odden, A. (2001). Advances in teacher assessments and their uses. In V. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (4th ed., pp. 259–297). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quartz, K. H., & the TEP Research Group. (2003). “Too angry to leave”: Supporting new teachers’ commitment to transform urban schools. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(2), 99–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quiocho, A., & Rios, F. (2000). The power of their presence: Minority group teachers and schooling. Review of Educational Research, 70(4), 485–528.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shields, P. M., Humphrey, D. C., Wechsler, M. E., Riehl, L. M., Tiffany-Morales, J., Woodworth, K., et al. (2001). Teaching and California’s future: The status of the teaching profession 2001. Santa Cruz, CA: The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sleeter, C. E., & Grant, C. A. (1999). Making choices for multicultural education: Five approaches to race, class, and gender. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T. M., & Ingersoll, R. M. (2004). What are the effects of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover? American Educational Research Journal, 41(3), 681–714.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talbert, J., & Ennis, M. (1990). Teacher tracking: Exacerbating inequalities in the high school. Paper presented at meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veenman, S. (1984). The perceived problems of beginning teachers. Review of Educational Research, 19(3), 143–178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Villegas, A. M., & Lucas, T. (2004). Diversifying the teacher workforce: A retrospective and prospective analysis. In M. A. Smylie & D. Miretky (Eds.), Developing the teacher workforce 103rd yearbook of the national society for the study of education part 1 (pp. 70–104). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J. (2001). Contexts of mentoring and opportunities for learning to teach: A comparative study of mentoring practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(1), 51–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., & Odell, S. J. (2002). Mentored learning to teach according to standards-based reform: A critical review. Review of Educational Research, 72(3), 481–546.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J. & Odell, S. J. (2007). An alternative conception of mentor-novice relationships: Learning to teach in reform-minded ways as a context. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(4), 473–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., & Paine, W. L. (2001). Mentoring as assisted performance: A pair of Chinese teachers working together. The Elementary School Journal, 102(2), 157–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., & Paine, L. (2003). Learning to teach with mandated curriculum and public examination of teaching as contexts. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19(1), 75–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, S. M., Darling-Hammond, L., & Berry, B. (2001). A case of successful teaching policy: Connecticut’s long-term efforts to improve teaching and learning. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, S. M., Shulman, L. S., & Richert A. E. (1987). 150 different ways of knowing: Representations of knowledge in teaching. In J. Calderhead (Ed.), Exploring teachers’ thinking (pp. 104–124). Sussex: Hold, Rinehart, and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeichner, K., & Gore, J. (1990). Teacher socialization. In W. R. Houston, M. Haberman, & J. Sikula (Eds.), Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 329–348). New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA

    Betty Achinstein

  2. University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    Steven Z. Athanases

Authors
  1. Betty Achinstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Steven Z. Athanases
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Betty Achinstein .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Campion Hall, Chestnut Hill, 02467-3813, USA

    Andy Hargreaves

  2. Advancement of Teaching, Carnegie Foundation for the, Vista Lane 51, Stanford, 94305, USA

    Ann Lieberman

  3. Ontario Institute for Studies in, Education (OISE), University of Toronto, Bloor Street W. 252, Toronto, M5S 1V6, Canada

    Michael Fullan

  4. Inst. Education, HSBC Chair iNet in, University of London, London, WC1H 0AL, United Kingdom

    David Hopkins

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Achinstein, B., Athanases, S.Z. (2010). New Teacher Induction and Mentoring for Educational Change. In: Hargreaves, A., Lieberman, A., Fullan, M., Hopkins, D. (eds) Second International Handbook of Educational Change. Springer International Handbooks of Education, vol 23. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2660-6_33

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation