Publication Details
Kearney, S.
(2016).
What happens when induction goes wrong: Case studies from the field.
Cogent Education, 3 (1).
Abstract
Although induction programmes are widely held to alleviate the pressures beginning teachers face early in their careers, what happens when beginning teachers do not receive adequate induction? While the research advocates effective and ongoing induction to acculturate new teachers to their careers, there is little research on the effects of unsuccessful induction on the teachers who undertake such programmes. The author is a long-standing advocate for beginning teacher induction, it is important to note that simply implementing a programme does not guarantee success. While induction practices have become more common in recent years, there are still no mandated structures for inducting teachers into the profession throughout Australia, although guidelines are forthcoming. This article showcases the types of programmes that some schools have implemented in the wake of “mandated” induction and the impacts that these programmes have on the teachers who undertake them. The negative effects on teacher morale and efficacy, when they are not supported in the early years of their careers, are highlighted to justify the importance of effective and ongoing induction. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to understand and interpret the ways in which the participants of the programmes experienced their induction. This analysis along with the content analysis of the interviews with the school’s leadership and a document review of the policies and procedures of induction provided detailed insight into the nature, purpose, strengths and shortcomings of the programmes in question.
Keywords
Australia, induction, beginning teachers
Link to Publisher Version (URL)
http://cogentoa.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1160525
