Strengthening beginning teachers’ professional identity

South Africa is urgently looking for newly qualified teachers who stay in the job. Parallel to other countries worldwide, South African teachers too leave the profession soon after entering the job. Induction models have been proven to positively impact the decision to remain in the job. However, in South Africa, induction models have not been implemented so far. Starting in January 2020, a one-year induction model will be piloted in the Free State Province of South Africa to increase beginning teachers’ professional identity development. Professional identity is an important condition for teachers’ professional learning and is strongly related to teacher retention. The induction model will entail 4 components, namely school-based mentoring, peer support, training sessions, and a personal development plan. This research project’s aim is to conduct an exploratory field test of the implementation of this induction model. By using a mixed-method follow-up design, the project wants to explore the degree to which this implementation is successful and also uncover supporting/hindering factors hereby.