First Advisor

Vogel, Linda R.

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

5-5-2016

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of teacher induction in the state of Colorado. The guiding question for the study was “What components do Colorado school districts include as part of their beginning teacher induction?” The study examined the implementation of nine teacher induction components: orientation, mentoring, adjustment of working conditions, release time, professional development opportunities, opportunities for collegial collaboration, assessment of beginning teachers, program evaluation, and follow-up. Data pertaining to beginning teacher induction and the nine components recommended for comprehensive teacher induction were gathered within the state of Colorado. School district superintendents or their designees and Board of Cooperative Educational Services Executive Directors made up the sample for the research study. Responding districts were asked to identify which components were or were not included in the district induction programs for beginning teachers. Data were analyzed for components included as well as district size in relation to components included. Evidence was found that beginning teacher induction and its nine components are being implemented in numerous districts across the state of Colorado. Although the responding sample was only 19% of the proposed sample, consistency in implementation was found across districts regardless of district size. In addition, induction components most likely to be left out were similar across the school districts in the state of Colorado. Although the study gathered some information regarding teacher induction component implementation within school districts in the state, it did not give a clear picture regarding what specifically was implemented within each component. Further research involving a mixed method with a survey to gather initial data around induction components provided, combined with interview data with school district personnel questioning the specific provisions within each component, would help inform educational leaders and policy makers about what is truly provided within the state of Colorado as well as what is needed. Finally, recommended teacher induction components were shown to be present in the majority of responding districts. The next step in the analysis is to look at the retention rates of those districts. The question to be ascertained is whether the provision of these induction components is having an impact on the retention of teachers within the districts.

Keywords

beginning teachers, induction, teacher induction

Extent

128 pages

Local Identifiers

Bierbaum_unco_0161D_10476.pdf

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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