Este estudio procuró investigar las percepciones de experiencias docentes de primer año de maestros con un se centra en mentorizar. Las conclusiones del estudio proporcionan penetración en mejores prácticas asociadas con el desarrollo y el apoyo de nuevos maestros. Los datos fueron reunidos por el uso de una inspección que consiste en escala de Likert y artículos abiertos de respuesta relacionaron a mentorizar procesos y percepciones de la experiencia docente de primer año. Los maestros del elemental-nivel tuvieron una percepción más positiva de su experiencia general que maestros de centro y colegio secundario. Los maestros de primer año expresaron preocupaciones acerca de la disponibilidad de sus mentores antes de y durante el año escolar. Había una relación positiva entre sentimientos de autorización y satisfacción laboral. Adicionalmente, 63% de los demandados indicó ellos ya habían determinado ellos no vieron a sí mismo enseñar en 10 años.

So often we cast new teachers into the proverbial lion’s den of the classroom without considering their readiness. Armed with diplomas and passing certification test scores, new teachers may feel invincible as they set up their classrooms for the first time, open new school supplies, and arrange their desks in just the right pattern. Excitement and suspense fill those first few days before the academic term begins. However, when that moment arrives, first-year teachers who have mastered educational and pedagogical theory are overwhelmed by the realization of the magnitude of their responsibility.

If the perception of one person is reality, the frustrations and tribulations of the first-year experience can be unbearable to experience in isolation (Descartes, 1641). The nature of teaching is very different than most professions for the work is usually done in isolation from other professionals (Ingersoll & Kralik, 2004). This mixed methods study examined the perceptions of first-year teachers in regard to the mentoring process in relation to the potential impact on teacher attrition levels (Amos, 2005; Stanulis, Fallona, & Pearson, 2002). Additionally, this study sought to provide insights to aid system-sponsored professional development for the first-year teacher (Conway, 2006).

The first years of teaching are a testing ground for teachers who were previously working as scribes in the classrooms of others, and for the first time are charged with the same responsibilities as teachers who have been in the field for many years (Raine, 2005). It is intimidating, scary, and when unsupported, can be the time when a new teacher changes his or her mind about a long term teaching career (Feiman-Nemser, 2003). Since first-year teachers have never had full responsibility for a classroom, the concept that there may be little to no learning curve could potentially be a problem for first-year teachers. Addressing these and other issues within the first-year could provide needed support and higher levels of job satisfaction for first-year teachers. Many first- year teachers struggle with the mechanics of instructional planning, physical arrangement of the classroom, and curricular expectations (Viadero, 2003). In addition, McCann and Johannessen (2004) identified anxiety inducing factors such as professional relationships, work load, time management, content knowledge, evaluation, and control that have potential impact on teacher attrition.

Teacher attrition has become an increasingly threatening problem to the attainment of a high quality public education system in America (Sargent, 2003). According to Ingersoll and Kralik (2004), the epidemic has reached as high as a 40-50% attrition rate within the first five years of their career. The authors attributed this to high stress levels and lack of support in the working environment. Additionally, Ingersol and Kralik found a relationship between above-average performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and those teachers who leave the profession within the first five years. In their critical review, Ingersoll and Kralik found the staffing problems of schools were not due to a lack of graduates from accredited teacher preparation institutions, but was a result of the rate of new teachers who are leaving the field of education prior to retirement age. Theoretically, mentoring and induction processes are designed to assist teachers who are either new hires to an institution or transitioning to the profession in adjusting to their roles as instructional providers (Rippon & Martin, 2003).

The mentoring process, combined with an effective induction process, can provide a minimum of a year -long period of nurturing and support for those who need it most. In some cases, mentoring extends in a lesser form beyond the first year (Smith, 2005). Ideally, the mentor would be a trained, competent, veteran teacher who coaches the mentee and provides emotional and curricular support (Kajs, 2002). Thus, the importance of a trained and competent mentor is integral to the success of the mentoring process. The simple conveyance of teaching methods and practices, from mentor to mentee, may not be appropriate especially if the mentor’s practices are not sound (Hansford, Tennent, & Ehrich, 2002). Therefore, the selection of the appropriate mentor for each new teacher is of the utmost importance. Teachers who are mentored by trained and competent teachers demonstrate higher levels of teaching skills when compared to their contemporaries who have not had the benefit of a trained mentor (Holloway, 2001). This period of adjustment is often anxiety laden for the new hire and the assistance of an effective mentor could be the difference between the mentee remaining in the profession or leaving it in search of an alternate career (Ingersoll & Kralik, 2004).

