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

In contrast, new teachers in some other countries are provided with resources and guidance that help them to make a successful transition from being students themselves to becoming self-confident, skilled professional teachers. The U.S. Department of Education recently worked with the Education Forum of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and with Pelavin Research Institute to carry out a cross-national study of teacher induction practices. The report from this study, From Students of Teaching to Teachers of Students (to be published in January 1997; Jay Moskowitz and Maria Stephens, editors) includes case studies of teacher induction programs in Japan, New Zealand, and the Northern Territory of Australia. Here are some highlights:

• Teaching isn’t any easier in other parts of the world. New teachers everywhere feel overwhelmed by the challenge of their first year in charge of a class. One teacher in Australia’s Northern Territory said: "It was like jumping in at the deep end. It is a very steep learning curve moving from the university to the real world." A teacher in Japan agreed, saying "This first year has been very difficult. I am much busier than I had expected to be. It is entirely different from my student teaching experience. Every day brings a new surprise."

• Recognizing the challenge, these education systems have thought about and put into practice strategies that help teachers through that very tough first year. Some of the weakest aspects of typical induction practice in the United States have been addressed relatively successfully by these other systems.

  For example, in the United States, "beginning teachers who do get hired are typically given the most difficult assignments," according to the Commission report. Not so in these other systems.

  • In Japan and New Zealand, new teachers are assigned to classes perceived as less difficult or less critical to educational development, and they carry lighter teaching loads in order to participate in induction activities.

  • In New Zealand, one principal stated "I assign new teachers to classes where I expect fewer discipline problems and parents who are easier to deal with." Assignment to more difficult classes is phased in over a three-year period.

  • In Japan, new teachers have reduced classroom hours and administrative duties.

  • In all three of the programs studied, the authors concluded that new teachers are viewed as professionals -- albeit ones who are at a different point on a continuum of development from experienced teachers -- whose contributions will grow over time, given appropriate support. The difference in skill levels between new and experienced teachers are acknowledged and built in to the school program. How different from the typical situation in the United States, where class assignments often do not reflect any differentiation between new and experienced teachers, and where, in the worst case, new teachers are assigned to classrooms that experienced teachers prefer not to have!

• A second huge difference is that, unlike what happens in most U.S. schools, new teachers in these countries are not "left to flounder on their own." The Commission’s report laments: "Isolated behind classroom doors with little feedback or help, as many as 30 percent leave in the first few years, while others learn merely to cope rather than to teach well." One U.S. teacher recently commented in an on-line teachers’ forum: "What I truly wish is that we didn’t ever have new teachers out there alone...that every ‘newbie’ had an on-site partner, to reflect and absorb management styles. Suppose new teachers...always worked with a mentor...so that they have time to develop a whole bag of tricks?"·330
  • In the three sites in the APEC study, schools and classrooms are set up to maximize interaction among teachers--between new and experienced teachers, and among new teachers. In New Zealand, for instance, the location of a new teacher’s class is viewed as important; when possible, it is next door to a "buddy teacher" or among other teachers of the same grade-level.

  • New and experienced teachers 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. It’s a natural part of the day. The study calls this "modeling good practice."

  • In addition to observing and being observed, in these school systems interaction is facilitated by other structural components of induction programs. The school day or week includes dedicated time for group planning, grade-level, and curriculum-development meetings, and team teaching. These interactions help new teachers in planning, learning about and gaining access to resources, and building new relationships; they also let the beginner contribute to the group.

  • In Japan, new teachers are provided with at least two periods per week to be observed or to observe other teachers’ classes and at least three periods for consultations with guidance teachers.

• Maybe what comes through most clearly in the report is the extent to which induction is a purposive and valued activity. In Japan, new teachers must be provided with no less than60 days per year of in-school training (including observation and advice), under the leadership of the guidance teacher, and at least 30 days of out-of school training per year.
  • Take a look at this schedule of activities for first-year teachers in Chiba City, Japan, for instance [attached to hardcopy version]. Time is set aside throughout the year for first-year teachers to come together, learn, and reflect on topics that are likely to become important to them at about that time in the academic cycle.

