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| | New Teachers’
Experiences of Hiring and Professional Culture:
A New Jersey Survey Study
The Project on the Next Generation of Teachers
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Susan Moore Johnson, Principal Investigator
Susan Kardos & Edward Liu, Co-Investigators
Report
available
This preliminary study of 110 randomly selected first-year and second-year New Jersey teachers in both charter and non-charter schools
examined new teachers' experiences with hiring and professional culture.
Key
Findings
Hiring
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Almost
1/3 of new teachers in New Jersey are hired through a highly decentralized
(i.e., entirely school-based) process; about 1/3 are hired through a highly
centralized (i.e., entirely district-based) process; and the remaining 1/3
are hired through either a moderately-centralized or a
moderately-decentralized process.
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New
teachers in New Jersey have limited interactions with school-based personnel
during the hiring process. This is true for both those who experience
centralized hiring and those who experience decentralized hiring. |
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Charter
school teachers submit a broader range of materials than non-charter school
teachers as part of their applications.
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New
teachers in New Jersey form only moderately-accurate pictures of their
schools prior to accepting their initial teaching positions.
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On
average, new teachers in New Jersey report a moderate to good fit between
their skills, interests, and values and their teaching positions and schools. |
Taken
together, these findings suggest that many schools are not taking full advantage
of decentralized (school-based) hiring and its potential for improving the
amount and quality of information exchanged between those who do the hiring and
teaching candidates.
Professional Culture
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Nearly
3/4 of new teachers were assigned experienced mentors in their first year of
teaching. While new teachers were most likely to select “curriculum and
lesson planning,” “classroom instruction,” and “classroom
management/discipline” as the topics they most frequently discuss with
mentors, only 60% of new teachers report that classroom instruction was
among the top three topics they discussed with their mentors.
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Nearly
all new teachers were observed in their classrooms. However, new teachers
were most likely to be observed by principals and administrator--those
most likely to supervise and evaluate them. They were least likely to be
observed by their mentors or other experienced colleague--those
most likely to support and advise them.
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While
new teachers in New Jersey attend official meetings where teachers discuss
classroom instruction, curriculum, student needs, and school policy or
programs, only 60% of the new teachers surveyed reported discussing
classroom instruction even once every few months.
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On
average, new teachers in New Jersey are generally satisfied with teaching
and their schools. However,
new teachers differentiate between being satisfied with teaching at their
schools and being satisfied with teaching in general.
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When
asked to report on their interaction with their teacher colleagues, 55% of
new teachers in New Jersey say they “usually work alone.” |
Taken
together, these findings suggest that formal mentoring programs, classroom
observations, and official teacher meetings are not providing new teachers with
the support they need at their school sites.
Report:
Conference
Papers:
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to Current Studies
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