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Collegial Support and Novice Teachers Perceptions
Collegial Support and Novice Teachers Perceptions
Collegial Support and Novice Teachers Perceptions
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Ben Pogodzinski
Abstract Using survey data gathered from novice teachers at the elementary and
middle school level across 11 districts, this study examined variation in perceptions
of working conditions related to workload and access to resources and further
identified the association between these perceptions and the quality of support the
novices received from their formal mentors and other colleagues. The findings from
this study indicate that the quality of mentor support is positively associated with
novice teachers’ ability to manage their assigned workload, while the quality of
support from other colleagues is positively associated with novices’ ability to meet
the requirements of their administrative tasks. Novices’ perceptions of the admin-
istrative climate varied little over the course of one school year, and there were only
slight variations in novices’ perceptions based on years of experience and level
taught. Novices did vary significantly from their veteran colleagues in their per-
ceptions of working conditions. The findings from this study have implications for
understanding the role that formal and informal teacher support has in mediating the
expectations and demands of novice teachers’ work, which can then help guide
improvements in novice teacher induction and working conditions.
Introduction
Researchers have shown that teachers often self-select into particular types of
schools based on their individual preferences for work, including location, school/
B. Pogodzinski (&)
Department of Administrative and Organizational Studies, 377 College of Education, Wayne State
University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
e-mail: ben.pogodzinski@wayne.edu
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district reputation (e.g., student success), and working conditions (e.g., pay and
career structure, available resources, student behavior issues, and labor-relations
climate) (Achinstein et al. 2004; Boyd et al. 2005; Hanushek et al. 2004; Lankford
et al. 2002). Over time, through initial teacher-school match or transfer, the least
desirable schools to work in (with regard to working conditions) are often left with
teachers who are the least qualified in terms of measurable characteristics, such as
years of experience (Ballou 2000; Lankford et al. 2002). This is particularly
problematic for hard-to-staff schools, as new teachers have been shown to be less
effective than more senior teachers and are more likely to leave a particular school
or profession—thus continuing the churn of teacher turnover (Boyd et al. 2005;
Hanushek et al. 2004; Rockoff 2004; Smith and Ingersoll 2004).
To help improve working conditions for novice teachers (with the aim of
improving teacher effectiveness and reducing teacher attrition), the majority of
school systems have implemented induction programs to provide these teachers
with resources and supports, largely through professional development and
mentoring programs (Ingersoll and Strong 2011; Strong 2009). Yet, although
school systems often spend thousands of dollars to induct an individual teacher into
the profession and the local context, researchers have reported mixed results
concerning the impact such programs have on teacher effectiveness or retention
(Glazerman et al. 2010; Ingersoll and Strong 2011; Lopez et al. 2004).
In addition to, or in the absence of, formal induction, novice teachers often
receive resources and support from informal colleagues throughout a school. In
other words, novice teachers engage in professional and personal relationships with
colleagues throughout a school in part to help them address problems and concerns
that arise on the job (Feiman-Nemser 2010). These relationships reflect broader
elements of school culture related to expectations for collaboration and collective
responsibility which reflect the norms, values, and accepted modes of professional
practice that exist within a school (Bryk and Schneider 2002; Kardos et al. 2001). At
the school level, these relationships likely mediate the influence of formal induction
and other district policies on novices’ perceptions of their working conditions and
therefore on their practices and future career decisions (Coburn and Russell 2008;
Desimone et al. 2002; Flores and Day 2006; Penuel et al. 2010; Wechsler et al.
2010).
To further our understanding of novices’ working conditions and support
networks, the analysis presented here is directed at addressing the following
research question: To what extent is the quality support novices receive from their
formal mentors and other colleagues associated with their perceptions of key aspects
of their working conditions? More specifically, building upon previous studies
which have examined teacher socialization and teacher outcomes (e.g., Achinstein
et al. 2004; Flores and Day 2006; Glazerman et al. 2010; Grossman and Thompson
2004; Ingersoll and Strong 2011; Johnson 2004; Smith and Ingersoll 2004; Weiss
1999), the purpose of this study was to do the following: (a) identify the extent to
which perceptions of working conditions varied amongst novice teachers by years
of experience (first, second, and third-year status) and level taught (elementary vs
middle school), (b) identify the extent to which these perceptions varied between
novice and veteran teachers, and (c) identify the association between novices’ rating
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of the support they received from formally assigned mentors and other colleagues
and their perceptions of working conditions.
