Training and support helpful for novice teachers in the Northern Netherlands

Schools in the Northern Netherlands that pay much attention to the supervision of novice teachers obtain good results. These teachers develop their pedagogical-didactic skills faster than elsewhere in the Netherlands. This has its reasons: more contact hours with their supervisors and better links with the working methods of their initial degree programme. Moreover, the teacher shortage is being resolved in the Northern Netherlands in the same way as in the rest of the country: by offering good training processes. These are the conclusions outlined in ‘Inductie in het Noorden 2014-2019’ (Induction in the North 2014-2019), the report created by the University’s teacher-training programme under the supervision of Michelle Helms-Lorenz.

No previous research had been conducted on the ups and downs of novice teachers on a regional level in the north of the Netherlands. The recently published report makes it possible to compare these northern teachers with their colleagues in the rest of the country. The publication concerns the matter of whether the context in the north offers opportunities for a good start for new teachers in secondary education in terms of their development of pedagogical-didactic skills and their wellbeing.

Experiencing stress

In the north, the stress levels experienced by novice teachers in secondary education were monitored for three years. Studies by Harmsen et al. show that training processes were an effective measure for reducing both the causes and effects of stress. Supervision and a reduction of the workload play a decisive role in whether or not novice teachers decide to persevere despite high stress levels. Confidence and the involvement of pupils also increase with time.

Benchmark techniques

During the investigation, new insights in benchmark techniques arose. By applying data in an innovative way, room for improvement was better mapped out and made clearer. The researchers hope that this benchmark technique can be implemented more widely, in order to measure progress.