This study investigated the relationship between teachers\u27 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\u27 age; teachers grade level taught; teachers\u27 school district size; training and support provided to teachers in their first years of teaching; participation by teachers in mentoring and induction programs; teachers\u27 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\u27 years of experience, grade level taught, and graduate level credits attained, and the variables of measure for teachers\u27 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\u27 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
