Abstract
Teachers’ perceptions of their classroom practices were examined within the framework of a year-long mentorship experience in a K-12 public school district. A total of 43 mentors and 41 newly hired mentees completed an online survey developed by the authors that focused on teacher perceptions of classroom decisions and practices during one school year and their overall mentorship experiences. A 2 × 2 factorial ANOVA was conducted and showed significant differences. Mentors perceived the greatest benefit of mentoring to be the opportunity to reflect, whereas mentees found mentorship experiences beneficial in increasing their knowledge of classroom, school, and district assessment practices. Limitations of the study and implications for the use of mentoring supports to improve day-to-day teacher decisions and practice are presented.
|
Andrews, B. D., Quinn, R. J. (2005). The effects of mentoring on first-year teachers’ perceptions of support received. Clearing House, 78, 110–117. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman. Google Scholar | |
|
Berliner, D. (1988, February). The development of expertise pedagogy (ERIC Document Reproductive Services No. ED 298 122). Washington, DC: AACTE Publications. Google Scholar | |
|
Billingsley, B. (2005). Cultivating and keeping committed special educators: What principals and district leaders can do. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Fletcher, S., Barrett, A. (2004). Developing effective beginning teachers through mentor-based induction. Mentoring & Tutoring, 12, 321–333. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Fletcher, S., Strong, M. (2009). Full-release and site-based mentoring of new elementary grade teachers: An analysis of changes in student achievement. New Educator, 5, 329–341. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
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, 2271–2289. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Gehrke, R. (2006). An investigation of factors leading to the retention of first year special educators. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Arizona State University, Tempe. Google Scholar | |
|
Gersten, R., Keating, T., Yovanoff, P., Harniss, M. K. (2001). Working in special education: Factors that enhance special educators’ intent to stay. Exceptional Children, 67, 549–567. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Green, K. (2006). No novice teacher left behind: Guiding novice teachers to improve decision-making through structured questioning. Penn GSE Perspectives on Urban Education, 4(1), 1–9. Retrieved from www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ852617.pdf Google Scholar | |
|
Griffin, C., Kilgore, K., Winn, J., Otis-Wilborn, A. (2009). First-year special educators: The influence of school and classroom context factors on their accomplishments and problems. Teacher Education and Special Education, 32, 45–63. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Gschwend, L., Moir, E. (2007). Growing together. Journal of Staff Development, 28, 20–24. Google Scholar | |
|
Hanson, S., Moir, E. (2008). Beyond mentoring: Influencing the professional practice and careers of experienced teachers. Phi Delta Kappan, 89, 453–458. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Hobson, A., Ashby, P., Malderez, A., Tomlinson, P. (2009). Mentoring beginning teachers: What we know and what we don’t. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 207–216. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Huling, L., Resta, V. (2001, November). Teacher mentoring as professional development (No. ED460125). Washington, DC: ERIC Clearing House on Teaching and Teacher Education. Google Scholar | |
|
Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 , Pub. L. No. 108-446, 20 U.S.C. 1400, H.R. 1350. Google Scholar | |
|
Jewell, M. (2007). What does mentoring mean to experienced teachers? A phenomenological interview study. Teacher Educator, 42, 289–303. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Kagan, D. (1992). Professional growth among preservice and beginning teachers. Review of Educational Research, 62, 129–169. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Kardos, S., Johnson, S. (2010). New teachers’ experiences of mentoring: The good, the bad, the inequity. Journal of Educational Change, 11, 23–44. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Kortman, S., Enz, B. (2002). The BEST beginning teacher experience: Program facilitator guide. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt. Google Scholar | |
|
Long, J. (2009). Assisting beginning teachers and school communities to grow through extended and collaborative mentoring experiences. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 17, 317–327. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
MacPherson, S. (2010). Teachers’ collaborative conversations about culture: Negotiating decision making in intercultural teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 61, 271–286. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Mehrens, W. A., Lehmann, I. J. (1984). Measurement and evaluation. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Google Scholar | |
|
Miles, M., Huberman, A. (1994). Qualitative analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Moir, E. (2009). Accelerating teacher effectiveness: Lessons learned from two decades of new teacher induction. Phi Delta Kappan, 91, 14–21. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Moir, E., Bloom, G. (2003). Fostering leadership through mentoring. Educational Leadership, 60, 58–60. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 , Pub. L. No. 107-110. Google Scholar | |
|
Parker, M., Ndoy, A., Imig, S. (2009). Keeping our teachers! Investigating mentoring practices to support and retain novice teachers. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnerships in Learning, 17, 329–341. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Shriner, J. G., Ganguly, R. (2007). Assessment and accommodation issues under the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 32, 231–243. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Smith, T., Ingersoll, R. (2004). What are the effects of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover? American Educational Research Journal, 41, 681–684. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Stanulis, R., Floden, R. (2009). Intensive mentoring as a way to help beginning teachers develop balanced instruction. Journal of Teacher Education, 60, 112–122. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Strong, M. (2005). Teacher induction, mentoring, and retention: A summary of the research. New Educator, 1, 181–198. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Whitaker, S. D. (2000). Mentoring beginning special education teachers and the relationship to attrition. Exceptional Children, 66, 546–566. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
White, M., Mason, C. (2006). Components of a successful mentoring program for beginning special education teachers: Perspectives from new teachers and mentors. Teacher Education and Special Education, 29, 191–201. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Wolters, C., Daugherty, S. (2007). Goal structures and teachers’ sense of efficacy: Their relation and association to teaching experience and academic level. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 181–193. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI |

