Teacher mentoring: the needs of first year teachers

The purpose of the study was to identify the needs of the first year teachers in one public school district for the 2001-2002 school year. The intern distributed two surveys over the course of the study. The first survey was distributed in the beginning of the school year and the second survey at the end of January. The purpose of the surveys was to determine if the needs of the first year teachers changed over the course of the school year. All of the first year teachers in the intern\u27s school district were identified and sent a survey asking them to participate in the study. The two major research instruments used in the study were surveys and interviews. The purpose of using both instruments was to gather data as accurately as possible in order to identify the needs of the first year teachers. The major findings and conclusions of the study found that there were areas of need that did change and other areas of need that did not change over the course of the school year. Issues related to special education, 504 plans, and classroom management were identified as areas of need for some of the first year teachers