Supporting newly-qualified teachers’ professional development and perseverance in secondary education: On the role of informal learning

Figures & data

Table 1. Measures and their alpha’s.

Scale	Alpha	N	Sample item
Type of support
Formal support		5	Formally organised meeting(s) with the principal
Informal support		6	Informal chat with colleagues
Type of knowledge exchange
Information	.687	4	I participate in project groups to discuss work-related problems
Help	.658	2	Getting help would be one of the first things I would do if I were having trouble at work
Feedback from principal	.863	3	Feedback from my principal encourages me to reflect
Feedback from colleagues	.830	3	Feedback from colleagues motivates me to act
Perceived competences	.873	14	I know exactly what is expected of me in my organisation.
Perseverance	.877	12	I am satisfied with my professional situation.

Table 2. Scales and their descriptives.

Scales	Frequency/Mean	Standard deviation
Types of support
Formal support	2.06	2.11
Informal support	2.63	2.16
Frequency of formal support	2.41	1.21
Frequency of informal support	4.38	1.22
Types of knowledge exchange
Information	3.589	.773
Help	4.164	.706
Feedback from principal	3.885	.892
Feedback from colleagues	3.732	.74
Perceived competences (/10)	7,659	.984
Perseverance (/5)	3.789	.63

Table 3. Types of support: Frequencies and percentages.

Support	N	%
Formal support	128	60
Interview with principal	72	34
Observations by principal	77	36
Mentor	17	8
Training (in school)	23	11
Information session	37	17
Documentation	85	40
Support groups	27	13
Training (outside school)	68	32
Co-teaching	3	1
Collaborations with colleagues	19	9
Working with a consultant	10	5
Meetings with colleagues	3	1
Total	441
Informal support	150	70
Talk with principal	68	32
Talk with colleagues	143	67
Observing colleagues	35	16
Support groups	23	11
Spontaneous help from colleagues	106	50
Spending free time with colleagues	96	45
Sharing courses	2	1
Online course	1	0.5
Total	474

Table 4. Correlations between the variables under study.

Variable	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1.Formal support for learning	1
2.Informal support for learning	,258**	1
3.Frequency of formal support	,222**	,458**	1
4.Frequency of informal support	,382**	,180	,231*	1
5.Exchange of help	,151*	,048	,260**	,131	1
6.Exchange of information	,163*	,125	,211*	,218*	,334**	1
7.Exchange of feedback with colleagues	,252**	,334**	,425**	,218*	,547**	,372**	1
8.Exchange of feedback with principal	,257**	,178**	,246**	,259**	,434**	,350**	,598**	1
9.Performance	,128	,122	,073	,099	,278**	,223**	,191**	,221**	1
10.Perseverance	,207**	,100	,240**	,129	,335**	,149*	,295**	,253**	,352**	1

Note. * < .05, ** < .01, *** < .001

Table 5. Hierarchical regression analysis.

		Perseverance		Perceived competences
		B	ΔR^2	B	ΔR^2
Step 1	Formal Support	,162		,095
	Informal support	-,028		,041
	Frequency of formal support	,096		,113
	Frequency of informal support	,153		-,081
			.09		.03
Step 2	Formal Support	,041		,057
	Informal support	-,102		,075
	Frequency of formal support	,035		,069
	Frequency of informal support	,005		-,135
	Seeking help	,044		,088
	Seeking information	,001		,260*
	Seeking feedback from colleague	,334*		-,095
	Seeking feedback from principal	,267*		,024
			.21***		.07

Note. * < .05, ** < .01, *** < .001

Table 6. Participants in study 2 and their characteristics.

Code	Experience (in years)	Gender	Education^1	Socio-economic status of the school^2	Formal support provided
E1	3	F	BA	Strong	Interview with principal
E2	2	M	BA	Strong	Interview with principal
E3	5	F	BA	Weak	Interview with principal
E4	3	F	MA	Average	Interview with principal
E5	3	F	BA	Strong	Interview with principal Co-development
E6	4	M	BA	Weak	Co-development
E7	2	M	MA	Weak	Mentor
E8	1	F	BA	Weak	Mentor
E9	3	F	BA	Strong	Mentor
E10	4	F	BA	Weak	Interview with principal, co-development and mentor
E11	3	F	BA	Weak	Co-development and interview with principal
E12	4	F	MA	Weak	Interview with principal