A Single Case Study on the Impact of Louisiana's Induction Program on High School Beginning Teachers

Abstract

Despite the growing body of literature that suggest that beginning teachers need additional support throughout the first couple of years in the profession, there is little research on the impact of induction programs for high school beginning teachers. The purpose of this single case study was to analyze the encounters of three beginning teachers, three mentors, one teacher induction coordinator, and one administrator participating in a teacher induction program in Louisiana and examine the impact of the induction program on teacher development. This qualitative study addressed three research questions: What are the perceptions of beginning teachers about the teacher induction program? How do mentors, teacher induction program coordinators, and administrators support beginning teachers? How does the teacher induction program impact professional development for beginning teachers? Data were collected and analyzed from the participants through the use of interviews, site documents, and the researcher’s reflective notebook. Three themes emerged through the use of constant comparative technique (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Corbin & Strauss, 2008). The themes were: (a) understanding the experiences of beginning teacher’s development, (b) creating a community for beginning teacher’s development, and (c) influencing the progression of beginning teacher’s development. The major findings of this study were consistent with current literature; however, the study also revealed that although the program needed some improvements, overall, the teacher induction program provided sufficient support to beginning teachers at the studied school site.