Are novice teacher induction programs worthwhile?

By Chenchen Shi, Johns Hopkins University

The first few years of a novice teacher’s career are important, and often accompanied by formalized induction programs aimed at helping teacher development and growth. A new meta-analysis published in the Educational Research Review studied the effects of novice teacher induction programs, in order to better understand how formalized induction programs impact in-service teachers and their students.

In order to meet the criteria for inclusion, studies had to: (1) examine formalized induction and/or mentoring of novice teachers in PK-12 school settings; (2) use experimental, quasi-experimental, or correlational research designs; (3) include enough statistical information to allow for the calculation of effect sizes; (4) be published between 2010 and 2019; (5) be written in English.

A total of 17 studies met these inclusion criteria, consisting of 6 intervention studies and 11 correlational studies. Overall, the random-effects models for both intervention and correlational studies showed positive and statistically significant effect sizes on teacher retention measures, other teacher measures (including self-efficacy, satisfaction, instructional effectiveness, evaluation scores, etc.), and student measures (such as achievement test scores). Additional analyses revealed that the “comprehensiveness” of the induction programs was not a significant predictor of its effects.