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This paper stems from a broader study that foregrounded an existing mentoring programme against the backdrop of low teacher retention in the South African schooling system. It works from the premise that beginner teachers are exiting the teaching profession within the first three to five years of teaching. This research suggests that one way of addressing low teacher retention is through a formal mentoring programme that will assist in the transition from university graduates into school practitioners. Data was produced through semi-structured individual and group interviews with a principal, two mentors, and two mentees. Theoretically, we drew on the work of Lave & Wenger (1991) whose constructs of Community of Practice (CoP) and Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) were used as analytical tools to frame this study conceptually. The data revealed that beginner teachers come into the profession with marked inadequacies stemming from their initial training at universities which meant that they were insufficiently prepared for the realities of schooling. Furthermore, the data reveals multiple and overlapping CoPs in operation, pointing to viewing mentoring as multidimensional and not only in dyadic terms as a relationship between a mentor and mentee as it has traditionally been viewed.

PurposeThis paper aims to determine the impact of mentorship on the development of self-directedness among beginner teachers in their initial years of teaching.Design/methodology/approachThe researcher adopted a positivist paradigm to explore the situation of concern. Quantitative research was conducted, involving the collection and analysis of numerical data. Two closed-ended structured questionnaires were utilised, derived from the 40-item self-directed learning readiness scale (SDLRS) developed by Fisher and King, and a pre-determined questionnaire by Glazerman focused on the first-year teaching experience, induction and mentoring of beginner teachers.FindingsBeginner teachers merely relying on the knowledge obtained from their studies is insufficient to achieve a satisfactory level of self-directedness when starting a teaching career. Most beginner teachers faced significant challenges in their early years of teaching due to the absence of mentoring support. In addition, most indicated that they resume their teaching duties and rely on their district for general support, guidance and orientation. Finally, the results have shown that mentoring positively impacts beginner teachers’ self-directedness.Research limitations/implicationsThe first limitation was that this study was narrowed to one South Africa University part-time B.Ed honours students working as beginner teachers in different provinces at primary and secondary schools. As a result, the findings of this research might be interpreted by some critics as one-sided and not representative of the views of most beginner teachers in South Africa who are working. The second limitation of this study is the sample size. In this study, 222 responses were received. As a result, the findings of this research might be considered not representative of the target sample size.Practical implicationsThe presence and effective implementation of mentoring programmes in schools can positively impact beginner teachers' professional development and retention during their first years of teaching.Social implicationsWe contend that our research holds significance for international readership as it aims to garner attention towards potential research endeavours in diverse settings concerning mentorship programs for beginner teachers, specifically promoting self-directed learning. Our research offers opportunities to compare our findings with studies conducted in more comprehensive, comparative contexts and foster research possibilities in broader, contrasting contexts.Originality/valueBased on the findings of this research, the availability and effective use of mentoring programmes would significantly affect beginner teachers' self-directedness, improve their retention rate and alleviate their teaching challenges. This study was the first research on the perceptions of the influence of mentoring on the self-directedness of beginner teachers.

The construction of a professional identity is a key element in the transition to the teaching profession, which begins its development at the initial training, especially during professional training courses. Purpose: This article collects the experiences related to the construction of the teaching identity of teachers who graduated from two state universities of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in Chile. Methodology: Interpretative-qualitative research was carried out, framed in a phenomenological design. Semi-structured interviews were applied to 10 teachers who graduated from a course of Primary Education Teaching in 2014 and are still practicing the profession in the school system. Categories and subcategories were created from their tellings, establishing relationships between teacher identity and initial training. Results: This study shows that teachers value their initial training, especially regarding values, discipline, and experiences of training in different contexts as constitutive elements of their professional identity. However, both groups describe unsatisfactory situations experienced as beginner teachers, where they recognized the weaknesses of their initial training for overcoming the complexities of the school context. Conclusions: This study points to the need to strengthen the articulation in the process of training from university onwards and the support of the educational establishment.

