Date of Award
1-23-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
Bronwyn MacFarlane
Committee Members
Ross Larsen; Sharon Hurley; Twila Patten
Abstract
A study of over 400 new Level 1 licensed teachers in New Mexico found that mentorship relationships directly correlate to a teacher's self-efficacy and their likelihood of leaving the profession. The study surveyed traditionally trained and alternative licensure teachers employed in New Mexico and in their first 3 years of teaching. The results revealed that teachers who had high-quality relationships with their mentors, as scored on the Leader- Member Exchange 7 Questionnaire, had a stronger belief in their own self-efficacy and were less likely to consider leaving the teaching profession. In contrast, teachers who rated their mentors highly on the Mentor Relationship Scale had lower self-efficacy and a greater intention to leave, suggesting that not all mentoring relationships are equally beneficial to new teachers. The responses were consistent for both traditionally trained teachers and those from alternative licensing pathways, indicating that effective mentorship with strong leadership qualities can help all new teachers. The study concluded that a strong mentoring relationship can be a powerful tool to increase teacher retention and reduce the number of vacancies in New Mexico schools. The research underscores the importance of not just having a mentor, but having a high-quality mentoring relationship based on trust, respect, and beneficial feedback can help new educators overcome challenges and stay in the teaching profession.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Dunwoody, Renee, "Perceptions Of Mentoring Relationships and Novice Teacher Self-Efficacy and Attrition" (2026). Student Theses and Dissertations. 1120.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/1120
