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

Selected Findings of the Study

The beginning years of teaching can be enormously challenging and stressful. For the first time, the new teacher is in complete control of a classroom, where he or she faces the demands of children and parents, and must prepare new lessons every day. Beginning teachers meet these challenges with perseverance, hard work, and, increasingly, with the assistance of experienced teachers and administrators who recognize the need for extensive teacher support during the first year or two on the job. In many APEC economies, this support is provided through a combination of activities or strategies that are collectively referred to here as "teacher induction" -- the period of transition of new teachers from students of teaching to teachers of students.

The APEC Teacher Induction Study surveys what education systems in eleven Pacific-Rim economies do to facilitate this transition. Subsequent chapters illustrate--often in teachers’ own words or through sample orientation schedules, on-site reporting, and photographs--what it is like to be a new teacher, and what helps a novice to become a self-confident, skilled, professional teacher.

This section highlights the key findings of the study. In particular, we found that promising teacher induction programs in case-study sites in Australia (Northern Territory), Japan, and New Zealand operate within a culture of shared responsibility and an environment where all professionals take active roles in a new teacher’s acculturation and transition. These sites also pursue a multi-pronged set of support strategies, including mentoring, modeling good teacher practice, orientations, and in-service training. The teacher induction programs in these sites focused on assisting new teachers, and not on assessing their competence.

Common Conditions of Supportive Programs

One of the main lessons learned from the APEC teacher induction study is that, while APEC members implement a variety of teacher induction models and strategies, a nurturing environment or programmatic context is essential. Any teacher induction program is unique in that it addresses particular needs, responds to a particular culture or tradition, and operates within a particular context. Thus, implementation of a "successful" teacher induction program appears to depend less upon the strict replication of successful strategies than upon the program’s ability to understand and respond to its particular context. What the APEC study found, nonetheless, was that there are several common conditions that underlie some of the most supportive programs and that appear to be critical to their success. The common characteristics highlighted below include: a culture of shared responsibility and support; interaction of new and experienced teachers; a continuum of professional development; down-played assessment; clearly defined goals; and adequate political, financial, and time commitments by relevant authorities. Typical models and strategies will be highlighted in the following section.

Culture of Shared Responsibility and Support

• In the most supportive programs, there exists a culture of shared responsibility among experienced teachers to help beginning teachers to develop their teaching skills and to experience a smoother transition into the profession.

• The sense of duty to initiate new teachers and to ensure that high professional standards are maintained is shared by veteran teachers, even when such duties impinge on their personal time.

• This culture of support is a major feature of the teacher induction programs of each of the case study sites.

Interaction of New and Experienced Teachers

• Another characteristic that appears to support successful induction programs is a routine pattern of teacher interaction. New and experienced teachers in the case study sites move frequently between one another’s classrooms for visitations, observations, assessments, and advice. Both the students and the teachers are accustomed to this interaction, so it is not disruptive to the class nor confusing to the students.

• The interaction of new and experienced teachers is facilitated by the structural components of programs. Group planning, grade-level, and curriculum-group meetings provide a forum for new teachers to offer their contributions to the group and to the school and to further build professional relationships. As such, participation in the group can build confidence in new teachers.

• In programs that are characterized by constant interaction, the relationships among new and experienced teachers develop naturally, and mentoring is thus viewed as more "authentic" than "staged."

Continuum of Professional Development

• Supportive programs trust new teachers as professionals -- specifically, as learners along different points of a continuum of development. Thus, on the one hand, new teachers are not expected to do the same job or possess the same skills as veteran teachers. On the other hand, they are treated as professionals whose contributions are valued and are expected to grow over time, given the appropriate assistance.

• This "philosophy of development" is evidenced in some teacher induction programs by structural features that acknowledge the difference in skill level between new and experienced teachers, or that provide opportunities for new teachers to develop their craft. For example, new teachers are assigned to classes perceived as less difficult or less critical to educational development; or they are provided with release-time (time outside the classroom and covered by a substitute teacher) to participate in induction activities.

Down-played Assessment

• Among the most supportive programs, assessment is not a significant component of teacher induction. The absence of serious concern by all participants in the teacher induction program about meeting certification and registration requirements enhances the provision of assistance and support. Teachers do not feel threatened or even uncomfortable about being observed, or about asking questions they fear will reveal professional inadequacies.

• Having assessment as a formal goal of teacher induction appears to have little bearing on program success. Rather, it is how assessment is conducted and how dominant it is compared to assistance that determines whether the program is perceived as successful. When the goal of assessment is to support the development of teachers through skills evaluations, the program is perceived as non-threatening, generally supportive, and, often, successful. On the other hand, when assessment is used primarily for screening, teachers feel less comfortable, receive less general assistance, and, thus, the program is not viewed as successful in the provision of support.

Defined Goals and Strong Commitment

• Teacher induction programs deemed "successful" have clearly articulated goals that most frequently include providing a support bridge that eases the passage from being students of teaching to teachers of students, meeting individual teacher needs, and assessing new teachers.

• Successful programs we studied have strong political support from senior officials, either at the member level or jurisdictional level. This political commitment translates into the financial commitment required to implement and sustain the program. Member, jurisdictional, school, or some combination of funds are made available to support teacher induction. Finally, time commitment is shown in the planning and implementation of successful teacher induction programs, as well as by the experienced professionals who carry-out the programs on a daily basis.

