The role of mentoring, instructional coaching, and reflective professional development in the retention and efficacy of novice teachers : a case study and program evaluation.

The purpose of this explanatory multiple case study and program evaluation was to describe and explain the perceptions and attitudes of new teachers receiving a mentor, instructional coaching services, and reflective development during their first year of teaching at a 6-A public school district in Central Texas versus the perceptions and attitudes of new teachers at the same school district who did not receive those support strategies during their first year of instruction. Although mentoring of novice teachers has become a prevalent component of many induction programs that support beginning educators, quality mentoring, instructional coaching, and reflective professional development is still elusive and public schools continue to suffer from frightening rates of new teacher attrition. Participants in this study included twenty-seven teachers who did not receive formal mentoring strategies during their first year of instruction and twenty-four teachers who did receive formal mentoring strategies during their first year of teaching. Multiple data collection techniques including semi-structured interviews, direct observations of planning sessions, and the collection of questionnaires and artifacts were implemented for purposes of triangulation and to confirm findings through a saturation of data. Constant-comparison, pattern-matching, and cross-case analysis were conducted, and the study yielded an in-depth picture of the role of mentoring, instructional coaching, and reflective professional development on new teacher efficacy and retention