Eng3010August 3, 2015

Research Proposal FD

Abstract

Currently, research conducted on the educational system have found that

mentoring novice teachers leads to higher retention rates, but exactly why this system is

effective has yet to be addressed. As it stands, researchers need to look into how

exactly mentoring practices address the issues that lead to the reduction of teachers

leaving the field within the first five years in the profession. In this research, I will explore

why exactly it is that mentoring and preservice programs have been found to be

effective in retaining novice teachers. In order to aid teachers beginning to settle into the

field of education and their new classrooms, I will examine how the methods employed

by mentoring and preservice programs work to correct issues found by new teachers

that lead to them leaving the profession. By displaying that when mentoring teachers

work to address problems that teachers face in the first five years on the job, teachers

will stay in the profession and will be able to effectively teach in their classrooms. This

all said, the objective of this paper is to address mentoring practices displayed in

various programs, and understand what practices are found to be most effective in

improving teacher retention rates within the first five years in the profession.

Introduction

Teachers employed in schools are leaving the profession at disproportionate

rates. As the previous generation of teachers are leaving the field through retirement,

there is a need to replace them with qualified teachers (Olsen, Anderson). These new

educators are tasked with both performing at an acceptable level in the classroom,

while also handling the challenges that naturally come with the career of education. In

spite of this, the current rate of retention rate for teachers in their first five years of

classroom instruction is around 50% (Clandinin et. al; Olsen, Anderson, Okhremtchouk

et. al). Therefore, it has become crucial to discover methods to retain these new

teachers to avoid shortages in schools across the country (Source here). A promising

method is to use mentoring and preservice programs to prepare teachers for the years

ahead and train them to overcome the issues that will be seen in the years ahead in

their careers (Bieler, Fink; Okhremtchouk et. al; Odell, Ferraro). The idea of mentoring

for the purposes of this study can be understood to be one-on-one assistance of a new

teacher in the first five years by an expert practitioner to develop the novice’s expertise

and develop their knowledge of the culture of the education community and the context

in which they are found (Hobson et. al). By enrolling new teachers in these programs to

learn practices beneficial to their roles as educators, attrition rates can be reduced and

retention rates can be raised for novice teachers (Clandinin et. al; Okhremtchouk et. al;

Olsen, Anderson).

Research has found that mentor programs work to reduce attrition rates for

teachers that participate, but there isn’t a singular program to address all of the

challenges new teachers effectively. Urban teachers learn to deal with demographic

challenges such as involving themselves outside of the classroom (Olsen, Anderson).

Mentors that work with a more holistic and rounded approach concern themselves with

teacher agency and the formation of identity in both school and outside life (Bieler,

Fink). Another program seeks to enforce PCK (pedagogical content knowledge) to

teach a more diverse body of students (Achinstein, Fogo). As a result, there is no single

program that is aimed at solving all of the problems that new teachers face that reduce

retention rates in the formative years of classroom instruction. Studies have been found

to address four challenges that lead to teachers moving around in the education field or

leaving the profession entirely: burnout, resilience, demographic features and family

characteristics (Clandinin et. al). Without addressing all four of these challenges directly

and entirely, the current situation the education community faces could be perpetuated

further into the future. Building on this concern, the costs of teacher attrition on a

national scale was over $7.3 billion in 2003 (Okhremtchouk et. al), with current rates

remaining steady since that time the monetary impact is likely the same today.

Researchers have concerned themselves in studying the rates in new teachers, due to

attrition and retention rates becoming much smaller an issue once teachers have been

practicing for five or more years (Clandinin et. al; Okhremtchouk et. al). Studies have

found that enforcing knowledge of curriculum and reasoning skills based on content

increase efficacy in a larger body of students, which can be used to address difficulties

that arise from demographic features, one of the four factors associated with low

retention rates for novice-level educators (Achinstein, Fogo; Clandinin et. al). Enforcing

the formation of teacher identity both inside and outside of the school environment is

able to increase teacher resilience and agency while involving family members to take

part in the life of teachers, which can help to address the family issues attached to

teachers finding difficulty in their careers (Bieler, Fink; Olsen, Anderson). These studies

have been conducted separately from one another, yet there are areas in which the

issues overlap, and that can be resolved using similar methods. This activity will work to

discover methods that can be used to solve multiple challenges teachers face found in

varying mentoring and preservice programs.