Teacher Induction Delivery Systems and Strategies

Induction Delivery Systems

• Different levels of authority are responsible in APEC members for teacher induction. In a member model, implemented in Japan, Papua New Guinea, and Chinese Taipei, the member government primarily designs, funds, implements, and monitors the teacher induction program. With the jurisdiction model, in place in Australia, Canada, the Republic of Korea, and the United States, it is the state or territory that has the authority to develop and implement teacher induction programs. In a school-level model, as in Brunei Darussalam, New Zealand, and Singapore, increased decentralization is a fundamental component of educational reforms, and principals, teachers,and other staff are, therefore, responsible for designing and implementing each new teacher’s induction program.

• The level of organization of teacher induction programs (member, jurisdiction, or school) can affect the degree of structure and the variability of programs. For instance, in a member model, teacher induction is often quite formal, with little variability in programs implemented and strategies employed. However, in a school model, the practices tend to vary more widely, as they are tailored to the needs of individual teachers and schools.

• The individual context within which a model exists is a more important factor for "success" than is the model, itself. Each of these models has been shown to be effective in the context in which it was developed, and in which it continues to operate.

Induction Strategies

• APEC members’ programs use a variety of strategies to acculturate new teachers and to promote the transition of new teachers to the school and to the profession, including mentoring, modeling good teaching practice, targeted intervention, and assessment.

Mentoring

• Mentoring is the primary activity used by APEC members to support new teachers. However, what members consider mentoring varies widely and no common definition or standard set of mentoring activities exists.

• Both "formal" and "informal" mentoring is found. Formal mentoring means that mentors are assigned to new teachers and are given specific responsibilities. Informal mentoring can be either assigned or self-selected, with no specific, prescribed responsibilities, or an ad-hoc "buddy system." Informal mentoring activities, therefore, are more likely to be spontaneous.

• Mentors rarely receive more than minimal training. They tend to be chosen based upon job position, or because it is thought by school administrative staff that they will do a good job. Although mentors interviewed would like additional training, the current approach appears to be working.

• Most mentors do not receive additional compensation. However, having served as a mentor may be a criterion used for promotion to senior teacher or school-level administrator.

Modeling Good Teaching Practice

• Some APEC member teacher induction programs use modeling good teaching practice as a strategy for teacher induction. In the best programs, modeling good teaching occurs every day. Many programs use aspects of team teaching, such as grouping teachers and their classes together, to foster the easy flow of communication and physical mobility between a new and experienced teacher. Other programs support modeling good teaching by providing time for them both to observe experienced teachers and to have their teaching observed in a supportive, non-judgmental way.

• One reason this strategy is used is because existing student-teacher practicums during preservice education do not provide new teachers with adequate experiences to communicate effectively with parents, or to manage the classroom or deal with disciplinary problems. Therefore, new teachers benefit from observing experienced teachers, and from receiving experienced counsel when confronted by "real-life" challenges.

Targeted Intervention

• APEC members also use targeted interventions in teacher induction programs, including orientation sessions, in-service training, and school- or regional-level workshops. Outside of mentoring, targeted intervention seems to be the most popular teacher induction strategy.

• The most "successful" teacher induction programs studied consist of a combination of fairly elaborate targeted interventions. These interventions generally take the form of one-week to one-month orientations; activities that promote networking among new teachers; and short-term, in-service workshops that provide exposure to specific topics.

Assessment

• Assessment is another strategy commonly used by APEC members, although it is not of primary importance in the programs we studied in depth.

• Assessment includes observation of a new teacher by experienced teachers, the principal, or other administrative staff, for the purpose of evaluating teaching ability. In some cases, the evaluation is required for continued certification, and, in others, it is used more to help teachers to develop their skills, as well as to inform certification. In the latter scenario, teachers tend to view assessment as highly supportive of their development, rather than as an intimidating process of screening.

Remaining Challenges

Missing Program Elements

• Administrators, both at teacher-training institutions and in the schools and jurisdictions say they want closer links between the training institution faculty and new teachers. However, the existing links between preservice training institutions and new teachers are tenuous, and faculty at teacher-training institutions rarely have contact with graduates.

• Another missing program element is formative and summative program evaluation. Only rarely are teacher induction programs systematically evaluated. Existing evaluations generally are limited to brief surveys of teachers regarding their participation in a specific workshop or orientation session.

Improved Student Teaching Practice

• Today, in all too many places, new teachers receive little practical experience during preservice training. Furthermore, preservice training is not linked to subsequent teacher induction. Many commentators envision a continuous delivery system in which teacher induction programs build upon preservice training, and teacher training is informed by the needs of beginning teachers.

Financial Commitment

• It is clear from responses to the exploratory survey, as it is in the case studies, that the future for teacher induction programs is increasingly unsettled. Several APEC members noted that, although this is not a frequent occurrence, some programs or strategies have been terminated because of budgetary constraints. Other programs are being reduced or are trying out less expensive strategies, as alternatives to strategies that are no longer affordable.

Equity

• In most APEC member economies, not all new teachers partake in all teacher induction strategies. Often, wealthier jurisdictions and schools are able to provide more teacher induction activities than are poorer communities. Teachers in urban or rural schools may be more or less likely to participate.

• The quality of the programs also varies. Wealthy schools or jurisdictions can supplement national and jurisdictional resources, not only to reach more teachers, but to provide more in-service training, longer orientation, specialized content-area support, and other strategies. From our interviews, mentors also appear more likely to receive time off to work with the beginning teachers in schools with greater resources.

[Improving Teacher Induction: What the United States Can Learn from Other Countries]

[Chapter 1: APEC Teacher Induction Study: Introduction and Methodology]