  • In New Zealand, the Advice and Guidance program foresees release time equal to one day per week to spend on induction activities. For this purpose, schools with a new teacher are provided with 20 percent more than the cost of that teacher’s slot; most of that funding goes for release time so that the new teacher and/or guidance teacher can participate in observation, consultation, and in-service training; the new teacher has a strong say in how the time is used.

  • In Australia’s Northern Territory, the induction program promotes teacher retention in a difficult and remote environment. "Orientation" actually includes three components: (1) four days of initial orientation before the term begins; (2) "recall orientation" when new teachers come back together for three days about four to six weeks into the term; and (3) on-going school-level support. So, again, attention is given when and where it is really needed.

• Mentors are part of teacher induction in all three countries, although they go by different names--"guidance teachers" in Japan, "peer tutors" in Australia, and "tutor teachers" in New Zealand. But mentoring goes beyond the one-on-one relationship that sometimes is designed into teacher induction in many U.S. schools and districts. In all three case-study sites, the study found a "culture of shared responsibility and support" in which all or most of the members of school staffs contribute to the development and nurturing of the new teacher.
  • In Japan, for instance, one of the principal’s duties is to ensure that all teachers in the school cooperate with the guidance teacher to help the first-year teacher.

  • The frequent interaction between new and experienced teachers referred to earlier builds what we might call "authentic" mentoring.

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

  • Sharing with mentors and other experienced teachers helps new teachers in all three countries cope with their initial, unrealistic expectations of themselves. Do the following quotes sound familiar?
    • (Japanese teacher on her first year): "Even if I started working every Sunday morning, it seemed as though I could never get caught up with all the work I had to do. Psychologically, I felt worn down. When times were tough all I could think about was quitting. At those times, the people I got the most support from were my friends from the induction program."

    • (New teacher in New Zealand): "During my first year, school was my life. From the time I got up until I went to sleep, I either did school-related work or worried about taking time off from doing work. I always had a long "to do" list staring me in the face. I couldn’t keep up that pace....As part of my advice and guidance program, I spent a lot of time with my tutor learning to set bounds and take shortcuts. I’m getting better. I can do lesson plans in half the time it used to take me. I’ve also cut back, sort of." "College and student teaching didn’t prepare me for this year. But I don’t think anything could....This has been a year of learning how to manage--a class, expectations, myself. Next year I’ll be ready to teach." (New Zealand)

• Finally, the study found that in all three countries, assessment of new teachers is down-played. This does not mean that there is no attempt to "weed out" incompetent teachers. But the emphasis clearly is on helping new teachers to become better.

  • In Australia/Northern Territory, for example, the administration asks schools to perform as few assessments as are really required; but instead to spend more time helping teachers prepare for assessment. A teacher’s failure is seen as a failure on the part of the administration.

  • The study researchers noted that the absence of serious concern by all participants in the induction program about meeting certification and registration requirements enhances the provision of assistance and support. Teachers do not seem to feel threatened or even uncomfortable about being observed, or about asking questions they fear will reveal professional inadequacies. The frequent observation by fellow teachers is non-threatening assessment that can help them improve.

Teacher induction is not perfect in any of these sites; in fact, all interviewed policy makers thought it could be improved. In all three sites, administrators at both teacher-training institutions and in the schools say they want closer links with each other. Formative and summative program evaluation is virtually lacking, so there is little hard evidence that the induction programs are working. And there is some concern about equity: teacher induction is seen to be more universally provided and more strongly supported in schools and communities with higher income levels. We also know there are some districts in the United States that are doing good things with their new teachers. Still, American schools could learn a lot about how they could better support their first-year teachers by taking a good look at what teacher induction means in Australia’s Northern Territory, Japan, and New Zealand.
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[Preface]

[Selected Findings of the Study]