An Evaluation of the New Teacher Induction Program in Turkey through the Eyes of Beginning Teachers

Abstract

Aim of this study was to explore and compare beginning teachers’ experiences and evaluations about the new teacher induction program put into practice by the Turkish Ministry of Education. According to the directive and training program announced by the Ministry of Education on March 2^nd 2016, the teachers who were appointed in February, 2016 took part in a teacher induction program in schools where they experienced real classroom settings by way of observations, planning and preparation of teaching materials, demo-teaching practices and school life processes under guidance and supervision of their mentors for 14 weeks. The core components of the induction program included a) classroom practices, b) school practices, c) non-school practices to be completed by the second week of June, 2016. Thus, the focus of this study is on the content of the first 14 weeks of the program. The research design is qualitative case study which seeks to understand participants’ experiences and the evaluations. Purposeful sampling strategy was adopted to get a deep understanding of the research topic and the interviewees were chosen from high school teachers. Data were collected in the province of Van, Turkey in June, 2016 via semi-structured interviews and the number of participating beginning teachers is 8. Analysis was done through content analysis, deciphering and finally reaching at thematic statements based on beginning teachers’ positive and negative perceptions and accounts of the formal induction program.

Keywords: Teacher Induction Program, Beginning Teachers, Teacher Training