Developing Mentor/Induction Year Teacher Dyads in a Generic Special Education Teacher-Training Program

Abstract

First year teaching is a difficult and professionally threatening period in any teacher's career, particularly special education teachers. Many human service fields use mentorship during the novice years for improving job satisfaction and promoting retention. Because of the shortages of certified special education teachers, the value of providing mentors to induction year teachers was explored. The purposes of this pilot study were (a) to examine the perceptions of mentor characteristics, (b) to develop a training workshop, and (c) to gather preliminary data on the effects of mentor/protege training. Results indicated that (a) perceptions of important mentor characteristics changed with training, (b) all novices valued having a mentor, and (c) most mentor/ novice pairs met regularly. The implications and the educational importance of the findings are discussed.