In my research, I will examine the challenges novice educators face in the first five

years of formal classroom instruction, the methods employed that can reduce the

impact of these challenges, how these methods answer the concerns of new teachers,

and whether or not attrition rates are lowered and retention rates are raised. The

purpose of this research is to understand the context of the current school environment

and how to create a mentoring program that can work to address the multitude of

difficulties that teachers face in the first five years in the classroom.

Understanding the methods employed by standing mentoring and preservice

programs and whether or not they properly address the difficulties of the school

environment is the starting point in reducing the rates of teachers leaving the

profession, and I would assert that mentoring programs are the most effective method

of solving this issue, as they directly concern themselves with new teacher development

(Bieler, Fink). As a result, schools need to foster a mentoring program that both solves

the issues associated with teacher identity, meaning economic and social (family and

professional) relationships, as well as classroom and curriculum concerns (Olsen,

Anderson; Achinstein, Fogo). Programs such as this can develop teachers that are able

to face the difficulties associated with the field of teaching beyond the critical five year

period.

This study proposes to research the potential of a mentoring program that

resolves the current retention and attrition rate issue by answering the four factors of

burnout, resilience, demographic features and family characteristics in a single program,

through a mentor relationship between a novice teacher and an expert member of

school faculty in the same department. The other primary objective of this study is to

answer the questions regarding how to raise the retention rates for teachers in their first

five years of teaching, and what methods do mentors employ to effectively address the

challenges these beginning teachers face during their introductory years in the

profession.

Literature Review

On a national level, teachers that remain in a single school are better able to

interact on a more beneficial and humane level with students (Bieler, Fink). This said,

developing educators that are able to deal with the daily challenges and continue in

their profession are critical. Therefore, it is important for mentors to foster the growth of

these teachers by understanding the individual and contextual factors of teaching so

that they may remain in the community beyond their beginning years (Clandinin et. al).

Viewing and understanding the challenges faced under these contexts is necessary to

retain these new teachers so that they endure past the years with high dropout rates

(Olsen, Anderson). The aim of this proposal is such: understanding the factors that lead

to teachers dropping out of the profession, and studying the methods employed in

mentoring practices to retain teachers in the field. Additionally, I will examine literature

conducted by researchers who explored methods for the following: increasing teacher

efficacy in the classroom, discovering the factors that cause low retention and high

attrition rates for new teachers, and methods that correct issues causing high dropout

rates.

To correct the challenges that new teachers face, it is important to identify and

understand the factors that lead to low retention. These factors are identified as

burnout, resilience, demographic features and family characteristics (Clandinin, et. al).

Burnout, the first factor, is the culmination of stressors that cause teachers to feel

generally overwhelmed and tired of the workplace. Okhremtchouk et. al noted that a

lack of support systems from either other members of faculty or family can lead to

teachers building up too much work from themselves and not enough free time. In this

study it was stated that teachers should use their free time whenever available to create

outlet and form relationships with members of the faculty to reduce feelings of isolation

and to allow for ideas to be shared and brainstormed (Okhremtchouk et. al). Leaving

work based tasks at work allows for time to reflect on teaching practices to improve

during beginning years (Okhremtchouk et. al). Collaboration and sharing work also

enhances the idea that teachers had about their place in the classroom. Teachers that

worked together with at least one other teacher during the day felt that teaching was as

they imagined it would be, helping with reflection and professional development,

planning strategies, and overall feelings of being valued in the workplace (Clandinin et.

al). Feelings of belonging create a situation for teachers to work together and share the

amount of work that was given to them. This proved true in the study by Clandinin et. al,

where new teachers who formed meaningful relationships and teams, and didn’t feel as

if they were left out. However, in the formation of relationships in school, new teachers

aren’t typically instructed on how to conduct themselves outside of the school

environment, and only focuses on how they interact in the classroom, or inside the walls

of the school itself (Clandinin et. al). Novice teachers are eager to leave an impression

and are sometimes willing to take contracts that are either outside of their areas of

expertise, grade level, or desired geographic area (Clandinin et. al). This idea of getting

whatever is offered or taking on too many roles in the school to ensure a place for

themselves in future years can cause teachers to overwhelm themselves with or without

support systems (Clandinin et. al).

