EFFECTS OF TEACHER INDUCTION PROGRAM ON AT-RISK SECONDARY STUDENTS
Reform in education in the United States is a hot-button issue. Reform, unfortunately, means many different things to the various interest groups advocating change (Hamilton & Pinnegar, 2000). To some people, educational reform means a switch to outcomes-based education, while others advocate variants on the standards approach, and still others push for a return to the basic education model followed in the first half of the twentieth century. Countering these perceptions of educational reform are the advocates of such discredited concepts as whole-language instruction, or sound but difficult to implement concepts such as critical thinking. Still other interest groups promote parental choice through a variety of initiatives that include school vouchers, other approaches of public support for private education, open enrollment, charter schools, and home schooling. Then, of course, there are those people who simply oppose standardized testing because some segments of the population perform poorly on such tests. The preferred approach to reform of the opponents of standardized testing is a system that assures equality in outcome measurement and reward regardless of what students actually learn. The outcome that the American public demands, however, is a quality product from the nation's public schools (Hamilton & Pinnegar, 2000).
Regardless of the position one takes on the approach to educational reform, one fact remains crystal clear. No approach to educational reform will succeed unless and until it is accepted, implemented, and actively supported by teachers in the classrooms across the country. To adequately support meaningful and effective educational reform, teachers must not only be supportive, however, they also must be capable of managing the nation's classrooms (Kanstoroom & Finn, 1999; Miller & Stayton, 1999).
One of the most serious failings o...