Chapter 11: Positive School Leadership in Teacher Induction Programs: Promoting Early Career Teachers’ Wellbeing Through Mentoring in Malta

School leaders play a pivotal role in creating a supportive environment for newly qualified teachers (NQTs) during their induction phase that helps with their successful socialization and retention in schools. This chapter describes findings from an exploratory study aimed at examining the perceptions of a group of Maltese heads of school about how they nurture NQTs’ wellbeing through mentoring as part of the teacher induction program. The results addressed the central role that school administrators play as leaders through deliberate decisions and actions taken mainly aimed at creating a vibrant, living community of learners. Strong levels of support through relationship building, empowerment, and engagement are considered key to NQTs’ wellbeing and sense of belonging.