Having an experienced member of the faculty to guide teachers to make the

most beneficial decisions for their career and not take on tasks that would cause a

burnout scenario proves to be necessary, as this guidance can ensure the decisions

made allow for proper management of time and the building of helpful relationships

within the workplace. This said, it would be helpful for expert teachers to instruct the

new teachers in figuring out how to manage their workplace and home responsibilities,

and a desired situation from these new teachers (Clandinin et. al). Thus, it is clear that

through both desire and necessity it is important to support a mentoring program that

can answer this first factor.

The second challenge of resilience can tie into burnout, and can be explained in

some of the same conditions. Agency, or initiative from an educator, can increase the

resiliency of new teachers during their formative years (Bieler, Fink). The idea of

teacher identity, both perceived or intended and a realistic one, combined with the idea

of increasing initiative, attribute to the resilience of a new teacher in the classroom

(Bieler, Fink). Creating situations that allow for new teachers to take command of the

classroom and increase their feelings of authority and have greater control in the

formation of teacher identity (Bieler, Fink). The issue found for new teachers is the

inability to take control of situations within the classroom or within faculty meetings.

Bieler and Fink noted that some of the beginning teachers in their study being

overwhelmed in faculty meetings, and their concerns to be either “secondary or

irrelevant.” The inability to voice concerns of feelings of incompatibility with the

workplace are able to create negative feelings about the teaching profession, causing

difficulties in creating positive relationships with other faculty members (Bieler, Fink).

These feelings are detrimental to the formation of a healthy teacher identity, as they will

not have the agency to take action for themselves to increase resilience in their schools

(Bieler, Fink). Decreasing resilience found in new teachers can cause them to be

overwhelmed with the tasks in their classrooms. If new teachers aren’t able to form

meaningful relationships from their own sense of agency, there may be the inability to

cooperate with other teachers from the department (Bieler, Fink). This could lead to

overwork and eventually burnout, causing teachers to leave the profession due to the

inability to take actions to benefit themselves.

Novice teachers have to find a sense of agency to work with other members of

the faculty (Bieler, Fink). Often they are unable due to being overwhelmed by their work,

or by the inability to speak up to the experienced teachers in their departments. As a

result, mentoring from the experienced teachers can increase their agency, aid in

forming a healthy identity and relationship with the staff, and increase overall resilience

that can keep teachers in their classrooms, when they would otherwise leave.

Demographic features are important for new teachers to understand when taking

a contract for work. New teachers can be tempted to take jobs that cause strain on their

lives outside of school due to the feeling of needing to get a foot in the door (Clandinin

et. al). Moving away into an undesirable location geographically is also a challenge new

teachers might put upon themselves from feelings of urgency, uprooting their lives in

order to begin their careers (Clandinin et. al). Taking positions out of their area of

expertise or experience can be a factor, limiting their PCK and ability to teach students

effectively (Clandinin et. al; Achinstein, Fogo). Creating an environment that allows

beginning teachers to work around the issues of employment in a difficult classroom in

terms of expertise and geographic features is important, and through the creation of a

mentoring program that is able to cement content knowledge and work with beginning

teachers to overcome demographic features can be achieved through the research

proposed in this study.

Understanding how to deal with family practices presents a significant gap in the

current capabilities in mentoring programs that are currently being used. From the

literature collected, the areas that pertain family are primarily the ability to provide for a

growing family and garnering support and understanding for the career choice that

beginning teachers have made (Bieler, Fink; Olsen, Anderson). Creating a supporting

atmosphere from friends and family ties closely with the ideas presented by

Okhremtchouk et. al about burnout: by sharing the burden of teaching with those in

informal relationships teachers are less likely to feel overwhelmed by the amount of

work and by the responsibilities that are associated with the profession. Olsen and

Anderson mentioned pressures from family in terms of time available to them outside of

school and monetary concerns due to the low salaries beginning teachers received in

the first years in the field. These pressures are important to the overall well being of the

teachers, as it ties into their overall identity that is formed from combining life found in

and out of the school (Bieler, Fink). There has not been a mentoring practice from the

literature that would suggest a way to resolve this fourth factor, leading to the

suggestion that further research into mentoring programs to find a suitable solution is

necessary.

