Educational Accountability, Educational Leadership and the Novice Teacher

1. Educational Accountability, Educational Leadership and the Novice Teacher Presented at the National Evaluation Institute Louisville, Kentucky October 2009 Trina L. Spencer, PhD Assistant Professor of Elementary Education Virginia State University Petersburg, VA

2. Presentation Highlights • Characteristics of our accountability system • Principal accountability- Roles & Responsibilities • Novice teachers- Characteristics and Concerns • Principal leadership strategies

3. Accountability Accountability involves: • Student performance • Reporting school results • Continuous improvements • Schools as a unit • Consequences attached to performance levels (Fuhrman, 1999)

4. Principal Accountability Principals are accountable to- • The state • School district • Local school board • Parent associations (Marks & Nance, 2007)

5. Principal Accountability Principals are accountable for: • An efficient and safe school environment • A school’s budget • Strong teacher relationships • High levels of student achievement (Cooley & Shen, 2003:Owings & Kaplan, 2003)

6. Principal Accountability Principal roles and responsibilities include: • Instructional leadership • Improving teaching and learning • Assisting teachers with identifying teaching and learning goals • Being the “teacher” of teachers (Cooley & Shen, 2003:Owings & Kaplan, 2003)

7. Principal Accountability Principal roles and responsibilities include: • Maintaining contact with student groups • Having effective communication with stakeholder groups • Promoting a positive school climate • Fostering school pride (Crum & Sherman, 2008)

8. Novice Teachers Novice teachers: • Understand the need for public accountability • Feel that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a punitive measure • Fear of losing their creative freedom due to the pressures of standardized testing. (Ng, 2008)

9. Novice Teachers Novice teachers • Tend to be inflexible • Have difficulty determining what is important • Need emotional support • Require assistance with classroom routines and procedures • Need more focus on planning • Have limited repertories (Rudney & Guillaume, 2003)

10. Novice Teachers Novice teachers want: • Meaningful students relationships • To utilize interactive hands-on activities and project • Work in environments with high morale, creativity, and a commitment to higher level thinking • Teach in schools where there is a limited amount of the struggles

11. Novice Teacher Problems Novice teacher concerns • Relationships- • Workload and time management- • Knowledge of curriculum • Evaluation and grading • Issues of autonomy and control (Roberson & Roberson, 2008) • Novice teachers have feelings of fear, panic, anxiety and isolation. (Kurtz, 1993; Roberson & Roberson, 2008)

12. Novice Teacher Failure Factors that lead to novice teacher failure include: • Subject assignment • Physical facilities • Location of classroom • Extra class assignments • Lack of understanding district expectations (Kurtz, 1993)

13. Perceived Problems Perceived problems of beginning teachers: • Classroom discipline • Motivating students • Dealing with individual differences • Assessing student’s work • Relationships with parents (Veenman, 1984)

14. Teacher Attrition • 50% of new teachers leave within the first 5 years of entry • Affects the stability, coherence, and morale of an organization • Inhibits the development and maintenance of a learning community and organizational effectiveness (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004) • The cost of turnover are affected by hiring, training, and separation • Alliance for Excellent Education estimates that turnover annually cost schools 4.8 billion dollars (www.retainingteachers.com)

15. Novice Teachers and the Principal Novice teachers see their principal as: • Providing them the opportunity to teach • An authority figure • Expect good communication, feedback, and affirmation (Roberson & Roberson, 2008; Wood, 2005)

16. Principal Challenges Principals are challenged to help the novice teacher: • Promote high levels of classroom practice, • ensure their academic success • Address school issues • By providing mentoring strategies (Roberson & Roberson, 2008)

17. New Teacher Success New teacher success is dependent on • Their knowledge, skills, and dispositions • Workplace conditions and support • Mentoring (Roberson & Roberson, 2008)

18. Mentoring • Mentoring is characterized by coaching, guidance, assistance, advising, sharing, and sponsorship. • A mentor is someone with experience who provides advice, leadership, and emotional support. • This relationship is for an extended period of time and has emotional commitment by both parties. (Normore & Loughry, 2006)

19. Enabling Novice Teachers Principals enable novice teachers by • Providing guidance • Helping them to make connections within the school • Promoting professional relationships • Creating an atmosphere with high morale • Promoting a sense of collective responsibility (Wood, 2005)

20. Guiding Factors Guiding factors for novice teacher success: • Socialization • Meaningful interactions • Engaging in conversations that address their concerns • Collegial support (Angelie, 2006; Polansky, 2006; Roberson & Roberson, 2008)

21. Effective Principals… Effective principals • Focus on student learning • Have good interpersonal relationships • Establish a culture of success • Have a common purpose and collaboration • Allow their building to flourish • Provide a supportive and successful academic environment for teachers and students • Good communication skills • Seek opportunities to allow teachers to internalize a vision to enhance self-efficacies • Develop a sense of empowerment for all • Provide professional development opportunities to increase and enhance teachers instructional capabilities • Develop avenues for developing leadership skills • Delegate responsibilities and team empowerment (Crum & Sherman, 2008)

22. Leadership Strategies • Leadership strategies of successful principals include: • Developing personnel • Facilitating leadership • Communication and rapport • Facilitating instruction • Managing change • Sharing success • Supportive (Crum & Sherman, 2008)