A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Chapter 5 (continued)

Teacher Induction in an Era of Educational Reform: The Case of New Zealand

Advice and Guidance Program

• Resource and personal support from colleagues working in the same curriculum or school or center area;

• Receiving class visits and written lesson appraisals on progress towards meeting the criteria for registration;

• Visiting and observing other teachers;

• Meeting with senior staff and other teachers to clarify the wider aspects of a teacher's work and responsibilities, including professional development; and

• A written record of the program, containing the advice and guidance received, the teacher's participation in planning, and the corporate life of the school or center.

For each new teacher, a school receives funding that is 1.2 times the base salary of a new teacher. The 20 percent funding (known as the ".2") is to provide AGP support activities that will help a new teacher meet registration requirements. Most schools use these funds to pay for a substitute to cover the new teachers' or tutor teachers' classrooms while they are involved in AGP activities. No accounting is required on the use of .2 funds by the schools, nor is the school legally obligated to use the .2 funds for advice and guidance.

The AGP program is two years long, although it is most intense in the first year and the additional .2 funding is only for one year.

Each school is charged with adapting TRB-promulgated principles (Exhibit 1) to the needs of the school and individual teacher. In most schools visited, responsibility for the AGP was delegated to the deputy principal. In primary schools, the deputy principal often serves as the tutor (supervisory) teacher; in secondary schools, the deputy principal plays a supervisory role.

The TRB provides many examples of the purposes for which the .2 should be used. For example, the .2 should provide release time for new teachers to consult with their tutors, to observe other classes and schools, and to attend courses at regional teacher-support centers. In practice, however, the .2 also is often used by new teachers for additional time to plan for classes, perform marking, and, as one new teacher remarked: "to put my feet up on my desk and relax for a half hour." School-level personnel generally believe that these activities also are important.

Principals are very concerned that new teachers find a balance between their school and personal lives, and that the new teacher be sufficiently rested to "perform well in the classroom."

Role of the Tutor Teacher. Tutor teachers are the key staff members responsible for implementing the AGP. They set the tone and organize the program. Tutors or supervisory teachers (who may have part- or full-time administrative responsibilities) are chosen by the principal or deputy principal. In many cases, the principal discusses the assignment with other senior school staff. The assignment often is made before the new school year, and tutors "host" the new teacher during the new teacher's initial visits (which occur before they take up their appointment) to the school. Tutors plan the AGP and, with input from new teachers, plan the use of the.2 for first-year teachers. They schedule meetings, make formal and informal visits to the new teacher's classroom, record the advice and guidance given, and provide monthly reports to the principal or deputy principal that identify the strengths and needs of the new teacher.

At the start of the school year, tutors typically have scheduled meetings with the new teacher at least once a week. These meetings usually take place after school. In addition, tutors and new teachers often teach in the same syndicate (a group of students and teachers clustered together as a school within a school), team-teach, or work in adjacent classrooms. A great deal of time is spent providing informal observations, support, and advice.

During the first term, most tutors prepare written monthly reports. In some cases, new teachers draft the monthly report as an exercise in reflection and self-appraisal. As the year progresses, tutors and new teachers tend to increase the level of informal interactions and reduce the formal meetings, although great variation exists both between and within schools. Tutors have, with input from new teachers, developed their own modus operandi. These informal meetings take place during tea breaks, lunch, classes, after school, in the evening, and occasionally on weekends.

Tutors spend about five hours a week on induction-related activities. Typically, tutors provide hints and suggestions about approaches and resources that have or have not worked for them, explain how to plan more efficiently, listen to and comment on ideas that the new teacher is thinking about trying, provide support with classroom and individual student-management issues, and generally are there with "a shoulder to cry on." Although the new teachers do not have a choice of tutors, most new teachers we spoke to were very happy about their relationship with their tutors. In cases where personal rapport was not particularly good, new teachers still found that tutors provided sound professional advice.

About half of the tutors interviewed had participated in tutor-training sessions offered by colleges of education and teacher support services. Participation in these courses is voluntary.

