The induction period bridges teacher education and professional practice, serving as a key socialization process into teaching. Research highlights the role of organizational context in supporting novice teachers’ integration, showing that effective organizational socialization enhances satisfaction, belonging, and retention (Symeonidis et al., 2023; Van der Pers & Helms-Lorenz, 2021).

Many teacher induction programs have been developed and implemented in recent years across diverse educational contexts. These programs vary along several dimensions, including primary responsibility (e.g., state supervision, local authorities, or individual schools), regulatory status (compulsory or voluntary), and duration, ranging from a few months to three years (Howe, 2006; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). Despite this variation, induction programs generally aim to provide a structured process of professional development that supports novice teachers in their transition toward effective professional practice (Reeves et al., 2022; Symeonidis et al., 2023). Support mechanisms commonly include mentoring, collegial assistance, and professional workshops. However, although the beginner phase is generally acknowledged to span 3-5 years, most research on teachers’ induction has focused on the first year

This study intends to examine the mechanisms within the induction period that foster teacher retention. Focusing on novice teachers’ experiences during their first two years in the profession, the study conceptualizes the entry phase through a reception-integration model that offers a holistic understanding of how induction contributes to the decision to remain in the profession.

The first-year centers on the reception phase into the education system and has been widely examined in research on induction effectiveness (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011; Kutsyuruba et al., 2019). This stage is often described as a “survival phase,” marked by the challenges of navigating school contexts. Accordingly, the reception process aims to familiarize novice teachers with organizational culture, relationships, and procedures, thereby supporting their initial integration into the school setting.

The second year of induction focuses on the integration process into the education system. Although this stage remains challenging, teachers enter it with greater professional maturity, having acquired familiarity with the school environment, organizational culture, pedagogical practices, and key professional partners, including students, parents, and colleagues. During this phase, they still need support. Following the job demands-resources model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007), integration involves the interplay of two psychological processes: job motivation and job strain. Job motivation is shaped by the satisfaction of basic psychological needs: autonomy, belonging, and self-efficacy (Deci and Ryan, 2000), while job strain is associated with stress and burnout (Pyhältö et al., 2021). The model suggests that adequate resources and support enhance motivation, reduce burnout, and promote successful integration and teacher retention. Another indicator of teachers’ organizational integration is their intention to assume leadership roles, reflecting professional commitment, responsibility, and interest in long-term career development within the education system (Avidov-Ungar, 2016).

Drawing on organizational socialization theory and the job demands-resources model, the present study examines how second-year novice teachers’ reception experiences, reflected in satisfaction with the support received, and their integration into educational organizations, as indicated by motivation, burnout, and interest in leadership roles, interact to predict intentions to remain in the profession.

Research questions:

1. How do second-year novice teachers perceive their reception and integration experiences during the first two years of teaching?
2. Are the reception and integration experiences directly associated with second-year NQTs’ perseverance intentions?
3. Do the integration experiences serve as mediators between the reception experiences and the intentions to persevere?

Context: The Israeli induction program was established by the Ministry of Education in 1999 and became compulsory in 2000. The program spans three years and is based on collaboration between schools and teacher education institutions. During the first two years, novice teachers receive mentoring support and participate in academic workshops at colleges or universities, with the intensity of support typically decreasing in the second year. The third year focuses on continued integration into the education system and completion of the evaluation process. Successful completion of the induction program leads to certification, including a teaching license after the first year and tenure after three years. Research in the Israeli context indicates that comprehensive support during the induction period contributes to novice teachers' integration and intentions to remain in the profession (Zavelevsky et al., 2022). Nevertheless, attrition rates among Israeli novice teachers in the first two years in the profession remain high (Weissblai, 2023). Participants: The participants were 260 (83% women) Israeli teachers. At the end of the 2022-2023 academic year, novice teachers attending the second-year induction workshops were invited to complete the anonymous online research survey. Participation was voluntary, and the research was approved by the authors’ Institutional Ethic Committee. Research instrument: The study employed an anonymous questionnaire. The instrument underwent a four-stage validation process: initial versions were reviewed by induction coordinators, policymakers, and professional experts; a revised version was then piloted with second year novice teachers, and the results informed final revisions to ensure the questionnaire’s validity. Data analysis Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistical methods. In addition, multivariate analyses were performed, including linear regression and structural equation modeling.

The second-year teachers who participated in the study were generally satisfied with the support they received from their educational organization (school, kindergarten, or preschool) and with their absorption therein. Two-thirds of them expressed their intention to remain in the education system for the next five years. Nonetheless, this means that over 33% intend to leave the profession. Structural equation modeling supports the reception-integration model of socialization into teaching: Teachers' overall level of satisfaction with their reception mitigates teachers' burnout and indirectly increases teachers' intentions to remain in the profession. Integration components, namely high level of motivation, low level of burnout, and positive intentions to take leadership roles, are dominant in the decision to persevere. Conversely, teachers' burnout, need for intensive support, and limited interest in advancement to leadership positions within school are indicators of increased risk of attrition. The reception-integration model, as suggested in the current study, illustrates a developmental trajectory from initial reception through organizational integration to potential advancement within the education system. Furthermore, it aligns with and integrates previous research findings (Reeves et al., 2020; Symeonidis et al., 2023; Zavelevsky et al., 2022) by identifying key factors that promote novice teachers' retention throughout the induction period, as well as potential risk factors.

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