This research project explored the perceptions of school teachers, principals, and college lecturers regarding the challenges, obstacles, and needs faced by beginning teachers in Jamaica, West Indies, and the sources of assistance and support available to them. Interviews with participants indicated that teachers and principals were most…

This document describes the perceptions of participants in the New Brunswick Beginning Teachers' Induction Program (BTIP) for the 1998-99 school year. For the fourth consecutive year, the New Brunswick Department of Education has organized the BTIP in all 12 anglophone districts. The BTIP includes mentor training workshops, district level…

This manual assists American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and National Education Association (NEA) affiliates interested in developing peer assistance and/or peer assistance and review programs in their local sites. The first section provides the context in which these programs are developing and their importance to union efforts to increase…

This article describes the Hunter College/District Four Collaborative Program, an induction program for first-year elementary minority teachers. Through mentoring, counseling, tutoring, and graduate courses, these teachers acquire survival skills, attitudes, and behaviors to help them succeed in an urban multicultural setting. (IAH)

Explores the conceptual basis of teaching in China through the metaphor of teacher as virtuoso performer, with teaching considered an art. Field research results on teacher preparation and elementary and secondary teaching practice are shared. Shortcomings of this teaching model and implications for educational reform are considered. (IAH)

Discusses the importance of sound induction programs for newly qualified teachers and reports on a survey of 61 primary and 36 secondary schools in Wales concerning their policies governing new teachers. The survey found that only 37% of the primary schools claimed to have an induction policy, compared with 83% of the secondary schools. (MDM)

A first-year special education teacher describes the guidance received from the school's educational diagnostician who served as her mentor in conjunction with an internship program of Texas A & M University. The article discusses mentor selection, the internship program, teacher and principal roles, the mentoring process, and its positive…

Describes a first-year teacher's efforts to become a teacher and her experiences of the complex relationships among control, subject matter, and teaching. The article stresses the importance of the institutional context within which the beginner works, noting her relationship with her department head and mentor. (SM)

Presents data from surveys and interviews with 129 beginning secondary teachers (trained, untrained, and partially trained) and a survey of school principals in Hong Kong. Differences between trained and untrained groups indicated a need for preservice training and induction for all beginning teachers. (SM)

Interviews with five beginning teachers in a one-year Alberta internship program revealed that the relationship between intern and supervising teacher determined the intern's identity and status and whether the experience promoted professional development. Interns believed that internship should be integrated into preservice teacher education.…

Using data from 22 students in a year-long teacher certification program, the authors explore the analysis of personal teaching metaphors as a means of facilitating the professional development of beginning teachers. Strengths and weaknesses of the approach are identified, and implications for teacher education are discussed. (SLD)

Describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of an innovative preservice teacher-education program in elementary education in the Inclusive Early Childhood Education Unit at the University of Tennessee. The program includes a three-phase training model, alternative approaches to instructional delivery, local school mentoring, and…

Investigated Japanese beginning teachers' perceptions of their initial teacher preparation and induction. Surveys indicated that teachers gave low ratings to their initial preparation and initial development of knowledge and skills. They believed they gained skills through their work as teachers. First year teachers' perceptions of knowledge,…

A California program permits noncertified teacher interns to serve as special education teachers while enrolled in a preparation program. Interns receive support services from both the university and school district. Three case studies involving intern teachers of students with mild disabilities illustrate the implementation of the program,…

Based on information from interviews with 50 first- and second-year teachers in Massachusetts, proposes a mixed model for the teaching career: one that would be responsive to the needs of both teachers who envision long-term careers and those who envision short-term stays in teaching. Draws implications for teacher recruitment and retention…