A Qualitative Inquiry on the Department of Education’s Induction Program for Beginning Teachers (IPBT) from the Lens of Mentors And Mentees

Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities

This study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of mentors and mentees on the Department of Education’s Induction Program for Beginning Teachers (IPBT). This study utilized a qualitative-phenomenological research design. Participants were selected using purposive sampling based on their experiences and alignment with the selection criteria of the study. The participants were the 10 secondary mentees and 10 secondary mentors from the Division of Tagum City. Coding and thematic analysis were utilized to analyze the data. From the experiences of mentor participants, five themes emerged: (1) serving as instructional guides for beginning teachers, (2) orienting beginning teachers to DepEd standards and expectations, (3) encountered time constraints in mentoring responsibilities, (4) fostering collaborative communication for effective mentoring, and (5) workload-related challenges in the DepEd Induction Program. Meanwhile, from the experiences of the mentee participants, five themes emerged: (1) strengthened teacher growth through mentoring, (2) gained understanding of institutional expectations and professional responsibilities, (3) struggled balancing workload pressures and time constraints, (4) benefited from collaborative support and peer mentoring, and 5) experienced resource limitations during program participation. From the mentors' perceptions of the program's effectiveness and relevance, three themes emerged: (1) strengthened teachers’ competence, confidence, and professional adjustment, (2) enhanced mentorship and professional support for beginning teachers, and (3) strengthened leadership, monitoring, and program implementation. Meanwhile, from the mentees' perceptions, four themes emerged: (1) increased teacher confidence and professional competence, (2) facilitated the professional adjustment of newly hired teachers, (3) strengthened role understanding through mentoring guidance, and (4) strengthened instructional practice through curriculum and classroom support. From the recommendations of the mentor participants, six themes emerged: (1) build collaborative and example-driven PLCs for sustainable teacher growth, (2) train mentors well, adapt beyond modules, and monitor commitment consistently, (3) provide practical, contextualized induction for teacher readiness, (4) integrate structured mentoring, constant monitoring, and authentic observation into a sustainable program, (5) reduce documentation burdens, balance workloads, and provide strong support mechanisms, and (6) integrate technology and recognize prior experience to support beginning teachers. With respect to the mentee participants, five themes emerged: (1) promote growth-oriented training for mentors and beginning teachers, (2) enhance practical mentoring among mentors and mentees, (3) align Induction Program with classroom realities, (4) strengthen Induction Program through responsive leadership, and (5) improve program structure, clear timelines, and focus on mentees real growth. The results implied need for more responsive, sustainable, and positive administrative mentoring and practices, an increase in accountability, and creation of equitable support systems. This study is significant to beginning teachers to understand how the program supports professional competence, to mentors and school heads to strengthen their involvement, and to DepEd Officials to reframe and improve program implementation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.