A Pan-Canadian Document Analysis Study: Understanding the Role of Teacher Induction and Mentoring Programs in Teacher Attrition and Retention
- Benjamin Kutsyuruba
- Lorraine Godden
- Ian Matheson
- Keith Walker
September 2016
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The high teacher attrition rates have caught the attention of policy makers and educational leaders at the international arena: in many countries, teachers abandon the profession in their first two to five years, feeling depressed and discouraged. Despite the persistence of this phenomenon for almost two decades, no recent pan-Canadian statistics or comprehensive reviews are available. As education is a provincial/territorial responsibility in Canada, with attendant variations in school systems and policies, responses to such concerns tend to be compartmentalized and often remain unavailable for other jurisdictions.
This report updates an earlier version published in 2013 to reflect recent changes to new and beginning teacher programing and support. In particular we report on: (a) the organization and mandates of teacher induction programs in each jurisdiction of Canada; (b) the role of mentorship as an aspect of teacher induction programs in each jurisdiction; and, (c) the mandated roles, duties, and responsibilities of school administrators in teacher induction and mentorship processes in each jurisdiction. Our investigation involved three phases as follows:
- We defined our search terms, set selection criteria, and established the project process and task assignment;
- We undertook the search, location, and acquisition of relevant documents;
- We reviewed all collected documents, eliminated irrelevant documents, and analyzed according to relevance to the research questions. A total of 120 documents were identified as revised or new documents and were subsequently added to this report.
Similar to our report of 2013, the following observations emerged from the data analysis:
- Evidence of mentoring and induction support for beginning teachers was found at four different levels
- Provincially mandated/ministry level support.
- Provincial teacher association/federation/union level support.
- Hybrid programs (i.e., universities and teacher associations collaboration).
- Decentralized programs (school district level support).
- Composition of programs varied despite classification of provision.
- Evidence of three different types of provision to support beginning teachers were found:
- Induction and mentoring support.
- Teacher induction support only.
- Mentoring support only.
- School administrator role was inconsistently identified across all locations.
- Mentoring was seen in all
- Some programs provided a rationale for their provision that was supported by academic theory.
Keywords:
Early-career attrition; teacher retention; teacher induction; mentorship; Canada; principal
Early Career Teacher Attrition and Retention: A Pan-Canadian Document Analysis Study of Teacher Induction and Mentoring Programs
Benjamin Kutsyuruba
Lorraine Godden
Leigha Covell (Tregunna)
December 2013
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The high teacher attrition rates have caught the attention of policy makers and educational leaders at the international arena: in many countries, teachers abandon the profession in their first two to five years, feeling depressed and discouraged. Despite the persistence of this phenomenon for almost two decades, no recent pan-Canadian statistics or comprehensive reviews are available. As education is a provincial/territorial responsibility in Canada, with attendant variations in school systems and policies, responses to such concerns tend to be compartmentalized and often remain unavailable for other jurisdictions.
This report outlines an exploratory, pan-Canadian document analysis study that examined: (a) the organization and mandates of teacher induction programs in each jurisdiction; (b) the role of mentorship as an aspect of teacher induction programs in each jurisdiction; and, (c) the mandated roles, duties, and responsibilities of school administrators in teacher induction and mentorship processes in each jurisdiction. Our investigation involved three phases as follows:
- We defined our search terms, set selection criteria, and established the project process and task assignment;
- We undertook the search, location, and acquisition of relevant documents. A total of 291 documents were collected;
- We reviewed all collected documents, eliminated irrelevant documents, and analyzed according to relevance to the research questions. A total of 131 documents were analyzed.
The following observations emerged from the data analysis:
- Evidence of mentoring and induction support for beginning teachers was found at four different levels:
- Provincially mandated/ministry level support.
- Provincial teacher association/federation/union level support.
- Hybrid programs (i.e., universities and teacher associations collaboration).
- Decentralized programs (school district level support).
- Composition of programs varied despite classification of provision.
- Evidence of three different types of provision to support beginning teachers were found:
- Induction and mentoring support.
- Teacher induction support only.
- Mentoring support only.
- School administrator role was inconsistently identified across all locations.
- Mentoring was seen in all
- Some programs provided a rationale for their provision that was supported by academic theory.
Keywords:
Early-career attrition; teacher retention; teacher induction; mentorship; Canada; principal
Early Career Teachers 