Monitor on Psychology - February 2012 - (Page 67)

Support for eachers are blamed for many of our schools’ ills, but data suggest they’re just as unhappy with the conditions they face as their critics are. Up to 30 percent of elementary and secondary school teachers leave the profession after three years, and up to half take off after five years, finds research by the University of Pennsylvania’s Richard M. Ingersoll, PhD. The main reasons they leave, he finds, are student misbehavior and teachers’ lack of power to make decisions about how their own classrooms are structured and run. As a result, well-trained teachers too often leave the field, says Jane Conoley, PhD, dean of the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. “Most teachers tell you they only start to get comfortable with what they’re doing at year three,” she says. “And research shows you get better outcomes for kids when you have that added experience.” Given these findings, psychologists are devising ways to support and retain good teachers, rather than simply trying to lure new ones. These include developing programs that provide new teachers with academic and social support, master’s-level training, community support and hands-on experience in industry. Research suggests these approaches work. A 2004 study by Thomas M. Smith, PhD, of Vanderbilt University, and Ingersoll F e b ru a ry 2 0 1 2 • M o n i t o r o n p s y c h o l o g y teachers control in an increasingly difficult line of work. B Y TORI D eA NG ELI S in the American Educational Research Journal (Vol. 41, No. 3), for instance, found that new teachers who took part in support or “induction” programs were much more likely to stay for a second year than those who didn’t participate in such programs. Likewise, a review of 15 studies on these programs by Ingersoll and Michael Strong, PhD, of the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the June Review of Education Research (Vol. 81, No. 2) found that most studies demonstrate positive effects of the programs on teacher commitment and retention, classroom instructional practices and student achievement. Support for teachers is important because once they hit the classroom, they often feel lonely and isolated, adds psychologist Isaac Prilleltensky, PhD, dean of education at the University of Miami. In addition, teachers often lack the practical resources and knowledge needed to run a successful classroom, he says. “Teachers need the same kind of support that doctors receive who are doing their residency training under supervision,” Prilleltensky says. “And they usually don’t get it.” One source of such support is the University of Miami’s Support Network for Novice Teachers, run by Prilleltensky, which provides professional development and mentoring. Since the program began in 2001, only one of the 600 novice teachers who have participated left teaching within three years. Participants can spend up to three years in the program, depending on their interest, time and need. 67 Psychologists are leading efforts to give teachers more T

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - February 2012

Monitor on Psychology - February 2012
Letters
President’s column
Contents
From the CEO
APA files two briefs in support of same-sex couples
New registry seeks to understand addiction recovery through ‘crowdsourcing’
APA launches a database of tests and measures
Watch for new member benefit: “APA Access”
Apply now for APA’s Advanced Training Institutes
PsycTHERAPY, APA’s new database, brings therapy demos to life
In Brief
APA scientists help guide tobacco regulation
A-mazing research
‘A machine for jumping to conclusions’
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Righting the imbalance
The beginnings of mental illness
Science Directions
Improving disorder classification, worldwide
Protesting proposed changes to the DSM
Interventions for at-risk students
Harnessing the wisdom of the ages
Anti-bullying efforts ramp up
Hostile hallways
R U friends 4 real?
Support for teachers
Speaking of Education
Record keeping for practitioners
Going green
At the intersection of law and psychology
Division Spotlight
Grants help solve society’s problems
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - February 2012