Teachers’ Opinions on Professional Support Measures for Novice Teachers in Latvia

Abstract

Retention of teachers in education system is a serious problem in Latvia. This is a challenging issue, especially for novice teachers. Professional support measures such as mentoring, in-service training or emotional support are crucial for novice teachers to remain and continue working in school. The aim of this research is to explore opinions of Latvian teachers about professional support measures that are both available and needed to be introduced for novice teachers. This paper presents a part of the research results which were obtained during an on-line survey (N=1258) conducted by the Latvian Trade Union of Education and Science Employees in 2018. The questionnaire comprised the statements on following measures of professional support: methodological, financial, material and technological. The statements were assessed by using 5-point symmetric Likert scale (strongly agree, slightly agree, neither agree nor disagree, slightly disagree, strongly disagree). The results witness about regional disparities mainly between the capital city Riga and other regions: there are statistically significant (p<0.05) differences in opinions of the teachers representing different regions of the country. The respondents agree that there is a lack of well-structured and uniform support system for novice teachers at national level. In many schools a mentoring is not provided at all, or mentoring is not a paid activity for those who support novice teachers. In general, the teachers are positive about availability of an emotional support and in-service training in the school they work. The most critical opinions are about material and financial support that novice teachers can access. The authors conclude that different professional support measures are available for novice teachers in Latvia, however, there is no support system in place to address which functions and support measures should be implemented at national, municipal or school level. Policy makers should focus on national teachers' support guidelines which would allow schools to ensure the most appropriate environment for novice teachers so that they would like to continue their careers in teaching profession.