Year

2026

Season

Summer

Paper Type

Doctoral Dissertation

College

Silverfield College of Education and Human Services

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)

Department

Education

Committee Chairperson

Dr. Rachelle Curcio

Second Advisor

Dr. Christian Winterbottom

Third Advisor

Dr. Amanda Pascale

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Meghan Parkinson

Fifth Advisor

Dr. Jennifer Shepard

Department Chair

Dr. Kristi Sweeney

College Dean

Dr. Daniel Dinsmore

Abstract

Teacher shortages have increased in the past two decades, creating greater emphasis on recruitment, talent development, and retention efforts for educational leaders. Novice educators feature prominently in these considerations. A teacher’s first years can be extremely challenging, and induction, the professional learning experiences specific to early career professionals, is often considered the answer. Despite the seeming ubiquity of induction, there is much variability in interpretation, enactment and outcomes. While it is generally accepted that some induction is better than no induction, new teachers deserve more intentionally designed support.

This study sought to reexamine assumptions about induction, adding to the literature by centering novice teacher’s voices within the research. Specifically, it set out to identify which components of a comprehensive induction program novice teachers engaged with and how these interactions influenced their perceptions of support. This research employed a sequential explanatory mixed methodology to integrate the results and findings from two phases, with teacher interviews offering explanations for survey results. Participants illustrated how needs motivated their engagement with induction, and how their experiences of growth were foundational to perception of support. It is noted that specific kinds of collaboration were instrumental facilitators of growth. The results and findings offer insight into critical considerations for educational leaders supporting novice teachers.

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