Working conditions
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Manageability of workload
Administrative duties
Administrative duties are largely an expansion of workload for all teachers, and this
aspect of teachers’ work has taken on greater significance in the wake of increased
high stakes accountability (Bartlett 2004; Lieberman and Miller 1999). As put by
Bartlett (2004), ‘‘For at least two decades, advocates of teaching reforms—
especially those focused on professionalization—have taken pride in a steady
expansion of teachers’ work roles and responsibilities’’ (p. 567). Additionally,
Lieberman and Miller (1999) suggest that more and more teachers’ work is moving
outside of the classroom to participate in and coordinate reform activities. More
responsibility in and of itself is not necessarily a negative thing, as researchers have
shown that giving teachers more leadership responsibilities can lead to greater
satisfaction and commitment (e.g., Spillane 2003, 2006). At the same time, teachers
may also be overwhelmed by the additional responsibilities as more and more
reforms are implemented over time (Lohman and Woolf 2001).
Like other aspects of teacher workload, the implications of extra administrative
duties on teacher outcomes (e.g., stress, self-efficacy, effectiveness, and commitment)
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are particularly salient for novice teachers. Therefore, how these administrative tasks
are structured and supported are of great importance. For example, in a qualitative
study of 26 teachers, Bartlett (2004) reported, ‘‘Schools that have integrated the
expanded teaching role into the regular structure of the working day are more likely to
sustain the engagement and commitment of their teachers; while schools that have
layered the expanded aspects of the role on to an unaltered and already full traditional
teaching schedule are more likely to overload and exhaust their teachers’’ (p. 568).
Access to resources
The availability of resources (broadly defined with respect to human and physical
resources) are related to elements of working conditions as they impact teachers’
ability to effectively complete their assigned tasks, both within and outside of the
classroom. Additionally, access to resources has been reported to impact teacher
effectiveness and career decisions (Grissom 2011; Horng 2009; Loeb et al. 2005).
For example, Collie et al. (2012) reported that access to adequate amounts of school
resources was significantly associated with teachers’ reported levels of job stress.
More specifically, the greater the access to adequate resources, the less reported
stress. They further reported an indirect association between access to resources and
teachers’ reported levels of self-efficacy and job satisfaction.
Individual teacher characteristics are also related to teachers’ ability to access
and utilize school resources, as social dynamics of schools and teachers’
interpersonal skills make some teachers more adept at accessing resources than
others (Hart and Murphy 1990; Weiss 1999). On average, novice teachers need
more resources to effectively teach given their inexperience and the likelihood that
they have more difficult teaching assignments (Ballou 2000; Boyd et al. 2005;
Darling-Hammond and Sclan 1996; Weiss 1999). Yet, although they are often
targeted for induction programs, the quality of support they receive has been found
to significantly vary across and within schools (Flores 2006; Glazerman et al. 2010;
Ingersoll and Strong 2011).
Formal mentoring
Interactions with colleagues (in both formal and informal settings) communicate the
norms and expectations of professional practice (Feiman-Nemser 2010; Feiman-
Nemser et al. 1999) and also provide networks through which novice teachers may
access resources and support (Coburn and Russell 2008; Coleman 1988; Penuel
et al. 2009, 2010). To help facilitate that access to resources and support, the vast
majority of novice teachers now receive some form of formal induction, largely
through formal mentoring—which is aimed at not only communicating expectations
but also at improving novice teacher effectiveness (Feiman-Nemser 2010).
Although mentoring relationships are most often a one-to-one relationship, they
are often more structured to elicit certain responses because they are specifically
aimed at meeting administrative objections (i.e., improving novice teacher
effectiveness and retention) (Fullagar et al. 1995; Jones 1986). For example, formal
mentors are often tasked with helping novice teachers implement the school
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Informal relationships
While novice teachers often interact with their formally assigned mentors in more
structured ways, novice teachers interact informally with other colleagues on a daily
basis in both personal and professional ways. These informal relationships also
provide support and resources to novice teachers and can mediate the effects of their
perceptions of their work and work environment (Bryk and Schneider 2002; Coburn
and Russell 2008; Desimone et al. 2002; Penuel et al. 2010). At the same time, this
type of support is distinct from that received from formally assigned mentors in part
because novice teachers enact personal agency when entering into these relation-
ships. Additionally, because they interact with several individuals with varying
levels of expertise on a host of different topics, they are exposed to a myriad of
information in a much less structured manner. This type of socialization is likely to
elicit less standardized responses from novice teachers as they weigh the
information received in these informal settings (e.g., discussions in the teachers’
lounge regarding a change in discipline policy) (Feldman 1989; Fullagar et al. 1995;
Jones 1986; Meyer et al. 1981).