Role of the New Teacher in the Teacher Induction Program. All provisionally registered teachers seeking to become fully registered participate in an AGP. New teachers are responsible for organizing, with their tutors, the operation of the AGP and the effective use of the .2 release time. New teachers are expected to be open, to be willing to seek feedback and act on sound advice, to initiate requests for support, and to work with their tutor to become a quality teacher. New teachers participate in preparing monthly reports describing their accomplishments, progress, and professional development needs. This monthly report forms the basis for documentation supplied to the TRB by the school recommending the new teacher for full registration.

EXHIBIT 1 General Principles Considered Important to AGP Support should be personal. Once the expectations of the school have been established, each teacher will have different needs. Support must be practical. Many young teachers feel their college experiences have been largely theoretical, and although they appreciate being directed towards professional reading, this should be of the kind that gives practical ideas and suggestions -- "how and what to do". Most teachers need help in time management and in setting realistic goals for themselves and for their pupils. Nothing can be taken for granted. Schools cannot assume that a teacher has, for example, used a particular resource before; knows about religious studies in schools; is confident about playground duties; or understands teaching "jargon" commonly used in staffing meetings. Relationships are vital. A supervising teacher needs to be able to quickly establish a collegial approach to working and to give support in a non-threatening way. The demands of supervision and the keeping of essential records can be overwhelming to the new teacher and should be introduced gradually. The location of a new teacher's classroom is important -- ideally, next door to the supervisor or a "buddy" teacher. Working in the same class level and planning syndicate also helps. Advice and guidance must extend into the second year. Some provisionally registered teachers are more at risk in their second year than in their first. School management needs to be particularly watchful of the stress periods in a school year, for example, just before Easter, when reporting to parents, or during extended bad weather. The use of the .2 allowance must be planned, and it is better to use it flexibly than simply as a release day. Written reports should be positive and specific if they are to be useful. Advice and guidance programs should be seen as part of the ongoing professional development of a teacher. Provisionally registered teachers should be treated as valued members of the staff. They work best when their individual strengths are used in the school organization. Advice and Guidance Program for Teachers, Teacher Registration Board, 1994

New teachers in New Zealand usually have a reduced teaching load the first year. In most primary schools, this provides new teachers an average of half a day per week out of their classroom. In some weeks, they will attend full-day courses (discussed below); in other weeks, they may spend a few hours visiting other classrooms or schools or use their release time to meet with their tutors or other school staff. In a few cases, the primary teacher is in his or her classroom only four days a week.

NINE MAIN TYPES OF TEACHER INDUCTION ACTIVITIES (Based on Interviews Conducted by Margery Renwick and June Vize) Observations of other teachers, both in their own school and at other schools. At least half the beginning teachers had used some of their time in this way. Being observed by the tutor teacher, principal, or deputy principal (where these latter were not also the tutor teacher), followed by informal discussion or more formal reports. Working in the classroom alongside the tutor teacher. Attending meetings for beginning teachers. Attending courses. Classroom planning. Working with small groups or individual children, including those with language and reading difficulties, and children with special needs; doing checkpoints for mathematics and running records for reading. (These activities could be done by either the beginning teacher or the tutor teacher.) Organizing, taking, or preparing resources for school-based activities for which they had volunteered or been allocated a particular responsibility. (These activities were not always considered appropriate use of the .2 time by the beginning teachers themselves.) General classroom administration and resource making--including report writing, marking, making telephone calls, photocopying, or general "catch-up" time.

Most principals interviewed want to assign new teachers to classes that they do not expect to be problematic. Whenever possible, in their first year, new teachers will not be assigned to classes with students with a history of disruptive behavior or whose parents are particularly demanding or "difficult." In the second year, although allowances may still be made if possible, it is also likely that they will be assigned to any class. However, this is not always the case in practice: principals' intentions often break down over the school year, and scheduling conflicts at the secondary level sometimes preclude the deliberate matching of teachers to classes.

