Date of Award

Spring 5-7-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in School Leadership

Department

Center for Leadership & Learning

College

College of Education

Committee Chair

Dr. John A. Freeman

Second Committee Member

Dr. Steve Bounds

Third Committee Member

Dr. Melvin Bryant

Program Director

Dr. John A. Freeman

Dean of Graduate College

Dr. Jeff Robertson

Abstract

Retaining novice teachers in today’s educational system is proving to be extremely difficult. In schools of poverty, this challenge is much more difficult. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the effectiveness of a district-mandated teacher mentoring program in a Central Arkansas School District in regards to skills, dispositions, and retention. Eight novice teachers who work in high poverty schools were interviewed as part of this study. Through transcription and analysis, themes were established to gain a clear understanding of the novice teachers’ thoughts and perceptions of the teacher mentoring program. The results indicated a strong presence of informal mentoring by colleagues, the necessity of administrative support while in mentoring, the lack of time spent with mentors, and that the mentoring program had no true bearings on the retention of the respondents.

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