Effective mentoring programs can have a tremendous impact on the performance levels of new employees (Rowley, 1999). Competent mentors offer support through which the mentee is able to experience success, job satisfaction, professional and personal growth, and organizational productivity and success (Kajs, 2002). According to Descartes’(1641) philosophy, these positive interactions create positive experiences from which to draw when creating our realities based on our perceptions of events.

Many new teachers experience feelings of isolation from other professionals. Socialization and acclimatization to the new environment must be encouraged by the induction and mentoring processes (Schrodt, Cawyer, & Sanders, 2003). To promote professional growth, mentees must be given opportunities to socialize with their contemporaries. This allows the mentees to create networks from which to pull when faced with a situation (Blair-Larsen & Bercik, 1993). In the proper setting, mentees are exposed to a wide variety of people and given the freedom to forge collegial bonds often denied if not for the activities within the induction and mentoring process (Holloway, 2001).

The mentor also benefits from participating in a mentoring process (Young, Alvermann, Kaste, Henderson, & Many, 2004). New Brunswick, Canada instituted a mentoring program which was created by the National Department of Education and measured perceptions of participants. According to Holloway (2001), 96% of mentees and 98% of mentors believed they experienced professional and personal growth in the time they participated in the structured trainings and mentoring activities. As an added benefit, mentor teachers also reported they experienced rejuvenation through the mentees’ innovative creativity and enthusiasm.

Finally, mentoring as part of an effective induction program benefits the professional culture of the individual school and school system as a whole. This is evidenced by higher job satisfaction, positive outlooks, lower attrition rates associated with a lack of support, and an overall increase in the quality of the working environment for all organizational members (Schrodt et al., 2003). The mentoring and induction processes are opportunities to infuse the new members with the values, beliefs, and behaviors that are appropriate for a specific organization (Norman & Ganser, 2004). In order to promote a cohesive and operational culture that can be focused on reaching its goals, the organization must encourage the new hires to “buy in” to the existing structure (Stone, 2004). Without the ownership of veteran and novice employees, the organization cannot continue to cohesively or successfully reach its goals (Fullan, 2000).

Though the majority of research suggests that mentoring relationships are beneficial for both mentor and mentee, some research suggests that in certain relationships the mentor or mentee can develop negative attitudes or behaviors (Blasé & Blasé, 1994; D’Amato & Quinn, 2005; Lopez-Real & Kwan, 2005; Norman & Ganser, 2004). When mentoring and induction activities are conducted by trained, caring mentors (Rippon & Martin, 2003), who exhibit the attitudes and dispositions of the environment the mentee is entering, the mentoring processes are beneficial for all involved (Norman & Ganser). First-year teachers need access to a competent mentor who provides them with basic information about instructional methods, procedural issues, and classroom management practices reflective of the culture of the school community (Futrell, 2001).

Administrative support is critical to the success of new teachers (Raine, 2005). First-year teachers who are supported in their efforts and provided with competent, caring mentors will become loyal to that environment, eliminating the need to replace that teacher within one to two years (Wood, 2005). The administrative team fosters the tone for the culture of the school. Therefore, if an administrative team inspires collaboration and collegiality, their faculty will be more responsive to the needs of first-year teachers on all levels (Brock & Grady, 1998). Beyond the concept of individual mentoring relationships is a collective mentoring of all first-year teachers by promoting the collaborative culture and collective “buy-in” that creates a community of educators.

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine novice teachers’ perceptions of mentoring and the first-year experience. These perceptions were used in conjunction with previously published literature to create a model of effective practices that can impact the attrition rate of novice teachers. The findings of this study expand the existing body of literature on teacher mentoring, and provide a basis for recommendations that contribute to successful and effective mentoring programs. Specific to this study, the most prominent questions for research included:

A survey research design was employed in this study. The population consisted of all first-year teachers in the Southwest Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) district consisting of both rural and semi-urban settings. Data were collected through the use of a researcher designed survey following a review of literature.

The findings of this study supported those of Hargrove, Walker, Huber, Corrigan, and Moore (2004) by concurring that a lack of support for new teachers will leave students with a succession of temporary teachers who never develop the skills or mindsets of master teachers. Based on the analysis of findings of this study, as well as a review of related literature, a number of recommendations for practice have been developed.

