Date of Award

Spring 5-2008

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership and Research

Committee Chair

Thelma Roberson

Committee Chair Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Member 2

David Lee

Committee Member 2 Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Member 3

Ronald A. Styron

Committee Member 3 Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Member 4

James T. Johnson

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between teachers' participation in formal induction programs and their subsequent level of professional growth as measured by two variables (graduate level credits/graduate degrees attained) as reported by public school teachers in the State of Wisconsin. In addition, selected demographic variables (teachers' age; teachers grade level taught; teachers' school district size; training and support provided to teachers in their first years of teaching; participation by teachers in mentoring and induction programs; teachers' level of education) were examined for their predictive relationships with teacher induction and professional development.

This study was conducted during the spring of 2007. The participants were 429 teachers randomly chosen from the Department of Public Instruction of the State of Wisconsin database of public school teachers from grades Pre-School to 12th grade and included all levels and content areas. The Blanford - Level of Teacher Induction Scale — 1 (B-LOTIS 1) developed by the researcher, was the survey instrument of this study and was to measure the level of teacher induction experienced by participants. The 40-item questionnaire was developed specifically for this study.

Analysis of data indicated that weak negative linear relationships existed between the variables of teachers' years of experience, grade level taught, and graduate level credits attained, and the variables of measure for teachers' experiences in induction related training and support. Other hypotheses indicated no linear relationships existed for this population. The overall findings of this study were inconclusive in determining if any relationships exist between teacher induction experiences and teachers' subsequent professional development as defined and measured in this present study. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher provides recommendations for further investigation of these topics and practical implication for school administrators.

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