New Comer-Teacher Adaptation and Leadership Succession in Higher Educational Institutions through Mentoring as an OS Practice

Abstract

New teachers have to cope with many issues in the initial phase which discourage them and persuade them to abandon their teaching profession. To transition themselves from a student- teacher to a professional-teacher, the initial years is the critical time of survival for the beginning teacher. It is during this initial phase of their career that they require extra support and caring supervision to adapt easily to their newly chosen roles. The current induction programmes utilised are not adequate enough to successfully evolve the transition of a newcomer teacher into the parent institution. This study utilises the theoretical framework of organisational socialisation and its literature to bridge the gap between teacher transformation and teacher retention, especially engaging the OS Practice of Mentoring. By examining the issues inherent in newcomer-teacher adaptation and the various dimensions of knowledge sharing transition process, from senior teachers (especially HOD) to the juniors in a departmental position, mentoring is found to be the most ideal and effective practice to solve burnout to a great extent, and to ensure successful retention of newcomer teachers. Keywords: Organisational Socialisation, Mentoring, Teacher retention, Newcomer adaptation, transition process.