E-TIP quality protocol: design and content validation for evaluating induction effectiveness

Introduction Teacher induction programs are essential for supporting novice educators, reducing attrition, and promoting sustainable professional development. Yet, available evaluation instruments often rely solely on quantitative indicators, overlooking contextual and pedagogical dimensions that are central to effective induction. This study addresses that gap by designing and content-validating a qualitative, rubric-based assessment tool, the E-TIP Quality Protocol, which enables institutions to evaluate the structural presence, implementation quality, and pedagogical depth of teacher induction programs. The protocol is designed to assess institutional induction systems rather than individual teacher performance. Methods The development process comprised four sequential stages: defining quality levels, designing the evaluation protocol and interpretation model, conducting expert-judgment content validation of the protocol, and performing descriptive analyses and content-validity estimates. A panel of thirty experienced educational leaders, mainly school principals and academic coordinators, participated as expert judges. Aiken's V coefficient and descriptive statistics were applied to determine content validity and the level of expert consensus. Results All fourteen items exceeded Aiken's V threshold of 0.70, with most reaching values above 0.80, indicating substantial agreement among experts and supporting the clarity and conceptual coherence of the instrument. The findings provide preliminary evidence of content validity based on expert judgment and support the E-TIP Quality Protocol as a theoretically grounded and contextually relevant tool for the qualitative evaluation of teacher induction programs. Discussion Following the positive outcomes of this phase, the protocol has been approved to advance to piloting in real educational contexts. Its application will contribute to more critical, formative, and evidence-based approaches to professional induction and to the sustainability of teacher development practices.