Novice teachers’ perceptions of their working conditions are also mediated by
these informal relationships, but the degree to which these perceptions are mediated
is a direct result of whom these novice teachers chose to seek out for assistance
(Van Maanen and Schein 1979). Although teaching is often solitary work, most
teachers become members of particular subgroups of teachers within a school, and
these subgroups have their own expectations regarding their work and working
conditions which then relate to the type and level of support that they give each
other (Coburn and Russell 2008; Frank and Zhao 2005; Granovetter 1978; Macy
1990). Therefore, each novice teacher will have a relatively unique support network
associated with the key colleagues with whom they choose to interact with on a
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This study utilized survey data to examine novices’ perceptions of their working
conditions in the context of teacher socialization. Data were collected during the
2007–08 school year in 11 districts, six in Michigan and five in Indiana (see Table 1
for descriptive information about the districts). The districts were purposefully
targeted for inclusion in the study because they were medium-to-large districts
within two states conveniently located to the researcher and served varying student
populations with regard to socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. Additionally,
each of the districts had hired at least 10 new teachers in the previous few years
prior to data collection.
All novice teachers in their first 3 years of the profession (N = 380) in the 11
districts were invited to participate in the study, which consisted of completing one
survey in the fall of 2007 (October/November) and one survey in the spring of 2008
(April/May). Additionally, the novice teachers had to be teaching in a general
education classroom at the elementary level or in a core content area (math, science,
English language arts, or social studies) at the middle school level. Survey
completers were compensated with a $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble. A total of
184 novice teachers completed both the fall and spring surveys (fall response rate of
63 % and a spring retention rate of those teachers of 76 %—total response rate of
48 %). The majority of the respondents were white females (over 80 %), and the
majority were teaching at the elementary level (*70 %). Approximately 27 % of
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the respondents were in their first year of teaching, while 44 % were in their second
year, and 29 % in their third year.
There was concern regarding the overall response rate of 48 %. Based on known
characteristics gathered from district data of the targeted novice teacher sample (i.e.,
level taught and years of experience), respondents did not significantly differ from
non-responders. Additionally, there were no statistically significant differences in
baseline measures of focal variables between those who completed both surveys and
those who only completed the fall survey. At the same time, there may be important
characteristics of responders and non-responders which cannot be accounted for.
Colleague sample
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Measures
In both the fall 2007 and spring 2008 surveys, novice teachers were asked to
indicate their level of agreement (1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree) to
the following statements: (a) I am teaching with adequate resources and materials to
do my job properly; (b) Administrative duties/paperwork do not interfere with my
teaching; and (c) My workload is manageable. These three variables were derived
from the Maslach Burnout Inventory and are specifically related to the discretion
school administrators have over teachers’ work as they are largely responsible for
the distribution of resources, teacher workload, and teacher assignments (Maslach
and Jackson 1981). Additionally, the novice teachers were asked to rate the quality
of support (1 = not at all important to 4 = very important) that they received from
(a) their formal mentor and (b) other colleagues whom they considered key sources
of support. Descriptive information on all measures included in the analysis is
provided in Table 2.
Analytic approach
The first stage of the analysis was focused solely on identifying variation in
perceptions of these aspects of working conditions amongst novice teachers
themselves. I began the analysis by calculating the Pearson’s correlation coefficients
amongst the three variables. I then identified the mean change in response to the
variables from the fall to spring and tested for statistical significance of those
differences (based on Wilcoxon signed rank test). Next, I compared the average
response of the novice teachers based on their years of experience (i.e., first-,
second-, and third-year teachers) and tested for statistical significance of those
differences (based on Kruskal–Wallis test, an extension of the Wilcoxon–Mann–
Whitney test for more than two levels). Finally, I compared the mean responses to
the variables by level taught (i.e., elementary or middle school) and tested for
statistical significance of those differences (based on Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney
test).
