Abstract
The first years of teaching are crucial for novice teachers’ integration into and retainment in the education system. The support they receive from experienced teachers impacts their professional development. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers require specialized support from domain-specific mentors. In this study, we examined how a three-level mentoring support system contributes to STEM novice teachers’ professional growth (PG) and to their mentors. The support system levels are individual mentoring, group mentoring, and mentoring networks. Based on the framework of teachers’ professional development, there are three PG dimensions: personal, professional, and social. Our research goal was to analyze teachers’ professional growth by the various mentoring level and dimension combinations. The study, conducted using a mixed methods approach, included 123 novice and 78 experienced STEM teachers. We examined the novice teachers’ perceptions of their teaching efficacy, the mentoring factors, correlations between the professional growth dimensions, and the contribution of each support level to the growth dimensions. We found that experienced teachers perceive novice teachers’ efficacy as lower than that perceived by the novice teachers. We identified gaps between the mentoring factors described by novice and experienced teachers and a strong correlation between the growth dimensions. All three mentoring support levels facilitate substantive personal, professional, and social growth. Individual mentoring contributes the most to all three growth dimensions, followed by mentoring networks. The contribution of this research is its elucidation of the intertwined support levels, which provide scaffolds for the novice teachers and facilitate the growth of the experienced teachers.
Highlights
Novice teachers’ professional development and their retention in the school system have been investigated
The foci of this research are mentoring support systems developed for novice science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers and their contribution to the professional growth (PG) of both novice teachers and the experienced teachers who mentor
We found a significant difference between the teaching efficacy of first- and second-year novice teachers and the perceptions of their mentors regarding the novice teachers’ teaching efficacy (F(2,252) = 4.821, p < .01)
Summary
Novice teachers’ professional development and their retention in the school system have been investigated. Induction programs are prevalent worldwide to support novice teachers and prevent their attrition, especially during their first two years of teaching (Bower-Phipps et al, 2016; Geva-May & Dori, 2006; Kohen & Borko, 2019; Luft et al, 2011; Shwartz & Dori, 2016, 2020). The foci of this research are mentoring support systems developed for novice science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers and their contribution to the professional growth (PG) of both novice teachers and the experienced teachers who mentor. The dynamic nature of the teaching profession requires constant development, which teachers can initiate themselves or via external forces. The role teachers play in their own professional development is substantial for their growth.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
