Promoting Optimal Induction to Beginning Teachers Using Self-Determination Theory

Haya Kaplan

doi:10.1177/21582440211015680

Abstract

Reports on drop-out rates and difficulties experienced by beginning teachers require an examination of the motivational processes that characterize teachers at this stage. Support systems for beginning teachers in the induction period in Israel include a workshop and a mentoring process. This study examined how support in beginning teachers’ psychological needs by workshop facilitators and teacher-mentors in schools contributed to their optimal functioning in workshops, schools, and in teaching. Questionnaires were administered to 261 Bedouin Arab and Jewish beginning teachers. Based on structural equation modeling analysis, results indicated that support in teachers’ needs by workshop facilitators predicted a sense of competence and autonomous motivation in the workshops, which in turn predicted autonomous motivation in teaching. Autonomous motivation in teaching was also predicted by the teacher-mentors’ support and in turn predicted teachers’ sense of competence, investment in the school, and sense of self-actualization. The findings have implications regarding the conditions needed to improve the functioning of beginning teachers of various cultural groups and highlight the importance of an environment that supports teachers’ needs during their induction.

Highlights

Self-determination theory (SDT) emphasizes the importance of an environment that supports basic psychological needs: relatedness, competence, and autonomy (Ryan & Deci, 2017)
The study examined the unique contributions of supporting beginning teachers’ needs, both by the workshop facilitator at college and teacher-mentors at schools, to predict outcomes related to optimal functioning and integration in the workshop and the school
The results show that facilitator’s need support predicted the beginning teachers’ sense of competence and autonomous motivation in the workshop, which in turn predicted autonomous motivation in teaching

Summary

Introduction

Self-determination theory (SDT) emphasizes the importance of an environment that supports basic psychological needs: relatedness, competence, and autonomy (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Studies indicate that the experience of psychological need satisfaction leads to autonomous motivation and optimal functioning (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2017). The SDT approach underlies “Growth Resources Induction Unit,” at Kaye Academic College of Education in Israel. As part of the unit’s activities, intern teachers and beginning teachers participate in workshops designed to address their psychological needs. Each beginning teacher is followed by an experienced teacher, who serves as a mentor at school. The decision to establish an SDTbased unit led to the need to examine the theory’s applicability to beginning teachers who participated in the workshops

Methods

Results

Conclusion