In the next stage of analysis, I identified the difference in perceptions of working
conditions between the novice teachers and the veteran teachers they named as
mentors and key sources of support. I first compared the overall mean response to
the survey items between novices and their senior colleagues and tested for
statistical differences (based on Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test).
In the final stage of analysis, the focus was on identifying the association between
the reported quality of support novices received from their mentors and other
colleagues and their perceptions of working conditions. Therefore, in this stage of
analysis, I estimated a series of logistic regression to model the relationship between
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the quality of support received from both mentors and other colleagues and novices’
perceptions of working conditions. The basic model is as follows:
lnfP½Agreet ¼ 1=1 P½Agreet ¼ 1g ¼ h0 þ h1 Mt1 þ h1 Ct1 þ h03 T þ h04 S þ e
ð1Þ
The model predicts the probability that a novice teacher agreed on the spring
2008 survey with the survey statement regarding their working conditions (Agreet),
as a function of their reported quality of support received from their mentor in the
fall of 2007 (Mt-1), the reported quality of support received from their other
informal colleagues in the fall of 2007 (Ct-1), time invariant teacher attributes (T),
and time invariant school attributes (S). The error term (e) is assumed to follow a
Bernoulli distribution. I estimated three separate logistic regressions pertaining to
the three measures of working conditions: (a) I am teaching with adequate resources
and materials to do my job properly; (b) Administrative duties/paperwork do not
interfere with my teaching; and (c) My workload is manageable. The models were
estimated using the proc logistic and the stepwise function in SAS 9.2 with a
threshold of 0.20 (Chi square and p value) for entry into the model and a threshold
of 0.20 to remain in the model. Setting these restrictions allowed me to focus on the
variables that best fit the model.
For this analysis, the outcome variables were dichotomized (1 = agree/strongly
agree; 0 = disagree/strongly disagree) in part due to the distribution of responses
(i.e., relatively low number of responses for strongly agree and strongly disagree)
and for ease of interpreting results. The focal independent variables of interest for
reported quality of support received from the mentors and other key colleagues were
also dichotomized (1 = very important/extremely important; 0 = not at all
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Findings
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The last step was to identify the extent to which elementary novice teachers
differed in their responses compared to their middle school novice colleagues. The
results reported in Table 6 indicate fairly similar responses by elementary and
middle school teachers. Only the difference in reported levels of adequate resources
was statistically significant (p = 0.066). This may reflect the fact that elementary
schools are generally smaller organizations, and given the general curriculum of
elementary education, novice teachers may require less specialized resources.
The next stage of analysis was to identify variations in perceptions of the working
conditions between novice teachers and their veteran colleagues. Table 7 reports the
mean responses for novice teachers and all veteran teachers in the sample. Novice
teachers had slightly higher responses to all three measures of the working
conditions, with the differences for the measures of administrative duty and
workload being statistically significant. The difference between novices and their
veteran colleagues is particularly noticeable for the measure of administrative duty,
indicating that novices on average are less likely to feel that administrative duties
interfere with their work.
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Table 5 Mean measures of perceived working conditions by years of experience (spring 2008)
Variable First year Second year Third year Statistical significance
of difference
not have adequate resources to perform their job, though this is not surprising given
their inexperience and their need for extra support.
The second regression that was estimated had the variable for the perceived level
of administrative duties as the outcome variable. In this model, both of the focal
independent variables met the criterion for inclusion in the model. As shown in
Table 9, the coefficient for Colleague Support was positive and statistically
significant (p \ 0.10), suggesting that those who rated the support from their
colleagues as more valuable were more likely to indicate that administrative duties
did not interfere with their job as a teacher. Interpreting the coefficient as
probability, a novice teacher who reported that the quality of support received from
colleagues was very important/extremely important was approximately 28 percent-
age points more likely to report that administrative duties did not interfere with their
job as a teacher, ceteris paribus. Conversely, the coefficient for Mentor Support did
not reach statistical significance by traditional standards; therefore, I cannot say that
the association between this variable and novices’ perception of the interference of
administrative duties was distinguishable from zero.
