School-Based Induction of Novice Secondary Teachers: Identifying Effective Practices and Their Implications for School Reform

• In Event: Park Central Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring Identity and Support for Teachers: An Organizational Perspective

Abstract

Multiple studies show that teacher induction programs improve teacher retention, teaching practice, and/or student learning. Exactly what secondary schools should do to support novice teachers is less clear. Feiman-Nemser and Birkeland’s (2012) “Continuum of Practices for Promoting School-Based Induction” offers six features of K-12 schools that support novice teachers. This paper juxtaposes extant scholarship with two cases of novice teachers working in reforming high schools to argue that these six features are necessary but insufficient for secondary teachers, who also need: interaction with same-subject peers; a manageable workload; and opportunities to learn about specific students, families, and communities. The cases also suggest that whole-school reform can both support and undercut novice teacher induction; reformers should attend to novice teacher induction.

Author

• Thomas H. Levine, University of Connecticut