The four factors that lead to teachers leaving the field of education explained,

there have been methods employed by mentoring programs that are able to relieve the

burden of these challenges to different degrees. There has been in increase in the

amount of mentoring programs since the 1980s, as these programs have been seen to

increase the capabilities of teachers while working to retain them in the profession

(Hobson, et. al). As previously stated, mentoring programs are able to address the

challenges new teachers face, but different programs have been found to be effective in

varying degrees due to the nature of the program exercised (Harrison, Dysmoke, Pell).

This difference in effectiveness presents a gap in research due to the fact that there is

not a universal mentoring program that can be used to address all four factors that

decrease the retention rates of teachers. Despite the differences, there are way that

current, separate mentoring programs have been able to address the challenges

teachers face in the first five years in the classroom. These mentored practices can

directly address the four factors mentioned previously that decrease the amount of

teachers returning to the field in their beginning years.

Looking at the first factor of “burnout” by Clandinin et. al, this first challenge can

be answered by the mentoring programs. Creating support structures through

professional relationships such as other teachers and administration aided in

decreasing the workload and the stress found in the classroom (Claninin et. al)(Olsen,

Anderson). Activities such as shared teaching experienced discovered through

mentoring practices helped in guiding and encouraging teachers to strengthen their

working relationships and focus on what they were teaching (Odell, Ferraro). Sharing

the burden with members outside of the school is also an effective method in avoiding

burnout scenarios, as teachers also have an identity that encompasses life both inside

and outside of school (Bieler, Fink).

Proposing a holistic mentoring program that works to increase autonomy in new

teachers by Bieler and Fink looked to increase teacher agency, meaning taking action

to see results, which improves resilience, a challenge listed as one of the four factors

leading to teachers leaving the field (Clandinin et. al). The mentoring came in the form

of “moves” that facilitated learning from the new teachers and interaction between the

mentor and teachers. These actions caused teachers to be active in their approach to

teaching and forming healthy identities, giving them a greater sense of control over their

professional career and the advances they make in the field (Bieler, Fink). The idea of

creating relationships and support structures to help reduce the burnout seen by

teacher, and also helps in increasing their resilience in their careers. However, there are

two mentoring programs that only display how to overcome one challenge each. This

reduces the overall effectiveness as compared to a program that can encompass and

overcome multiple challenges, lending itself to the fact that a new program needs to be

created to address multiple challenges that teachers face that leads to falling retention

rates in the first five years of teaching.

Viewing the factor of demographic features, mentoring programs can address the

challenges that come with different school locations and groups of students. Teaching

different types of students and the relationship between members of staff and

administration was a challenge examined by Achinstein and Fogo along with Olsen and

Anderson. Addressing pedagogical content knowledge and deeper understanding of

curriculum subjects was a key factor in being able to address diverse bodies of students

with varying capabilities (Achinstein, Fogo). Tying in with agency, the increased efficacy

of teachers with content knowledge through mentoring programs can help in creating a

greater sense of authenticity and diversity in regards to classroom experiences with

students (Achinstein, Fogo). Programs also increased the ability to deal with

administration difficulties that vary between schools. Instruction in understanding the

context of the workplace, with helpful or deterring administration, proved to be beneficial

in decreasing the amount of teachers leaving or shifting out of schools and around the

field of education (Olsen, Anderson). The increasing of content knowledge in classroom

curriculum and the understanding of different classroom and larger school contexts in

regards to administration and faculty can be achieved through mentoring programs, as

seen through the literature provided. There is still a need to combine the features of

these programs to create a more effective teacher that is able to perform under varying

conditions pertaining to different sets of students or faculty composition. Using a mentor

program that creates and reinforces the ability to effectively interact with different

groups of individuals in both the classroom and in the larger school context can be

achieved through further research into the creation and application of a new mentoring

program.