Of the first-year teachers who participated in this study, 32 reported that they did not get to spend much time with their mentors and did not meet their mentors until late in the induction process, denying them time to engage in relationship building. As a consequence mentors were unable to answer their mentees’ myriad of questions prior to the first day of class, possibly leaving the mentees feeling overwhelmed and unprepared. Maloney (1999) found the lines of communication must be open for the mentoring relationship to be successful. However, when the mentor and mentee do not have time to address issues prior to the first day of class, the mentee’s feelings of stress and perceptions of a lack of support could be high. Not having sufficient time to meet prior to the first day of class defeats the purpose of pairing the mentor and mentee during the induction process.

Within the participants from this study, elementary teachers had a more positive perception of the first-year experience than did middle or high school teachers. This could be because the teacher was provided with an environment where professionals are teaching in less specialized fields. This environment may provide more opportunities for common practices and collaboration between professionals. The more specialized nature of teaching within a single discipline at middle and high school levels sometimes result in teachers who feel more isolated simply because there are fewer faculty who also teach in that same discipline. No other demographic characteristics significantly impacted the perceptions of first-year teachers in this study.

The following discussion of findings has been organized around two major themes “the mentoring process” and “mentor accountability and training.” These themes provide insight into the implications of the research for the implementation of mentoring programs in our schools.

A study could be conducted using only a qualitative approach. The purpose of exclusively relying on qualitative methods would be to examine individual sites or teachers with a much more in-depth focus. Case studies could be constructed to detail experiences and perceptions in a specific environment, then compared and contrasted with case studies from other individual teachers or sites using a cross-case analysis methodology. Though the scope would be rather narrow, the results would be much more detailed yielding potentially rich insights into the perceptions of first-year teachers and the implications of those perceptions.

A second iteration of the investigation could be to conduct a similar study expanding the scope of the study and utilizing only a quantitative approach. The sample could be greatly increased to include participants from other geographic and economic regions of the state. The study could even be expanded to a regional or national scope providing data that may be generalized to the larger population.

An examination of the roles of school leaders and their impact on the experiences of first-year teachers would be beneficial to understanding the most effective strategies to train and retain new teachers. Marzano, Waters, and McNulty (2005) and Brock and Grady (1998) have investigated the characteristics and dispositions of leaders and their impact on faculty. Therefore, a study examining leader perceptions of the effectiveness of mentoring and induction processes could be interesting. These data could also be compared to the perceptions of the first year teachers experiencing those processes.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, a study could be undertaken to examine how mentoring and induction programs are related to student achievement. According to Blasé and Blasé (1994), administrative dispositions, attitudes, and actions impact teacher dispositions, attitudes, and actions, which in turn impact the environment of the classroom and student achievement. Downs-Lombardi (1996) suggested that previous research has established a significant relationship between teacher self esteem and student learning. An investigation of student achievement in relation to mentoring and induction processes could potentially impact the development of first-year teachers.

The consequences of neglecting to meet the needs of first-year teachers are dire. As discussed earlier, 63% of the first-year teachers in this study could not see themselves teaching in 10 years, and 43% felt they had made the wrong career choice. This is further punctuated by the fact that data were collected in early December, only four months into their first-year experience. Should the mentoring and induction programs in many districts not be redesigned to include training for mentors and clearly defined expectations for first-year teachers, the throngs of novice teachers fleeing the field will not slow, but increase (Hargrove et al., 2004). This will leave our students with teachers who never developed into master teachers and lack the dedication and devotion of veteran teachers. This results in a disturbing picture of education in the future. Not only will the state continually lose highly-qualified, motivated teachers with great potential, students will receive an increasingly diminished education. Teachers spend years developing their craft and honing their skills, but this process is negated when teachers leave the profession.

The potential impact of a positive and supporting mentor on first-year teacher perceptions of success and support has been evidenced by this study. Thus leading to the assumption that if teachers are not being provided with support and collaboration, they may not remain in the profession long-term. New teachers must be eased into the current structure of the working environment and given the expectations of the administration regarding the attitudes and dispositions employees need to survive within the environment (France & Jarvis, 1996).

Mentoring programs provide first-year teachers with support, opportunities for collaboration, and socialization with colleagues. This support system, forged in the early days of employment, forms a safety net which first-year teachers need when creating their classroom environments. Early bonds with colleagues and support from qualified and trained mentors invested in their success, could improve not only the perceptions of the mentee but also his or her teaching abilities. Thus, an environment that facilitates improved student achievement may be cultivated in each school.