Variations in Advice and Guidance Programs

Blackstone College. Blackstone College is a secondary school with 1,150 students; 30 percent are either Maori or Pacific Islands, and an increasing number of students are recent immigrants from central Europe and Southeast Asia. The school ranks (according to a New Zealand school classification system) in the second lowest socioeconomic (SES) decile, and, for its decile ranking, its students achieve high scores on national tests. The deputy principal runs a formal one-year course with all new teachers. This program, the syllabus for which is shown in Exhibit 2, exemplifies a very structured AGP. Each week all new teachers in the school meet with the deputy principal (and other teachers and specialists, as appropriate) to discuss a specific topic. The syllabus starts with general issues of classroom, student, and school management. Over the school year, as new teachers have more experiences to bring to the course, more detailed information about these topics, as well as special-interest topics, are provided. The school hires "relievers" to cover classes when other teachers and specialists are involved. New teachers' schedules provide release time for the time required to participate in the induction course. The deputy principal also has regular meetings with each new teacher to discuss personal problems and individual needs.

New teachers also have one or more tutor teachers (one for each subject area taught). The tutors conduct classroom observations and provide curriculum-based support.

A common practice followed at Blackstone College is to provide newly hired teachers with reading material, before the school year begins, describing the school's goals, policies, and procedures. Teachers also are invited to spend time at the school at the end of the term prior to their arrival.

Blackstone College provides more release time for its new teachers than the funded .2 time. The principal and senior management, supported by the board of trustees, believe that the school should use additional resources to provide a better AGP. The school's philosophy is to invest in preventive training, rather than face the potential costly consequences of inadequately prepared teachers.

EXHIBIT 2 Program Outline for School-based In-service Training for Year 1 Teachers at a Large, Urban Secondary School Aims To inform about specific routines and procedures used in the school; To discuss control, teaching and testing techniques; To offer group counselling and support; To provide a written record of school procedures and policies; and To provide school-based professional training. Week Orientation: Year 1 Teachers and Teachers New at the School General Introduction and Administration Discipline Management The Role and Duties of the Secondary Teachers and Deans Setting Aims and Objectives Review School Assessment and Reports Social Services and Transition Reading and English as a Second Language Teaching in a Coed Environment Special Education The School Office and Administration Staff Meeting Parents Review Student Organization Examination Marks Cultural Differences Activity Center for Schools in the Local Area Teacher Organizations Review Guidance and Careers Methods of Handling Problems Library School Organization and Timetable Review End of School Year Teaching Mixed-Ability Classes Case Studies in Student Behavior School Finance Outdoor Education Review Rewards and Punishment Sports Organizations Teaching Controversial Issues Review

Recommendation for registration is based on input from the tutor (who is usually the head of a department), the deputy principal, the principal, and, in contrast to most schools, a principal from another school. The input from the other principal provides an outsider's perspective--one not biased by personal interactions. The board of trustees is advised regarding the administration's actions but plays no active role.

PROFILES OF NEW TEACHERS (Excerpts from Windows on Teacher Education--Student Progress Through Colleges of Education and the First Year in the Classroom, Renwick and Vise , 1993) Jack's main reaction to his first year was that it was very busy but also very successful.... One of the reasons Jack is pleased with his class progress is that the has what he calls "a pretty flash class," handpicked for a beginning teacher, which means he has been able to use peer tutoring for any children needing help.... He thinks he has developed "heaps" as a teacher and sometimes has to "pinch" himself when he thinks of what a huge hurdle his final sole charge section was at college, and now he has had nearly a year in charge of a class and he has learnt so much, particularly control strategies, management and refining plans, and evaluation techniques. "It's been a growing year, and so will the next two."

Milltown. In contrast, Milltown School and Downey School provide two less formal examples of an AGP. At Milltown, an intermediate school with 500 students--of whom 18 percent are Maori--the AGP program is built around a school-wide program of continual assessment and evaluation. New teachers are quickly integrated into all school activities through the use of staff diaries; open communications; and student, parent, and teacher surveys that measure teaching quality, academic rigor, student reporting, general environment, customer responsiveness, and general satisfaction at the school. Last year Milltown had four new teachers. Each new teacher was assigned to a different syndicate (a staff grouping) so as not to compete for staff support time. In addition, the new teachers regularly met together, and individually, with the principal to discuss building relationships with the students--which the principal believes are key to creating a classroom where learning takes place. Each new teacher has a tutor, who determines the kind and level of support to be provided to the new teacher. For one teacher, formal observations every two weeks were the focus of her AGP. The other three new teachers rarely had formal observations; instead, they met informally with tutors as needed.

