Focus+of+Inquiry

Given the complex intricacies of the broad educational context, it would not be possible to carry out our research in a meaningful manner without focusing on specific areas of the educational system. However, in opposition to this, we recognize the interconnectedness of our work such that we will still use multiple sources of inquiry to try to better understand the question of “What are teacher’ experiences with induction?” We will investigate our question from three perspectives; personal experience, public documentation from specific school districts, and the body of research on teacher induction. We have chosen to take the approach of researcher as subject in order to relate lived experience to what is “promised” in literature on teacher induction. We come from three different school districts in the public and private sectors. The schools in which we work use the B.C. Curriculum at the grades eight to twelve secondary school level. Experience ranges from four to nine years in profession. We do not propose that our combined experience is a complete representation of the teaching population. However, in providing a personal perspective to the research, it is our hope that the findings become more accessible to educators who are involved with this topic and more immediate to makers of teacher induction policies.  The second source from which we will inform our research is public district documentation on teacher induction. The research says that the creation, implementation and results of teacher induction programs will vary between districts and within a district itself (Smith & Ingersoll, 2004). Choosing to limit the districts to the three in which we are employed will maintain a manageable scope for comparison. We recognize that the possibility of generalizations from our findings is limited because of the unique nature of every school setting. ** District Details ** ** Vancouver ** ** School District ** || ** Richmond ** ** School District ** || ** Catholic Independent Schools of the **** Vancouver **** Archdiocese ** || · 25,000 Secondary Students · 18 Secondary Schools · 25% of K-Grade 12 students are designated ESL · 60% speak a language other than English at home · 126 languages have been identified in our schools · 7% of elementary and secondary students are special education learners · 4% of secondary students are French Immersion learners · 2000 self-identified Aboriginal students representing 600 bands and nations attend Vancouver schools || ·  23,000 students · 200 international students · 37 elementary schools - 12, 000 · 11 secondary schools - 10,000 students · 60 % are non-native speakers of English · 30% of the population is ESL · 65 languages represented in the student population ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> French Immersion Programs – two FI secondary schools ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> IB Programs - one IB program || ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">  14,000 students ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> 900 teachers ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> 49 schools ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> Schools throughout the GVRD ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> Catholic-based perspective ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> 39 elementary diocesan schools ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> 6 secondary schools catholic-diocesan ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> 3 secondary Non-diocesan ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> 1 elementary non-diocesan ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> Faith community with a commitment to academic excellence ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> Strive to develop Christian leaders || The foundation of our research and analysis will be based upon the body of academic research in this field. The content of this area is vast and will provide a rich background to compare, contrast, examine our own experience and stated district direction. Within the literature there are overlapping ideas and concepts. To focus our work we will divide the work into four broad themes of beginning teacher experiences, program implementation and components, implications for the educational system, and mentor experiences.
 * __<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; text-transform: uppercase;">Focus of Inquiry __**
 * INTRODUCTION **
 * Personal Experience **
 * Public Documentation **
 * Body of Research **