Survival of the fittest: Perceptions of the effectiveness of California's Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Induction Program

Beginning teachers' success in the San Ramon Unified School District (in Northern California) was developed during their participation in the district's Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) Induction Program. Over the past decade, BTSA had been perceived as a duplication of pre-service course work; so much so, new teachers did not appreciate or value the benefits of what BTSA Induction had to offer. The purpose of this study was to examine how successfully beginning teachers were supported during their first two years of teaching while participating in BTSA. This study examined how mandated changes from SB 1209 impacted the effectiveness of the program. The focus was twofold: to explore what factors influenced BTSA Induction and to gather and analyze the perceptions of eight second year new teachers and four full time mentors as to the effectiveness of their BTSA Induction experience. Qualitative research methodology was used to explore the effectiveness of induction from the participants' perceptions. The study consisted of a review of the literature, examining the district's teacher retention data, and by conducting inter-active dialogues with mentors and beginning teachers. These dialogues provided personal and reflective perspectives that added to the knowledge base of what constitutes an effective induction program; one that enhances and extends the habits of mind of life-long learning. The findings of this study indicated that successful induction programs possess the following qualities: (a) mentor support and guidance, (b) collaboration/collegial networking, (c) required paperwork, (d) staff development/meetings, (e) program modifications, (f) duplication of pre-service course work, (g) developing the leadership role of mentors, and (h) future recommendations for the district. Conclusions drawn from this research indicated the district was implementing a highly successful induction experience for new teachers, as well as its mentors (veteran teachers)