More than a mentor

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The number of early career teachers leaving the profession continues to be an ongoing issue across the globe. This pressing concern has resulted in increased attention to the instructional and psychological conditions necessary to retain early career educators. However, less formal attention has been paid to the social infrastructure in which early career teachers find themselves. The purpose of this paper is to foreground the role of social capital and its effect on job attitudes and educators' intention to leave the profession. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected from 736 teachers within ten secondary schools in Flanders (Belgium). Using social network and multilevel moderated mediation analysis techniques, the relationships between teachers' social connectedness, job attitudes, and the intention to leave the profession for both novice and experienced teachers were analyzed. Findings -Findings indicate that being socially connected to other educators within the school is associated with a reduction in teachers' intention to leave the profession, mediated by their job attitudes, for both early career and experienced teachers. However, social connectedness was significantly more important for early career teachers. No significant effects are found for being socially connected to the mentor. Originality/value -This study provides evidence for the importance of social capital for teachers, particularly early career educators. Moreover, by introducing teachers' social connectedness as related to intention to leave, this study makes a significant and unique contribution to the literature.

Connecting theory with practice: Time to explore social reality and rethink resilience among health professionals

“…Staff who have a sense of belonging to the group, and feel valued as part of the team, are socially connected. Evidence points to this being a predictor of resilience, which may mitigate the effects of stress and burnout (Hurley et al, 2014;Seppala, Hutcherson, Nguyen, Doty, & Gross, 2014;Struyve et al, 2016). This collective approach not only benefits staff but also impacts significantly on the care of patients and their families (Hall, Johnson, Watt, Tsipa, & O'Connor, 2016;Panagioti, Geraghty, & Johnson, 2018).…”

Unpacking the dynamics of collegial networks in relation to beginning teachers’ job attitudes

“…A social take on teachers' first years in the profession Crucial in influencing these teachers' job attitudes, and their decisions to remain in or leave the job, are the professional relationships with and support from their colleagues (Fox and Wilson 2015;Struyve et al 2016). Specifically, collegial support is found to be important to help beginning teachers deal with experienced difficulties in the first years of practice (Papatraianou and Le Cornu 2014;Struyve et al 2016). Conversely, without support, beginning teachers often quit their job (Rippon and Martin 2006).…”

“…Several studies (e.g. Ibarra and Andrews 1993;Struyve et al 2016) have found that being socially tied and as such being central in the team, positively influences job attitudes and employees' decisions to remain in the profession.…”

“…Job attitudes, known as teachers' feelings, thoughts, and beliefs regarding the profession and the workplace (George and Jones 1999), are found to be factors inhibiting teachers from early drop out (Struyve et al 2016). In turn, receiving support from colleagues to grow professionally and to develop appropriate competencies (Snoeck et al 2010) is considered to have an important influence on these job attitudes, and in extension, teachers' decision to remain in or leave the profession (Struyve et al 2016).…”

“…Although there are quantitative studies highlighting the importance of social relations for beginning teachers (e.g. Struyve et al 2016), to the best of our knowledge, not a single study has used a follow-up and mixed-method perspective on the dynamics of teachers' relations over time, and if and how they influence beginning teachers' job attitudes. Adding qualitative data to quantitative information can shed light on teachers' subjective meaning of ties, and the processes that constitute the dynamics of networks (Crossley et al 2015).…”