This research study focuses on issues of teacher induction and retention and will explore these activities in about six MSP projects from among 2-3 MSP cohorts. During the first two years, the researchers will conduct exploratory research activities to identify a set of MSPS having an amount and type of teacher induction that merits further investigation. During this phase of the project, researchers will conduct primarily qualitative research such as document inspection, telephone interviews and exploratory site visits. In years 2-5 researchers will conduct focused case studies of the six selected MSPs and more extensive data collection will be gathered and analyzed. In addition, the five-year project timeline permits a longitudinal investigation that explores phenomena such as program changes and their causes/effects and changes in beginner teachers/ beliefs, knowledge and practice as a result of their participation in the MSP induction activities.
