Teacher turnover is an issue plaguing states and districts around the country, particularly among novice teachers. Research indicates that strong induction and mentoring programs can provide novice teachers with critical support and guidance as they make the transition from the pre-service environment to the professional workforce resulting in…

This descriptive phenomenological study sought to achieve two goals: to deeply understand early career teachers' (ECTs) past and present experiences and how these might impact ECTs' intentions and purposes for participation in an online community, as well as to inform the development of a new online community for ECTs. Five early career elementary…

New teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate. To retain them, school systems need comprehensive supports and collaborative school cultures that help teachers navigate the complexity of learning to teach. This action research study investigated the problem of new teacher turnover within a school-university partnership context. The…

This narrative inquiry involved a vibrant online knowledge community of Chinese novice teachers in colleges and universities. The teachers engaged in conversations with their me/ntor and peers, sharing life experiences and exchanging teaching puzzles. Through capturing the evolution (formation, development, sustainability) of the online knowledge…

New teacher mentoring has been a topic within general education research for decades. As general education researchers have investigated the needs of content specific new teacher support (Shores & Stokes, 2006) as well as digital environments for their professional development (Jones, 2013, January 1), music education researchers have…

Support for music teachers new to the profession is important and necessary. Some school districts use traditional mentor-mentee pairings as their primary support for novice music teachers; however, many factors in the professional lives of music teachers, such as traveling among multiple schools or a lack of subject-specific colleagues often…

High attrition rates of beginning teachers are a major challenge for schools. Online induction featuring e-mentoring is one way that teacher education programs can support new teachers. This self-study examines the processes involved in e-mentoring novice science teachers while using a university-sponsored comprehensive online induction platform.…

This research investigated newly qualified teachers (NQTs) experiences of participating in online discussions (ODs) that were part of their Master of Teaching (MTeach) course. [The project was partially funded by the Excellence in Work-Based Learning for Education Professionals (WLE) Centre in 2009.]

In this collaborative research, we designed an e-mentoring program for novice teachers and explored online interactions between mentors and mentees, participant satisfaction, and the perceived benefits of the program for mentees and mentors. Our study included 14 mentees, 14 mentors, and 6 teacher educators. Data were gathered through online…

The purpose of this study was to explore the professional challenges and concerns of 30 second career teachers (SCTs) participating in an alternative fast-track induction program during their first year of teaching. Additionally, the study investigated their perspectives of the institutional support provided to them. The main source of data was…

This volume contains selected papers submitted to the 20th Jubilee Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES), conducted virtually in June 2022. The 20th BCES Conference theme is "Towards the Next Epoch of Education." The theme is focused on problems, discussions, changes, solutions, and…

The development of teachers as reflective practitioners is a central concept in national guidelines for teacher preparation and induction (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education 2008). The Teacher Induction Network (TIN) supports the development of reflective practice for beginning secondary science teachers through the creation…

In this chapter, the authors draw on their experiences with working in building virtual communities of teachers and a pilot program to examine the prospects for increasing consistency in the effectiveness of new teacher support through online networks. Although not intended as a substitute for high-quality face-to-face mentoring experiences,…

New teachers of students with significant disabilities are expected to use evidence-based practices that build academic and functional skills from their first day on the job. Yet, these teachers may struggle with applying information learned in their preservice coursework to their daily instructional practices. One widely accepted means of…

Despite extensive preparation in high-quality programs, novice teachers face a daily deluge of moments when their understandings about teaching are called into question in the living context of their new classrooms. These encounters often challenge new teachers' ideals about what teaching truly entails as well as their abilities to succeed in…