Tallinn University (TLU) is Estonia’s largest university, and is a leader in the field of teacher education and induction. Teacher education in Estonia has for some years focused on developing support structures for novice teachers in the early stages of their career. In Estonia, TLU’s support program for novice teachers is part of the national teacher education curriculum since 2004. The aim of the induction year at the base of this program is to foster novice teacher’s socialization to the educational organization and to offer support in solving problems that stem from lack of experience. Several participants are involved in the implementation of the induction year: school leaders – responsible for implementation of induction year at school; novice teachers – teacher education graduates starting work at school; mentors – facilitators of professional development and self-reflection for novice teachers.
The induction year program at TLU offers:
Seminars to support novice teachers’ professional development (e.g., skills for developing curricula and lesson plans) and self-reflection;
Mentor training;
Monitoring and improvement of the induction process.