Date of Award
7-8-2019
Document Type
Non Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Education
Department
Education
Program
Educational Leadership
Capstone Instructor
Dr. Teresa Tyler
Second Reader
Dr. Oluwatoyin Akinde Fakuajo
Keywords
beginning teachers, self-efficacy, support, mentoring programs
Abstract
Beginning teachers are not always aware of the difficulties in teaching. It can be common for beginning teachers to feel overwhelmed, inadequate, and toil with emotions for the first few years of their career. Mentoring programs are established to help support beginning teachers. When the needs of beginning teachers are met, self-efficacy can be developed. Beginning teachers who are self-efficacious believe that they can achieve goals, accomplish tasks, and manage challenges in their practice. They are more competent and confident in the classroom. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies found that supporting the emotional needs of teachers can positively impact beginning teachers’ self-efficacy. Self-efficacy can lead to more positive student interactions, management of students, and student achievement. When teachers are more self-efficacious, they can cope with the difficulties presented in the classroom. This confidence leads to student success, which in turn leads to teacher retention and job satisfaction.