Novice Educator Perceptions of the Influences of A New Teacher Mentoring Program in A Hard to Staff School

Abstract Supporting and retaining new teachers is an ever-growing challenge faced by school districts across the nation (Anhorn, 2008; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011; Lieberman, Saxl, & Miles, 1988; Lorti, 1975). One way that many schools approach this opportunity to support new teachers is through teacher mentoring programs (Goldrick, 2016; Gray & Gray, 1985; Moody, 2009; Strong & Baron, 2004). as school leaders implement mentoring programs, it is important to know whether the programs are meeting their stated goals (Stufflebeam & Shinkfield, 2007). The purpose of this program evaluation was to look at the perceived influence of a teacher mentoring program upon novice educators within a single hard-to-staff school in an urban neighborhood within a school district in Virginia. Specifically, 10 novice educators were interviewed regarding the influence of the various components and activities of a mentoring program upon their teacher self-efficacy as well as upon their plans for continuing to teach within that school. Interview data revealed teachers felt supported by mentors but the changes in practice and in their own self-efficacy occurred when they observed peers who successfully managed classroom discipline or when they applied strategies learned through induction programs. Interviews also revealed that a mentoring program had little impact upon new teachers’ decisions to remain at a particular school or in a specific school district. Recommendations include ensuring that all new educators—including late hires—receive a mentor, strongly recommending opportunities for peer observations, targeting hard to staff school mentors with coaching and additional training, and providing earlier and more varieties of training opportunities for new teachers in classroom management