Date Approved

4-16-2002

Embargo Period

5-16-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. in School Administration

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Johnson, Theodore

Subject(s)

Camden High School (Camden, N.J.); Mentoring in education; Teachers, Probationary

Disciplines

Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to develop a mentor program for novice teachers that will ease the inevitable anxiety that occurs during the first year and increase the retention rate of new teachers to the profession and at Camden High School. The intern monitored this program as its coordinator and conducted mentor training through regular workshops.

Management decisions related to mentoring influenced the quality of instruction and learning of both mentors and novices. Camden High School transmitted the school culture to novice teachers in a well-developed program. Through interviews, surveys, classroom visitations, reflective journals, and personal contact with a mentor, the intern was able to compile data to determine the effectiveness of the program.

It was clear that teacher mentors who participated in this study were forced to analyze their own craft knowledge by making explicit what had become automatic over the years in their teaching. In observing the responses of novice teachers over time, the intern saw that with mentor assistance, things that were of concern to them when the school year began became less of an issue as the year progressed. Camden High School's program will be continued, and according to the participants, it reached its goals.

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