Surviving and Thriving: A Description of the Experiences of Teachers and Mentors during a California Induction Program

Beginning teachers’ success in School District A (in Southern California) was developed during their participation in the districts Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) Induction Program. BTSA was established to create support to all preliminary credential candidates during their early stages of teaching in classrooms throughout California (Breaux & Wong, 2003; Marquez-Lopez & Oh, 2010; Moir, 2003). The induction program at School District A in the Inland Empire was developed during the passage of California Senate Bill 2042. The primary goal of the induction program is to provide ongoing training, support, and retention to beginning teachers to become qualified, capable, and effective teachers (Breaux et al., 2003). This mixed methods study examined beginning teachers’ experiences during an induction program. The primary purpose was to gain insight into which aspects of the program are the most supportive and which areas need improvement. Using the theoretical framework of Lev Vygotsky (1978) and Malcolm Knowles (1980), a case study methodology was used to research educators’ induction experiences in School District A. Literature review consists of research on mentoring, induction programs, new induction program standards and professional development. Survey data were collected from 56 teacher candidates and 24 mentors. Following the survey, 14 participants maintained interest in a further group interviews. The findings of the study reveal that teacher candidates grew to accept the induction program and become more accommodating of School District A’s Induction Program over time. Furthermore, the findings indicated Districts A’s success through the qualities of mentorship, collaborations, online portfolio, choice on professional learning, and program modifications