Date of Award

Spring 5-2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Dr. Paul Wright

Second Advisor

Dr. Jill Hutcheson

Third Advisor

Dr. Twanna Cooks-Allen

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine if mentoring plays an important role on new teachers staying in the field of education at the school to which the original position was given. The targeted school is an inner-city charter school in St. Louis, Missouri, where teacher attrition is typically high. Since charter schools do not offer the same three year contracts as traditional public schools, teachers are challenged with the fire at-will clause that is in many charter school contracts. Many new teachers are not secure in the position in which they have attained and often leave the charter school for a traditional public school position or leave education altogether. The purpose of the study was to determine if there is a relationship between mentoring and teacher retention. This study examined mentoring as a whole, mentoring components and challenges of mentoring in an inner-city school. Information was gathered using two Likert-scale surveys with some open-ended questions. Survey research was used to measure mentoring program effectiveness on the first or second year experience. A focus group was also conducted to confirm if mentoring was the component that actually helped the first and second year teachers. All teachers must complete thirty hours of mentoring which is mandated by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This is one of the steps new teachers must complete in order to get the next professional certification. The study consisted of 15 first and second year teachers. One of the participants was eliminated due to termination. Of the current study, thirteen of the fourteen participants returned surveys and 6 of the fourteen participated in a focus group. In the 2007-2008 school year, only 24.2 % of the first and second year teachers returned to the iii school. In the 2008-2009 school year, 73% of the first and second year teachers returned. The information shows an increase of 49% in one year. In fact, mentoring plays a positive role in the retention of teachers. Mentoring is one of the most humanized random act of kindness that any school or district can provide to their first and second year teachers.

Rights

Copyright 2010

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