Miller, Shawn Addison
(2020)
An Examination of Practices in an Approved Private Special Education School: A Focus on Induction Programming.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Increases in identification of students with special needs have brought increases in the number of new special education teachers nationwide (Billingsley, 1993). The retention of these teachers is a challenge for administrators (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2000). Research reveals that 14% of new career teachers will leave the field of education within five years (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). Teacher induction programs are one system addressing the crisis of retention. The purpose of this case study was to investigate participants’ perceptions of effective practices and challenges encountered as part of induction program implementation at a specific approved private school. This case study also asked what recommendations the participants would make to improve the current program. Participants were five new and six mentor special education teachers, as well as the Induction Coordinator. They each participated in a survey and an interview. In this qualitative study, the researcher analyzed and coded the data as themes and patterns that were revealed from the participants’ responses. Major themes that emerged included: mentor-mentee pairing, collaboration, access to information, communication from administration, the resource of time and acknowledgement of mentors. Participants provided both examples of effective practices, as well as challenges that existed within these themes. Participants further engaged in creating suggestions to improve elements of the program that they felt posed challenges for the new teachers and their mentors. The study concludes with recommendations to the induction committee for improvements to its current induction program.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
2 September 2020 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
10 June 2020 |
| Approval Date: |
2 September 2020 |
| Submission Date: |
11 July 2020 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
135 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Instruction and Learning |
| Degree: |
EdD - Doctor of Education |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Teacher Attrition, Teacher Attrition, Mentoring, Induction Program |
| Date Deposited: |
02 Sep 2020 15:21 |
| Last Modified: |
02 Sep 2020 15:21 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/39261 |
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