Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Committee Chair

Jill Payne

Abstract

This dissertation is a program evaluation of a mentoring program’s impact on international teachers in a rural school district. The study aimed to investigate international teachers' first-year mentoring experiences to determine if the program has an impact on helping international teachers transition to the community and school. Acculturation theory (Berry, 1980; Bunnell, 2020; Stasel, 2021) and culture shock (Oberg, 1960; McCluskey, 2020) were identified as theoretical frameworks for the program evaluation. Quantitative data were collected from surveys and mentor log rubric analysis, and qualitative data were collected from interview transcripts. According to data analysis, the program had a significant impact on providing international teachers with pedagogical support helping ease the transition to the U.S. classroom. To increase program effectiveness, the study recommends that future implementers review the program to identify systemic gaps that exist between the partner agencies and the district to ensure the fundamental needs of international teachers are met upon arriving in the U.S.; realign the program activities and tasks to include an extended adjustment period for international teachers and provide cultural understanding and adaptation training for international and mentor teachers to minimize culture shock and to support successful acculturation.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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