Unlike with the first three challenges, the factor of family characteristics isn’t

directly addressed through mentoring and preservice programs. Olsen and Anderson

mention that there are difficulties staying in the teaching due to constraints such as child

rearing and disapproval by members of the family. Supporting teachers in a school

context was seen as important, but there is an additional need to study the lives of

these individuals outside of schools, and to view these people in their roles outside of

teaching (Clandinin, et. al). There were additional factors given such as proximity to

home, changing demographics differing from teacher origin and monetary issues that

affected family, but the literature from the pre-service and mentoring programs did little

to address and rectify these particular issues which can decrease teacher retention

rates. There is a large potential to create a program that can prove effective in the social

lives of teachers outside of the school context. As expert teachers have gone through

the processes regarding family characteristics, they can provide suitable guidance for

beginning teachers. This can be included within a mentor program, as they should look

to improve on all aspects of teacher identity.

As the literature was reviewed, there were concepts that repeated themselves

throughout. These were the four factors of burnout, resilience, demographic features

and family characteristics. There were also the ideas of creating meaningful support

structures to encourage the formation of a healthy teacher identity and reducing the

burden that teachers faced from their work. The idea of mentoring programs having

variations between them, covering these primary challenges effectively but separately

was also noted, and allows room for the improvement of these programs. The literature

review also showed the potential for creating a mentoring program that has the potential

to address all of the challenges seen in the varying programs within the context of a

singular, more effective program. In the recognition of the deficiencies found in current

mentoring programs, I propose the creation of a mentoring program that could

accomplish this goal, and find a more universal method of mentoring that could answer

the questions about how to lower the number of teachers leaving the profession and

what methods can be seen as the most effective in finding solutions to the challenges

that lead to this high dropout rate in the field of education.

In creating and testing a potential mentoring program I have a few hypotheses

regarding the outcome of the study. First, I would predict the retention and attrition rates

fall in line with previous studies, meaning a retention rate of around 96% and an attrition

rate of slightly under 4%, documented by Odell and Ferraro. This prediction is simply to

in hopes to maintain the current standards seen by previous programs. Second I would

hypothesize that if the beginning teachers maintain the retention rates seen in previous

mentoring programs, teachers will not have migrated out of their original schools, and

would be able to address the demographic features found in the different locations.

Last, I would hypothesize that if the teachers remained in their original schools for the

duration of the program, that they would remain teaching beyond the first five years of

their education careers.

Methodology

The research conducted will work to understand what methods are most effective

in addressing the challenges new teachers faced in the first five years of formal

classroom teaching that may lead them to consider leaving the profession. Two groups

of teachers will receive two year-long sessions of support from mentor teachers in a

collaborated school system/university study. A follow up period of an additional four

years for a total of six documented years. The group sample will consist of 40 teachers,

separated into two groups entering their first year of formal classroom teaching in a high

school (9-12) setting. The sample will aim to include 10 males and 10 females of

varying ethnic backgrounds on each group.

The mentoring support is to be provided throughout the entirety of the school

year, broken down into monthly segments. Mentors provide support on a twice per week

basis by one of 10 mentor teachers. Upon the completion of each month, the beginning

teachers will conduct self-evaluations on their own performance and practices, and oral

reflections with the mentor teacher on the completed month. Mentors are to be selected

upon the criteria of the university and collaborating school district on the basis of

tenured status, excellence of teaching, agency and willingness to learn, and ability to

work with adult students. The mentors are to be fully allocating their time to the

mentoring support of the sample teachers for the first two years and a rotating six month

basis for the four years of follow up study and support.

Mentoring offered to the new teachers is supportive and non-evaluative. The

mentoring teachers, as it stands, are not part of a formal evaluation process in terms of

hiring these beginning teachers, solely providing guidance and aiding the formation of

practices in these selected teachers. Mentor teachers are to use a variety support

strategies such as shared teaching with the beginning teacher, peer coaching with

another beginning teacher, and questioning that prompts the novice teachers to reflect

on their practices and identify what they focused on during their time in the classroom.

The mentor teacher will use their support methods to aid teachers in constructing their

own identity as a teacher inside and outside the classroom, and how they build their

own knowledge about teaching.

