Induction of beginning teachers through mentoring

Statistics indicate that approximately fifteen percent of all new teachers will leave the profession after their first year of teaching, thirty percent during the first two years, and forty to fifty percent will abandon teaching altogether during the first seven years. Those high in academic skills are bailing out and choosing other careers at alarming rates (Emrick, 1989; Henry, 1988; Schlechty & Vance, 1983). The accomplishments and commitments of many of the teachers who remain in the profession tend to deteriorate after the initial years of survival (Rosenholtz, 1989). To prevent this trend from continuing, programs must be designed to prepare, nurture, and support those entering the teaching profession (Gold, 1989)