Session Information
10 SES 03 C, Research on Teacher Induction and Early Career Teachers
Paper Session
Contribution
The recognition of induction as a key element in the professional development emerged in recent years from the increased awareness of the need to support newly qualified teachers. As a result, several countries have developed programs to support teachers in the beginning of their teaching career (Killeavy & Murphy, 2006).
After several years recognizing but not implementing induction, the Portuguese Ministry of Education introduced a compulsory probationary year in 2009/10 for teachers holding, for the first time, a four year position, in a specific subject area (Mathematics, for example) and/or level of education (preschool, primary and secondary), in either private or public schools, and less than five years of teaching experience. The probationary period was one year long, for teachers with completed initial teacher education, taking place in the same school where they were teaching. The teachers were to be supervised by a mentor appointed by the principal, following national guidelines. The implementation of this process was monitored and supported by a team (coordinated by the University of Aveiro) invited by the Ministry of Education. One of the main aims of the team was to train mentors throughout the year, in articulation with tasks and demands set both by the teachers' evaluation process and normal school year functioning.
The training program, focusing on supervision and specific tasks, was developed to support the 81 mentors of the 76 schools involved. The training team was divided in 5 groups, for 5 geographical regions. The scheduling of the sessions throughout the school year allowed supporting the relevant phases of the supervision process, specifically: initial diagnosis and orientation of an individual work plan for each probationary teacher (scientific, pedagogic and didactic dimensions); the observation and reflective analysis of teaching; and finally the evaluation report. The training was planned and implemented in close proximity to actual tasks being developed by mentors with probationary teachers to make the processes relevant and meaningful and to engage mentors in knowledge building during the training sessions. Each session introduced guidelines for the task at hand, materials for discussion (research, examples, etc.) and asked for presentation of actual products developed between mentor and probationary teacher which received systematic feedback and was afterwards shared in the group. This way, in each session problems and good practices were discussed thus supporting the building of knowledge between the group.
This paper will focus on supervision and its contribution for the professional development of teachers within the context of the first implementation of the probation year in Portugal. It is our aim to understand: what was the importance of the mentors’ role in this process? How and to what extent did the training program contributed to support their role as supervisors? If and how did mentors’ action contributed for the professional development of the teachers in probation? What specificities are identifiable in the Portuguese context against induction and probation processes in other European countries (European Commission, 2010)?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
European Commission (2010). Developing coherent and system-wide induction programmes for beginning teachers: a handbook for policymakers. European Commission. Killeavy, M., & Murphy, R. (Orgs.) (2006). National pilot project on teacher induction. Dublin: Stationery Office Dublin. McNally, J. & Oberski, I. (2003). Right at the start: an agenda for research and development in teacher induction. Teacher Development, 7 (1), 59-74.
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