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successfully overcome the challenges that beginning teachers traditionally confront (Hong, 2012;
Kauffman et al., 2002). Likewise, mid-career and veteran teachers in this study demonstrated an
increasingly complex understanding of success, mirroring findings from other teachers who have
also remained in the profession (Hong, 2012). With this in mind, mid-career and veteran
teachers may be particularly helpful in providing interventions that help beginning teachers
improve their reflection and instruction (Hogan & Rabinowitz, 2009; Pretz, Naples, & Sternberg,
2003). Furthermore, beginning teachers may benefit from observing how mid-career and veteran
teachers interpret their successes and struggles. Because ecological support from colleagues can
support first-year teacher assimilation (Alhija & Fresko, 2010), working with mentors to foster
adaptive coping mechanisms may help retain and sustain beginning teachers, particularly during
a time when they are most likely to leave (AEE, 2004) and are establishing their effectiveness
(Henry et al., 2011; Kersting et al., 2013; Rivkin et al., 2005).
Future research should consider context in exploring how teacher development and the
development of expertise are related to teacher self-efficacy, teacher effectiveness, and retention.
For example, exploring the frequency, magnitude, and comparative nature of teachers’ struggles
and successes (Boyd et al., 2011) may reveal why there were contradictory trends in response
complexity across career phases. Although open-ended responses (like those used in the current
study) offer an important understanding of how teachers interpret breakthroughs and struggles, it
is limited. In-depth interviews may offer a richer illustration of how context matters. Finally, it
is valuable to note that this study was conducted prior to Race to the Top and the Common Core
State Standards. A follow-up study may reveal to what extent current reform is shaping the ways
teachers think about the world and work of teaching.
About the Authors
Dr. Alyson Leah Lavigne is an Assistant Professor in the College
of Education at Roosevelt University. Her research focuses on
teacher evaluation, teacher retention, student and teacher
motivational dynamics, and classroom practices, particularly in
schools that serve Latino students. She is co-author of Student and
Teacher Evaluation: Moving Beyond the Failure of School Reform
with Tom Good and Salsa Dancing in Gym Shoes: Exploring
Cross-Cultural Missteps with Latinos in the Classroom with
Tammy Oberg De La Garza. Her forthcoming book co-authored
with Tom Good, Improving Teaching Through Observation and
Feedback: Moving Beyond State and Federal Mandates, will be
available in March 2015.