Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the needs of novice teachers and support their leadership role within classrooms and schools. For this research we defined novice teachers as those who are teaching within their first 3 years of professional service after having earned a Bachelor of Education degree. The evidence in the literature clearly shows that, to foster and sustain their leadership within classrooms and schools, novice teachers have specific needs that they require their colleagues to meet. This chapter highlights literature that has identified novice teachers’ needs and examined their educational background in the four countries that we studied. A key question that we explored in this research is, what do novice teachers require from their colleagues? This phenomenological study on the lived experiences, perceptions and reflections of two novice teacher participants from each of the following countries: Brazil, Canada, Pakistan and South Africa, drew on the work of Van Manen (1990). We gained insight into the professional landscapes of novice teachers through the lens of the eight teacher participants’ narrative accounts in interviews and from the results of the participant survey. The research findings reveal homogenous needs such as collegial encouragement and support and relevant professional development opportunities. These particular insights will have significant implications for novice teachers, school leaders, teacher education institutions and policy makers with regard to mentorship for novice teachers and/or teacher induction programming.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alberta Teachers’ Association (n.d.) Mentoring beginning teachers: program handbook (1st edn). Edmonton, AB: Alberta Teachers’ Association.
Alliance for Excellent Education (2005, August). Teacher attrition: a costly loss to the nation and to the states. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
Barth, R. (2001). Learning by heart. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bourque, L. B., & Fielder, E. P. (2003). How to conduct self-administered and mail surveys. Thousand Oaks, CA: National Academy Press.
Caspersen, J., & Raaen, F. D. (2014). Novice teachers and how they cope. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 20(2), 189–211.
Cooper, J., & Alvarado, A. (2006). Preparation, recruitment, and retention of teachers (1st edn). Brussels: The International Academy of Education.
Darling-Hammond, L., & Bransford, J. (2005). Preparing teachers for a changing world: what teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Department of Education, R. o. S. A. (2006). The national framework for teacher education and development in South Africa. Pretoria: Department of Education, Republic of South Africa.
Fantilli, R. D., & McDougall, D. E. (2009). A study of novice teachers: challenges and supports in the first years. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(6), 814–825.
Gernin-Lajoie, D. (2008). Educators’ discourses on student diversity in Canada: context, policy, and practice (1st edn). Toronto, ON: Canadian Scholar’s Press.
Goddard, J. T., & Foster, R. Y. (2001). The experiences of neophyte teachers: a critical constructivist assessment. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(3), 349–365.
Gordon, R. L. (1975). Interviewing: strategy, techniques, and tactics (1st edn). Chicago: Dorsey Press.
Grant, C., & Singh, H. (2009). Passing the buck: this is not teacher leadership! Perspectives in Education, 27(3), 289–301.
Harfitt, G. J. (2015). From attrition to retention: a narrative inquiry of why beginning teaches leave and then rejoin the profession. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher, 43(1), 22–35.
Hargreaves, A. (2003). Teaching in a knowledge society: education in the age of insecurity. London: Open University Press.
Ingersoll, R. (2001). Turnover and teacher shortages: an organizational analysis. American Educational Research, 38(3), 499–534.
Jones, B. K. (2012). A new teacher’s plea. Educational Leadership, 69(8), 74–77.
Kain, J. F., & Singleton, K. (1996, May/June). Equality of educational opportunity revisited. New England Economic Review, 87–111.
Katzenmeyer, M., & Moller, G. (2009). Awakening the sleeping giant: helping teachers develop as leaders (3rd edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2008). Introducing TPCK. In J. Colbert, et al. (eds.), Handbook of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) for educators (pp. 3–29). New York: Routledge.
Kutz, S. (2009). Teacher leadership. Leadership, 39(1), 12–14.
LeMaistre, C., & Pare, A. (2010). Whatever it takes: how beginning teachers learn to survive. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2010), 559–564.
Lovett, S. (2011). Career pathways: does remaining close to the classroom matter for early career teachers? A study of practice in New Zealand and the USA. Professional Development in Education, 37(2), 213–224.
Merideth, E. M. (2007). Leadership strategies for teachers (1st edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Mitchell, C., & Sackney, L. (2005). Sustainable improvement: building capacity for a learning communities that endure (1st edn). Rotterdam: Sense Publisher.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2009). OECD teaching and learning international survey. Paris: OECD Publications.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2005). Teachers matter: attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers. Paris: OECD Publications.
Patton, M. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Pucella, T. J. (2014). Not too young to lead. Clearing House, 87(1), 15–20.
Ralph, E., & Walker, K. (2011). Adapting mentorship across the professions (1st edn). Calgary, AB: Detselig Enterprises Ltd.
Robertson, J., & Timperly, H. (Eds.) (2013). Leadership and learning (1st edn). Victoria: Hawker Brownlow Education.
Robertson, J. (2008). Coaching educational leadership: building leadership capacity through partnership (1st edn). Victoria: Hawker Brownlow Education.
Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15, 4–14.
Stone, E. (2015). If not us, then who? Kappa Delta Pi Record, 51(3), 127–130.
UNESCO (2009). The National Professional Standards for Teachers in Pakistan. Read Pakistan, 29 March.
Van Nuland, S. (2011). Teacher education in Canada. Journal of Education for Teaching, 37(4), 409–421.
VanManen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: human science for an action sensitive pedagogy (1st edn). New York, NY: State University of New York.
Wagner, T. (2008). Rigor redefined. Educational Leadership, 66(2), 20–25.
Whalen, C. (2010). The phenomenon of novice teachers who teach students with diverse learning needs. Doctoral dissertation. Calgary: University of Calgary.
Worthy, J. (2005). It didn’t have to be so hard: the first years of teaching in an urban school. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 18(3), 379–398.
Zembylas, M., & Papanastasiou, E. (2006). Sources of teacher job satisfaction and dissatisfaction in Cyprus. Compare, 36(2), 229–247.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Majocha, E.F., Costa, M.A.M., Mpeta, M., Ara, N., Whalen, C.A., Fernandes, T.A. (2017). Sustaining Growth of Novice Teachers to Leadership Through Mentorship Process: A Study of Praxis in Brazil, Canada, Pakistan, and South Africa. In: Miller, P. (eds) Cultures of Educational Leadership. Intercultural Studies in Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58567-7_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58567-7_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-58566-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-58567-7
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)