Monthly reports are prepared on all new teachers. Interpreting the recommendations of the TRB, the monthly reports describe a teacher’s development of strengths according to seven criteria: personal-professional qualities; relationships with pupils; planning preparation and records; curriculum provision; teaching technique and classroom management; contribution towards work of the school; and other factors.

Milltown School provides each new teacher a handbook that describes its AGP. The handbook describes the roles and responsibilities of the principal, deputy principal, tutor teacher, and new teacher; the use of the additional .2 staffing component; observation as a part of the AGP; a calendar of AGP activities (beginning orientation, first term, remainder of first year, and second year); record keeping; and strategies for dealing with "at risk" new teachers. The handbook does not describe or provide examples of new teacher coping strategies. In contrast to Blackstone College, Milltown School's teacher induction is driven by process and outcome indicators; few specifics (except in the case of at-risk new teachers) are provided as to how the tutor and new teacher interact and what activities they undertake.

Downey School. Downey is a primary school with 256 children--55 percent Maori, 30 percent Pacific Islanders, and 15 percent "from the rest of the world." Student mobility is 40 percent from year to year, and many children live in "at-risk" homes. The entire staff, all but one of which is female, strives to provide a nurturing environment for students and staff alike. The school's philosophy is to focus on producing healthy, happy children who enjoy learning. Its instructional philosophy involves the extensive use of computers by teachers and students, an approach that challenges new teachers because they have had limited exposure to computer applications.

New teachers are supported by all other staff members at Downey School. New teachers are expected to lead a committee (like any other teacher), to provide expertise in some part of new curricula, and to participate in school and individual professional development. Few formal observations and written reports are prepared regarding the new teacher's performance. Similar to Blackstone College, Downey School is fully responsible for its own advice and guidance program. However, in contrast to Blackstone College, the AGP is much more informal. Tutor teachers spend about five hours a week working with new teachers. A strong mentoring relationship is forged, built around ad hoc support and availability. This time declines in the second year. The AGP is run by the deputy principal. The principal meets formally with each teacher, new and experienced, once a year, to discuss the teacher's performance and prepare a development plan for the next year. In contrast to the principals at most schools visited, the principal at Downey has been there 8 years and the deputy principal 10 years (having advanced from a beginning teacher).

In her first year, one new teacher opted to take each Wednesday off to use for AGP, and personal and professional development activities. Although the new teacher, now in her second year, is performing well and was just recommended for full registration, the principal would prefer that the .2 allocation be used differently. The principal would prefer that the .2 allocation (which she is strongly in favor of and would "fight to keep") be used differently or more flexibly than is currently the case in most schools, including her own--she suggested, or example, that a new teacher could take a week at a time out of the classroom to undertake a course, etc., rather than taking one day every week out of the classroom which she feels is "very disruptive for new teachers when they are trying to develop classroom management and organisation skills." The new (second year) teacher also agreed, saying that although she found her day out of the classroom very valuable (for observing in other schools, attending short courses, carrying out student assessments, planning, marking student assignments, and generally having a break from working directly with students), her students were always harder to settle and manage the day after her absence. Both principal and new teacher agreed that it would be good for schools to have the option of spreading the .2 allocation over two years--allowing second year teachers the opportunity to benefit from having some time out of the classroom for other things, now that they were more skilled and confident about their class handling skills (which is clearly the biggest hurdle for most first-year teachers).

At Blackstone, Milltown, and Downey, none of the new teachers interviewed viewed the AGP as an `assessment program’ per se. Although aware of the importance of becoming fully registered, these new teachers were not concerned about the process required to become registered. They viewed observations and formal written reports as supporting their transition and helping get their careers off on a sound footing. As one new teacher noted: "This process is continuous for two years, with immediate feedback. I never have felt that I was being tested or evaluated. I felt I could ask my tutor anything, and I did."

The AGP reflects the culture of each school, just as the self-management of schools in New Zealand is meant to be responsive to the culture of each school’s particular community. The tone for the AGP is typically established by the principal or deputy principal. However, the success or failure of the AGP depends on the relationship developed between the tutor and new teacher.

