Teacher retention is a worldwide problem, one which countries in Europe are not immune from (McKenzie et al. 2005). This symposium explores how support for Newly Qualified Teachers in three parts of Europe (Denmark, Malta and Scotland) is designed to reduce the drop-out rate from teaching. We have termed this support ‘footholds’ in what may become a lifelong career in school education. The first years of teaching are a crucial time while NQTs establish themselves in their new career, begin unfamiliar and challenging working patterns, and develop their attitudes to their role and to their work.

While experiences of the induction year will depend on many factors, such as the nature of the school environment, the relationship between the new teacher and mentor (and others), and how the new teacher draws on their Initial Teacher Education to understand their experiences as a new teacher, it is useful to consider what difference a structured national induction scheme makes in this pivotal period of development. Ashby et al. (2008) reported that regular observation, feedback sessions, appropriate non-contact time, a positive school ethos towards professional growth, and support for mentors all contribute to new teacher retention and provide a bridge from being a student teacher to a new teacher and from induction to early professional learning. Exposure to these conditions may enhance teacher retention and teacher motivation in the longer term (ibid). 

In Scotland a national Teacher Induction Scheme was introduced in 2002 with the aim of supporting new teachers, giving them the opportunity for personal and professional growth and to provide continuity of employment in the first part of their teaching career (General Teaching Council for Scotland, 2012). In this symposium, research on the employment, recruitment and retention rates for new teachers in Scotland will be presented. Analysis of data collected from official reports by the General Teaching Council for Scotland and other publicly available data will be presented, including whether any particular characteristics impact on new teacher drop-out rates, for example, age, gender, disability or ethnicity.

The induction programme in Malta has been in place since 2010 and is principally based on the support NQTs receive from their mentor, a member of the School Management Team and their College Principal. The institutional programme and what it aims to achieve is assessed against the reflections of a number of Teacher Mentors who were given the role of supporting an NQT in their school for one scholastic year. Based on these reflections, the author evaluates whether the aims which the programme claims to achieve are being reached and whether the approach which Teacher Mentors take, based on a reflective practitioner model, is serving as an opportunity to have strengths and success recognized, problems accurately diagnosed and areas for development identified.

Unlike Scotland and Malta, Denmark does not have any kind of national arrangement concerning induction programmes or any agreement on how to support newly qualified teachers (NQTs). Teacher induction occurs very arbitrarily and differently in each municipality (Hedegaard 2010). While a national teacher induction programme cannot guarantee uniformity of support it does provide minimum standards and support mechanisms for those entering teaching. The Center for Profession and Education, as part of the program “Mentoring and Counselling”, has established a research project in collaboration with the National Union of Teachers concerning teacher induction programmes in Denmark. The project is called: NQTs’ Possibilities to get a Foothold in a Lifelong Career. The aim of the Danish research project presented in the symposium is the development and piloting of a prototype teacher induction programme. This induction programme will explicitly focus on NQTs’ competencies and career prospects.

Ashby, P., Hobson, A.J., Tracey, L., Malderez, A., Tomlinson, P.D., Roper, T., Chambers, G.N. and Healy, J. 2008. Beginner teachers’ experiences of initial teacher preparation, induction and early professional development: A review of literature, Nottingham, , UK: Department for Children, Schools and Families. General Teaching Council for Scotland (2012) Policy and Guidance – Provisional Registration and Probationary Service. General Teaching Council for Scotland: Edinburgh. Hedegaard-Soerensen, L. (2010) Pædagogiske rum for elever med diagnosen ASF – læreres selvforståelse og praksis (Learning Environments for Pupils diagnosed with ASD – Teachers’ knowing and reasoning in practice). PhD Thesis, University of Aarhus. Ingersoll, R. M. and Strong, M., (2011). The impact of induction and beginning programs for beginning teachers: A critical review of the research. American Education Research Association, 81 (2), pp. 201-233. McKenzie, P., Santiago, P., Sliwka, P. and Hiroyuki, H. (2005) Teachers matter : Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers. Paris: OECD. Available at: http://works.bepress.com/phil_mckenzie/133/