The Influence of School Context Factors on the Induction Support as Perceived by NQTs

• In Event: Key Issues in Induction and Mentoring of NQT: Theory, Policy, and Practice

Abstract

Currently, most secondary schools support newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in The Netherlands often in co-operation with teacher education institutes. This study aims to gain insight into the extent to which the intended guidance intentions of the school are received by the novice teachers, and whether certain demographic characteristics of schools can explain differences in experienced guidance. The insight obtained may provide starting points for improving the guidance offered for specific school contexts.

The basis of the theoretical framework of this study is the assumption that demographic characteristics of schools can lead to different organizational challenges. For example, the size of a school contributes to the way teachers and students interact, and how formalities and procedures are organized (Opdenakker, Van Damme, 2007, Lee, Bryk & Smith, 1993, Fowler & Walberg, 1991). Meeting specific guidance needs in different career phases can be difficult if the composition of the teaching staff requires a lot of customization (Day & Gu, 2007). The composition of the staff also contributes to the learning culture and integration of new teachers in a school (Kardos et al., 2001). The socio-economic composition of the student population also poses specific challenges in mentoring new teachers (Lee, Bryk, & Smith, 1993; Loeb, Darling-Hammond, & Luczak, 2005).

Research questions
To what extent are demographic characteristics of schools related to the type and amount of perceived support for NQT? How do school partnerships that co-operate with teacher education institutes differ from schools that do not participate in such partnerships in this regard?

Teachers participating in induction arrangements (N=2317) were surveyed regarding the type and amount of support activities offered and experienced during the first year. The activities aimed toward workload reduction, school enculturation, professional development and support in the classroom were surveyed with a monitor we developed. For this study, the scores of 1670 teachers were aggregated at the school level, revealing the average number of activities offered by 195 schools. The demographic of the schools were related to these aggregated scores.

Secondary data sources were used to gather school contextual information (DUO, 2015; DUO, 2016; DUO, 2018; SCP, 2014).

Linear regression analyzes (Table 1) show, that schools with multiple locations and pupils, and schools where a larger proportion of NQTs are employed, experience less support. The average age of the teaching staff and the proportion of female teachers also make a difference; an older predominantly male teaching staff is related to less experienced guidance, an older female teaching staff is related to more experienced guidance. Although schools that co-operate with TE institutes offer the same amount of support, contextual properties of the non-co-operating schools have stronger explanatory contextual estimates (Tables 2 and 3).

These insights are relevant for mapping the contextual challenges with regard to perceived support. These findings provide cues to improve NQT induction.

Author

• Michelle Helms-Lorenz, University of Groningen