Changes Over Time. The national advice and guidance framework and its implementation by primary and secondary schools began in 1989. However, the .2 time and many elements of the AGP predate these reforms. In 1972 secondary schools began providing AGP programs, when primary schools were already involved in AGP. Secondary schools also had a school board prior to the 1989 reforms. From the beginning, the AGP was intended as a dialogue--a consensus process in which "assessment was an organic process, without the pitfalls of one-off observations (a scheduled observation that occurs once a term or year by the principal in which the new teacher typically delivers a highly structured and tested lesson plan) and tick-the-boxes evaluations." Formerly, an inspectorate provided the formal evaluation process for certification as a trained teacher. This shifted to the schools, as part of the administrative reforms, and altered the responsibilities of school personnel.

USES OF NEW TEACHERS' RELEASE TIME "I wasn't allowed to use my .2 the first six weeks. The school wants new teachers to develop a strong relationship with the kids and believes that absences work against developing this relationship. After six weeks, I used the time to visit a few classrooms and another school. Over time, I just used it to do planning so I got to sleep earlier.""I went to the courses run by teacher support services and visited other classes. I don't think it works out to .2, but I feel I’ve received all the support I need."

Many administrators who were interviewed reported that in the early years, many teachers did not receive release time, although .2 funding was provided by the Department of Education. Today, most respondents believed that most teachers appear to receive most of, if not more than, the .2 release time to participate in induction support activities. The high level at which new teachers receive release time nowadays represents the cumulative efforts of the TRB, teachers’ unions, and teacher training colleges to inform new teachers of the existence of these resources and their intended purposes.

Since 1989, the TRB has introduced several changes in the registration policy. The criteria requiring teachers to "promote health and personal safety of children" was added in 1993, in response to an early childhood initiative. The TRB also has clarified what is meant by "fitness to be a teacher." In the initial registration materials, the TRB specifications were extremely vague. Although still general, the new guidelines provide a much better sense of what schools should consider in recommending new teachers for registration and maintaining registration for experienced teachers. The TRB also modified its procedures for teachers returning to teaching after a long hiatus. The TRB is now adopting procedures for non-registered relief teachers, so they can achieve full registration.

Teacher Support Services

A second component of New Zealand's teacher induction program is the support offered by the teacher support services. The Ministry has entered into contracts with each college of education to assist schools in improving their self-management. One contractual activity in this area (see Exhibit 3) is that the teacher support services associated with each college will provide activities for new teachers to a specified number of schools in their regions. In most cases, these services consist of bringing new teachers together to network with other new teachers and to develop professional friendships with peers. Many schools (until this year) had only one or two new teachers.

Staff of the teacher support services also visit schools and, informally, seek to ensure that the new teacher is provided the .2 time and a strong AGP. Most of the resources provided by the Ministry are used to provide a series of monthly or bimonthly workshops. In some regions, schools pay a nominal fee to send their new teachers to these courses.

Teacher support services in each of the two centers visited aim the majority of their courses and networking activities toward primary schools, with special attention to rural schools. The centers direct their activities to schools with new teachers who have more limited access to successful role models within their schools. Secondary schools are de-emphasized because their large size provides the potential of more role models. Also, teacher support services assume that department heads at secondary schools will provide extensive support. Exhibit 4 provides an example outline of the types of courses offered to new teachers by teacher support services.

EXHIBIT 3 Professional and School Development Services Contract Responsibilities of Teacher Support Services
Objective Support schools in their program of advice and guidance for the induction of provisionally registered teachers	Performance Measure Quality a) teachers and/or boards satisfied with appropriateness, effectiveness, and efficiency of support provided Quantity b) number of primary schools c) number of secondary schools d) number of hours	Performance Target Ninety percent of teachers and/or boards responding to surveys indicate satisfaction Primary schools Secondary schools Hours

Some centers also provide brief courses (e.g., four three-hour sessions) for tutor teachers. Topics at the tutor-training courses include communicating with new teachers, providing feedback, and handling problems.
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[Chapter 5 (part 1 of 3)]

[Chapter 5 (part 3 of 3)]