The final regression that was estimated had the variable for perceived
manageability of workload as the outcome variable. With regard to the focal
variables of interest, only the variable for Mentor Support met the criterion for
inclusion in the model. Similar to the previous model, the coefficient was positive,
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Lower Upper
but in this estimation, the coefficient was of larger magnitude and statistically
significant (p \ 0.05). Based on this estimation, a novice teacher who rated the
quality of support received from her formally assigned mentor as very important/
extremely important was approximately 26 percentage points more likely to report
that their workload was manageable, ceteris paribus (Table 10).
Discussion
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descriptive in nature, have important implications for school leaders and researchers
as they not only investigate the demands on teachers’ work but also the extent to
which novice teachers are adequately supported by their colleagues.
The findings indicate that over one school year, novices’ perceptions of specific
working conditions on average were generally quite positive and relatively stable.
Although it is expected that some policies and practices which influence the nature
of teachers’ work are adopted over the course of a school year, barring a shock to
the organization (e.g., administrative turnover), key aspects of teachers’ work do not
change significantly over the course of a year. In other words, routine policies and
practices that impact teachers’ work likely did not change significantly in the short
time span of this study. Stability in policies and practices, particularly as it relates to
teachers’ work, likely creates a more predictable working environment for novice
teachers and is one less thing for them to navigate early in their careers.
The findings also show that there were no statistically significant differences in
novices’ perceptions of their working conditions based on their years of experience,
suggesting that for teachers in this sample who were in the first few years of the
profession, the perceptions of their working conditions were essentially the same.
This may also reflect the generally flat career ladder associated with the teaching
profession (Johnson and Papay 2009). In other words, even across a teacher’s career
(particularly in the beginning years), work expectations and demands vary little
from year to year.
Additionally, many formal induction programs are targeted toward teachers in
the first few years of the profession; therefore, there is continued support and
additional resources from year to year early in their careers. For example, in
Michigan, by law, teachers were to receive formal mentoring and additional
professional development during their first 3 years in the profession. In Indiana,
formal mentoring and induction was only required for first-year teachers, although
in several of the Indiana districts, in this sample, it was extended to the second and
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third years. This indicates that several novice teachers in this sample received
additional resources and support due to their novice status regardless of whether
they were a first-, second-, or third-year teacher, which likely influences their
perceptions of their working conditions.
Regarding variation amongst novices by level taught, the findings indicated that
only the difference in perceived adequacy of resources was statistically significant
by traditional standards (with elementary teachers indicating a slightly more
positive environment in this regard). This has implications for how resources and
supports are distributed by administrators in different types of organizations, and the
need to identify how certain administrative practices may be perceived differently at
the elementary and secondary levels. Particularly, at the secondary level, the
specialization of teachers’ work and the role of department chairs add an additional
layer onto the administrative landscape which should be accounted for when
considering the expectations and demands that novice teachers face.
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manner than previous generations of teachers, they likely also perceive the practices
and policies within a school differently.
At the same time, working conditions are largely a characteristic of an entire
school organization. Although a novice teacher may have a generally positive
perception of the routine policies and practices within a school, if she is surrounded
by disgruntled veteran colleagues, her overall perceptions of the working
environment may suffer over the long run. This likely will impact her commitment
to the organization which will then be reflected in the amount of effort she puts
forward in her job and ultimately her career decisions. Therefore, school leaders
need to be attuned not only to novices’ understanding of the working environment
but also how the working environment is reflected in attitudes and practices of the
veteran colleagues with whom novice teachers establish relationships with.
The results from estimating the regressions showed mixed findings with regard to
the association between mentor and colleague support and measures of novices’
perceptions of their working conditions. There were no significant associations
between the measures of the quality of support and the extent to which novices’
reported having adequate resources. It is likely that although formal mentors and
other colleagues provide valuable support to novice teachers, the actual physical
resources that they provide are minimal compared to the direct resources received
from the school and district administration—e.g., classroom supplies, textbooks,
technology, and curricular materials. So although colleagues may provide some
particular lesson plans and other supplemental materials, due to the nature of
resource distribution in schools, these networks may not significantly aid in the
distribution of resources to novice teachers.
