A Matter Of Retention: The Essential Pieces Of Comprehensive Induction As Seen Through The Eyes Of Novice Urban Elementary Schoo

A substantial amount of research exists and was reviewed on why teachers leave the teaching profession and/or why they leave one school to teach at another school. Significantly less research exists on why teachers remain in an urban school and what they view as being the essential pieces of teacher induction. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the body of knowledge by identifying the key pieces of induction that influence teachers, with three or less years of experience in an urban school, to remain teachers in their school. A case study design was utilized in this research in order to gain an in-depth understanding of what these teachers view as being the essential pieces of induction. In response to the larger problem stated here, I have organized my dissertation around three separate, but related manuscripts: 1. The first manuscript is a literature review on the essential pieces of comprehensive induction focusing on urban settings and the role that administrators play in novice urban teacher retention. The essential pieces of induction were identified through the literature as being effective administration, mentoring, formative evaluation, empowerment, and professional development. 2. The second manuscript is an exploration into the need for school-university partnerships through the results of a questionnaire on a one time professional development held at the university. The questionnaire results demonstrated the novice urban teachers\u27 beliefs that professional development positively impacted their instructional practices, yet did not report that professional development would have a positive influence on their students\u27 standardized test scores. 3. The third manuscript is a case study of Brookstay Elementary, an urban school successfully retaining novice urban teachers. This case study gives specific examples of how the essential pieces of comprehensive induction are seen through the eyes of novice urban teachers as well as provides evidence for the importance of building a positive school culture in order to retain novice urban teachers