03/31/2021
By Robin Hall

The College of Education invites you to attend the doctoral dissertation defense by Emily R. Mullaney on “The Promise of Massachusetts Induction and Mentoring Programs to Increase Teacher Diversity”.

Date: Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Time: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. EST
Location: This will be a virtual defense via Zoom. Those interested in attending should email James_Nehring@uml.edu at least 24 hours prior to the defense to request access to the meeting.

Dissertation Chair: James Nehring, Ed.D., Professor, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Dissertation Committee:

  • Stacy Szczesiul, Ed.D., Associate Professor, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Jill Lohmeier, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Abstract:
Beginning Teachers of color leave the country’s schools at higher rates than their White colleagues. National attention has turned to the development of induction, or beginning teacher support, programs to help stem beginning teacher attrition rates. Despite having developed a comprehensive induction policy to support beginning teachers, Massachusetts policy overlooks the need for targeted support for Teachers of color. This is concerning given the demographic disparity between Massachusetts students of color and their teachers. As such, the goal of this research stems from a desire to discover effective program components that well support and subsequently retain beginning teachers and, in particular, Teachers of color. I conducted a mixed-methods study collecting survey, document review, and interview data from two Massachusetts public school districts to determine whether districts are effectively retaining teachers of color through their school sponsored support programs and, if so, to understand which elements directly connected to retention. Study findings suggest participating districts are dedicated to improving the working environments for teachers of color, implement generally robust induction and mentoring programs, and have relatively high retention rates. However, programs also have gaps in their programming to specifically help teachers of color navigate their unique challenges when they start teaching. Further research is needed to explore what induction and mentoring program elements directly impact teacher of color retention.