Conversely, the quality of support received from informal colleagues was
positively associated with novices’ perceptions of the extent of their administrative
duties not interfering with their teaching work. Many teachers have increasingly
been burdened with additional responsibilities with regard to compliance with state
and federal school accountability policies (e.g., NCLB and IDEA). For example, as
schools strive to make adequate yearly progress, teachers are often called upon to
gather, process, and analyze more and more information regarding their students’
achievement growth. Although related to their teaching work, it is often seen as
outside of their primary responsibilities. This is in addition to the numerous school-
and district-level policies which require teachers’ attention, such as those related to
student behavior and absences (amongst others). Colleagues can be key sources of
support as they help novice teachers navigate this ever increasing web of paperwork
and administrative duties. Specifically, colleagues can help novice teachers
prioritize their administrative tasks, follow appropriate procedures, and work
toward greater efficiency as they balance their daily teaching responsibilities with
secondary responsibilities.
Interestingly, the quality of mentor support was not significantly related to
novices’ perceptions of their administrative duties. It is likely that novice teachers
on average interact less frequently with these formally assigned mentors (Author
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2012), so when an administrative issue arises, they turn to those colleagues with
whom they interact on a daily basis, such as their neighbors within the school or
those whom they have a more personal relationship with. In other words, for many
of these novice teachers, there was a network of colleagues to whom they leaned on
for support with regard to administrative duties.
The opposite seemed to be true with regard to novices’ reported levels of general
workload manageability, where there was no significant relationship between
colleague support and perceived workload, but there was a positive relationship
between mentor support and workload. This is likely because formal mentoring is in
large part designed to help improve novice teachers’ effectiveness in providing
instruction and managing classrooms. Specifically, formal mentoring related to
instruction, curriculum, and student assessment not only engage novice teachers in
learning activities but also more clearly communicates work expectations and
demands because it comes from a source sanctioned by the administration
(Achinstein et al. 2004; Grossman and Thompson 2004; Johnson 2004; Stein and
D’Amico 2002; Youngs 2007).
Given the high correlation between the measures of manageability of workload
and administrative duties (as would be expected), it may be expected that the
association between formal and informal support and novices perceptions of these
working conditions would be similar, but the findings suggest that formal mentors
and informal colleagues may play significant yet varying roles in supporting
teachers and influencing their perceptions of their working conditions. Specifically
colleagues with whom novice teachers interact with on a regular basis offer support
for problems and issues that arise on a daily basis. These colleagues are often more
accessible because these relationships emerge due to similarities in location within a
building, schedules, and personal and professional interests. Therefore, for problems
and issues that need immediate attention (e.g., I need to fill out an incidence report),
these colleagues are there to offer support and guidance. Formal mentors though are
often charged with a much more specific task, specifically to help novice teachers
improve in their craft. Therefore, the focus is often more specific to curricular and
instructional matters, as well as classroom management. These more specific
elements of teaching are more directly related to the key aspect of teachers’ work
but may be less contextualized because they do not necessarily take place ‘‘in the
moment.’’ Both types of support appear to be important for novice teachers as they
seek to improve their effectiveness and establish themselves within a school setting.
As this study was largely descriptive in nature, no causal claims should be drawn
based upon the findings, but the findings do have important implications for future
research. One limitation is that the data collected from novice teachers only
included two time periods over one school year. An extended time period of data
collection would help researchers identify trends in changing perceptions of their
working conditions. Although this would also reflect possible major shifts in the
school environment (e.g., a new administrator), it would help address whether or not
novice status (e.g., through additional support and resource) is particularly related to
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mentors to novice teachers, and they can help ensure that these relationships are
productive by ensuring that mentors and novices are aligned both professionally
(e.g., teach similar grade levels or content areas) and personally (e.g., complimen-
tary personalities) (Achinstein et al. 2004; Grossman and Thompson 2004; Kristof-
Brown et al. 2005). Additionally they can foster a climate of collaboration across a
school which encourages veteran teachers to offer support to novice teachers and
communicates to novices that it is ok and expected that they seek assistance from
their colleagues (Bidwell 2001; Boyd and Crowson 1981; Friedkin and Slater 1994;
Johnson 2004; Parsons 1960; Penuel et al. 2010; Spillane 2006).
Therefore, school administrators have a great responsibility to help institute an
organizational environment that promotes individual commitment and organiza-
tional effectiveness (e.g., providing adequate resources and professional develop-
ment) for all teachers within the school. Teachers would be willing to put more
effort into their jobs and remain in an environment marked by support from both
formal mentors and other colleagues throughout a school (Johnson 2004). Although
administrators often establish policies and practices which provide additional
support and resources to novice teachers, they also need to attend to the ways in
which the broader organizational context impacts novices’ perceptions of their
working conditions.
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