Program

Education Doctorate

Number of Pages

131

Year Approved

2023

First Advisor

Judith Nagel

Second Reader

Krista Soria, Theresa Anderson

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between new teachers' retention in the first five years of teaching and mentorship support given to teachers. The teacher shortage in the United States is a documented problem and continues to grow. The inability of the education system to attract and retain quality teachers is a significant problem in the current teacher shortage. As schools deal with unfilled teaching positions, teachers are overworked trying to fill these positions, and students receive lower quality education from teachers who have not received sufficient preparation. This study analyzed the effects that mentoring, including time spent with mentor and subject area of mentor, has on novice teachers. This research used a quantitative analysis of data obtained from the National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). The analysis of the data showed that novice teachers' intention to stay in the field of education increases as the time spent with a mentor increases. Teachers’ intention to stay in education also increased when the assigned mentor shared the same subject areas as the mentee. The data used was from 2015-2016 NTPS, which is a limitation, because the 2021-2022 data was not available. Another study using the 2021-2022 NTPS data is recommended for further research. Content-similar mentors who meet weekly with new teachers will help to reduce new teachers' attrition, which in turn will reduce the current teacher shortage and improve students' achievement.

Degree Name

Education Doctorate

Document Type

Doctoral dissertation

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