Getting help from the outside: developing a support network for beginning teachers

This paper is a discussion of a study conducted collaboratively by teacher educators at an Australian university and personnel from an Australian authority that employs state teachers. The study was an investigation of how beginning teachers could be supported by a network comprising teacher educators, beginning teachers and experienced teachers who were located at different schools from the beginning teachers. Ways of enhancing mentoring skills for the group of experienced teachers were also examined. In this paper, the nature of the support network and the experiences of the beginning teachers in the network are discussed.