At the induction of the study, mentors will be given a 10-item questionnaire

regarding their teaching methods and concepts in regards to mentoring style. The

answers will then be compiled to create suggestions on best practices involving support

methods and building a pilot guideline that they may take into suggestion during the

initial two year period. The selected beginning teacher will also answer a five-item

questionnaire regarding concerns they may have about the school, classroom

environment, and in- and out of school challenges they could face during the first two

years of classroom teaching. Upon completion and evaluation of the questionnaires,

mentors and beginning teachers will meet to discuss the problems that may appear and

work through solution in four weekly three hour sessions.

Weekly meetings between beginning teachers and corresponding mentors will

take place in two hour sessions. Concerns regarding classroom experiences and further

guidance from mentors will be the primary concern of the meetings. The monthly self-

evaluations are broken down into two parts, one written section and one recorded oral

discussion. These sessions will focus on reflection of the practices employed by the

beginning teachers, resolution of challenges experienced, and their knowledge of

teaching as it evolved over the month. Sessions will be documented for further study

and reflection upon the completion of each year.

Upon the completion of the two year mentoring session, retention data will be obtained

and direct mentoring will cease. Mentors will be available for a three year period

following the conclusion of support and guidance sessions on a monthly basis if desired

by the beginning teachers from the study. After the additional three year period has

transpired, all mentoring will cease and retention data will be obtained. An 8-item

questionnaire will be sent to the teachers from the study regarding current school

demographics, future plans for teachers in regards to career path, and teacher

mentoring support, effectiveness and experience. After the six year period is

concluded, teachers will be located once more for retention data purposes.

Discussion

The data compiled in the study will be used to formulate a comprehensive

mentoring program that aims to address the four factors listed by Clandinin et. al that

leads to teachers leaving the field of education. It is important that teachers remain in

the field of teaching, particularly in the same school for the duration of their careers;

though there are teachers that will move schools over the course of their time as a

teacher (Olsen, Anderson). Burnout is able to be addressed in mentoring programs by

creating support structures with faculty members and family outside of school settings

(Clandinin et. al; Bieler, Fink). Resilience is achieved through teacher increasing

teacher initiative and agency (Bieler, Fink). Demographic features can be overcome by

increasing PCK and choosing teaching contracts that are viable for beginning teachers

(Achinstein, Fogo; Bieler, Fink). Family characteristics such as raising offspring and

garnering support for the career choice of teaching can be addressed through creating

an identity that encompasses both home and school life (Bieler, Fink; Olsen, Anderson).

However, these separate mentor programs and methods fail to collectively address all

of the problems that plague new teachers in their initial years in the classroom.

Creating a mentoring program that aims to address the four factors, while

combining the methods of other researchers into a comprehensive program to create

teachers that will remain in the field beyond the beginning five year period. This is the

purpose of this research proposal, though there are limitations that can be found in the

study. First, the scale of the sample material in terms of sample size is small in

comparison to some other studies found in the research community. There is also an

intensive use of the resources applied to the study, namely the mentoring teachers

dedicated to the fostering of beginning teachers. The commitment of two years of

allocated time to only mentoring new teachers could be taxing, and some may leave the

study, creating a need to acquire and introduce new mentors to the program. Though it

is in the purpose of the program, the sample teachers may leave the program,

decreasing the amount of data collected in the meeting sessions over the course of the

two years. Locating the teachers at the conclusion of the program may also be

problematic, if there is difficulty in obtaining addresses, and the returning of the

corresponding questionnaires for retention and qualitative data purposes could have

decreased significance with less feedback. The proposed mentoring methods employed

in the study may be ineffective, or vary greatly between mentor and beginning teacher,

making analysis and collaboration of results difficult. There is also the issue of different

schools requiring different approaches, such as the demographic and resource

variations between urban, suburban and rural schools.

There can also be a need for further research after this study. Discovering best

practices for mentors to follow is invited, as the creation of a more universal mentoring

program requires large amounts of qualitative and quantitative data in terms of

feedback. There are also several factors that cannot be overcome through mentoring

programs, such as salary freezes and federal or state mandates in terms of budgetary

constraints, understanding how they cause teachers to leave the field and solutions to

these problems is invited in further research. I recommend further creation of mentor

programs that address the issues new teachers face to become more aware of methods

to improve the school environment for teachers. Future research on each of the

individual factors is also important in creating programs that can address and solve the

corresponding challenges for teachers at the conclusion of this study.

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