Enhancing First-Year Teacher Capacity Through Ongoing Relationships

Abstract

This chapter investigates first-year teachers' development and how participating in a teacher education faculty-led mentoring program accelerated their transition from student to teacher. Traditional teacher induction involves pairing a veteran teacher with a first-year teacher and completing activities, mainly at the start of the school year. High teacher turnover indicates this approach to induction is insufficient and fails to mirror theories of teacher development. Authors use a case study approach to understand how faculty and graduates' relationships bridge the transition to the teaching profession. Field notes and interviews with teachers now in their second year inform the study. Data reveal that teachers used meetings to reflect and be vulnerable with facilitators, which allowed them time to find their allies in the schools. Authors propose solutions including developing PK-12 and teacher education partnerships and future research further investigating the long-term influence relationships-based mentoring has on teacher retention.