This paper presents the outcomes of an innovative induction program designed to support beginner teachers during their first year of teaching. It emphasizes the mentoring strategy and the effectiveness of utilizing genuine pedagogical tools that were specifically developed to address the professional needs of new teachers. The induction program tailored for beginner teachers utilized a pedagogical intervention strategy and differentiated approach to develop a new toolkit for lesson analysis and for individual and group reflective activities developed in the classroom. The induction program provided reflects the professional perspective of a group of mentor trainers involved in the first systemic project that trained the teacher mentors at national level. These trainers developed a pedagogical toolkit that is beneficial for both beginner teachers and mentor teachers. Additionally, the program incorporates a remote mentoring model, which has a significant influence on new teachers’ continuing development.

This article stems from a broader study that foregrounded an existing mentoring programme against the backdrop of low teacher retention in the South African schooling system. It works from the premise that beginner teachers exit the teaching profession within the first three to five years of teaching. This research suggests that one way of addressing low teacher retention is through a formal mentoring programme that will assist in the transition from university graduates into school practitioners. Data were produced through semi-structured individual and group interviews with a principal, two mentors, and two mentees from a purposively sampled high school. Theoretically, we drew on the work of Lave and Wenger (1991) whose constructs of Community of Practice (CoP) and Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) were used as analytical tools to frame this study conceptually. The data revealed that beginner teachers came into the profession with marked shortcomings stemming from their initial training at universities, which meant that they were insufficiently prepared for the realities of teaching at high school level. To overcome this, the data reveal multiple and overlapping CoPs in operation, pointing to viewing mentoring as multidimensional and not only in dyadic terms as a relationship between a mentor and mentee as it has traditionally been viewed.

The main aim of this paper is to explore an approach to beginner teacher induction in a Johannesburg, South Africa education district’s induction programme. It focuses on how the idea of beginner teacher induction is conceptualised by examining the district induction programme’s teaching form and foci. Data were collected through interviews with four district officials coordinating and facilitating the district’s teacher induction programme. While it is apparent that beginner teacher induction is being prioritised due to the pressing need for South African teacher professional development initiatives to work more towards developing and strengthening a repertoire of sound instructional practices. Findings indicate that current teacher induction practices offered by the selected district are somewhat misaligned with this imperative. The teaching form and foci of the districts’ induction programme reveals serious contestation as pressure to perform is exerted rather than supporting teachers early in their careers. The activities therein are evidently more focused on familiarising beginner teachers with legal frameworks that govern and regulate their duties as members of the public service. Although the district induction programme has an overarching aim of developing beginner teachers’ pedagogical practices, upon implementation, the emphasis is on accountability and pressure at the expense of developmental support and capacity building.

Traditionally, teacher credibility has been influenced by how others perceive them. However, exploring teachers’ own perceptions of their credibility through the observation of learner behaviour may prove to be meaningful to teacher credibility. The aim of this study was to explore Intermediate Phase beginner teachers’ perceptions of their own credibility based on displayed learner behaviour in their classrooms. This qualitative study was presented through a case study research design. Eight Intermediate Phase beginner teachers were purposively selected. The data collection techniques used were interviews and observations. Semi-structured interviews and a researcher journal were used as data collection instruments. The data were analysed using inductive thematic data analysis. The conceptual framing of this study was underpinned by a modified theoretical model developed by McCroskey, Valencic and Richmond (2004). The findings showed that teachers’ perceptions of their own credibility were fluid as they engaged with various learners’ behaviour, which was used as a form of feedback during lessons and this feedback impacted teachers’ reactions and decisions to classroom situations. Ultimately, teachers’ perceptions of their own credibility focused on their immediacy, trustworthiness, competence and dynamism displayed in their practices.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify teachers’ conceptions of learning study in order to provide the basis for an application of phenomenography/variation theory (PVT) to the improvement of teachers’ learning about learning study. Design/methodology/approach A phenomenographic study based on semi-structured interviews with 18 beginner teachers of business and economics in England taking part in a learning study during their initial teacher education. Findings The study identified five conceptions of learning study and five associated critical aspects. Results raise questions about the relationship between the process and instructional design elements of learning study. Originality/value The study offers a framework for exploring differences in the quality of learning studies and the relationship between teacher conceptions of learning study and the degree of conceptual change in students in a learning study. It also enables facilitator/researchers to design and manage interventions to develop teacher understanding of learning study that are consistent with the principles of PVT.