Examining the Effects of Teacher Induction & Support on New Teacher Retention in Urban Schools

Teacher retention is a serious concern in our country and around the world. Current teacher shortages result from fewer students entering education programs while high numbers of teachers choose to leave the profession. Ultimately, the most significant impact of the lack of highly qualified teachers is on our students who do not have the opportunity to receive an equitable education. The project included two iterations of interventions to provide teachers who were new to an elementary school currently in the bottom 5% of the state with support to build self-efficacy with instructional strategies and classroom management. The first iteration focused on an induction system that provided teachers with a mentor, an assigned administrator, and an instructional coach. The new teachers chose the problems of practice they needed to work on, so the support was personalized. The second iteration allowed new teachers to develop proficiency in instructional strategies and classroom management while also focusing on their mental health and well-being. This study used improvement science as a methodology and mixed methods to test the effectiveness of an induction system on improving teachers’ self-efficacy to lead to retention. I collected data from surveys, interviews, and virtual walkthroughs. The qualitative and quantitative data collected leads to a connection between providing a strong induction system with varying levels of support for teachers and building self-efficacy. This study suggests new teachers in the specific context were more likely to stay in their current position when they felt supported in building self-efficacy. Relationships with mentor teachers and administrators provided new teachers with clear resources for questions. In this study, new teachers\u27 perceptions of their self-efficacy improved, and a greater number of the teachers in the study remained at the school