Novice teachers' perspectives on mentoring: The case of the Estonian induction year

This study explores Estonian novice teachers' perspectives on relationships with mentors and experiences of mentoring and mentors' tasks during their first year of teaching. The induction year with mentoring as one of the support structures was introduced into Estonian teacher education a few years ago. Experiences indicate that this is a valuable support, but there are areas of mentoring that need to be developed. The data are based on thematic interviews with sixteen novice teachers in the second half of their first year of teaching, i.e. the induction year. A content analysis revealed that the novice teachers experienced support for personal development and professional knowledge development, feedback, collegiality, reciprocity of the relationship, mentor availability and mutual trust as components of the mentor–mentee relationship. The study identified undeveloped potential in mentoring related to three main areas: 1) facilitation of reflection, 2) mentor training, and 3) integration of mentoring into the school community as a whole. The last area also includes matters pertaining to socialization and school leadership.     

Socialization of new teachers: Does induction matter?

The present paper focuses on new teachers’ satisfaction with their first year of teaching from the perspective of socialization. The relationship between satisfaction with socialization and teacher background, school environment, placement, and induction variables was examined. Data were collected from 243 Israeli beginning teachers by means of questionnaire. Results indicated that satisfaction during the induction year was moderately high. Hierarchical regression analysis showed five significant predictor variables: ecological support from mentor, help from the principal, assistance from other colleagues, workload, and having already completed teaching training. Support from mentors and school colleagues had the greatest impact on new teachers’ assimilation.     

Thriving,not just surviving: The impact of teacher mentors on pre-service teachers in disadvantaged school contexts

This study explores the perceptions held by nine mentor teachers from four Australian secondary schools about the impact they have on pre-service teachers during professional placement. Using Fraser’s (2000, 2005, 2008) social justice framework as a theoretical lens, this paper examines what can be learnt from these teacher mentors about mentoring in disadvantaged school contexts. These mentor teachers felt their most significant impact was in shaping pre-service teachers’ awareness and responsiveness to contextual factors so that they could not only fulfil professional experience requirements, but also be better prepared for potential future teaching opportunities in disadvantaged school contexts.     

Graduate feedback on a teacher education program and school district support: An argument for a continuum of professional learning

This phenomenological study aimed to explore how early career teachers were supported in their transition from teacher education to professional practice. It involved interviewing seven recent graduates from a post-degree teacher education program on their perceptions of both the program and their local school district in supporting them as early career teachers. Results involve numerous recommendations for supporting these teachers during their induction into the profession leading to the articulation of a continuum of lifelong professional learning that includes teacher education, induction and mentorship, and professional development. Key responsibilities for school districts, principals, and teacher education faculty are included.     

Longing for recognition: A literature review of second-career teachers’ induction experiences in secondary education

In many countries, teacher shortages in secondary education are a serious problem. Therefore, alternative certification programmes (ACPs) have been developed to attract second-career teachers. Research on ACPs for secondary education showed that second-career teachers differ from first-career teachers in several respects. At the same time, the strand of research on induction seems to overlook these differences. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to find out whether second-career teachers in secondary education have special support needs in their induction period. Using a constant comparison analysis technique, 27 publications, conducted in the last decade, were analysed, focussing on second-career teachers’ perceived support, retention, and professional development. The results suggested that there is need for induction support that is (in part) especially for second-career teachers. It is concluded that recognising what second-career teachers need and have to offer may foster teacher quantity, teacher quality, and school development more generally.     

Negotiating contradictions in developing teacher identity during the EAL practicum in Australia

This paper reports on how Maria (pseudonym), a non-native English speaker (NNES) and preservice teacher (PST) of English as an additional language (EAL), developed her professional identity during the practicum in an Australian secondary school. Drawing on activity theory, the study identified contradictions in Maria’s practicum activity and examined how Maria’s professional identity developed through her negotiation of the contradictions. Data included interviews with Maria before, during and after the practicum, her reflections, an interview with her school mentor (Ms Davies, pseudonym), and relevant documents. The findings reveal that Maria experienced contradictions between her multiple identities of NNES, student, becoming teacher, and classroom teacher, between her mentor’s teaching approach and that of her own, and between her practice and rules. The findings provide implications for researching teacher identity and supporting preservice EAL teachers in developing productive teacher identities during the practicum.     

Consensus and dissensus in mentor teachers' judgments of readiness to teach

Deciding whether a teacher candidate is ready to teach is a significant judgment about which little is known. In this study, Social Judgment Theory's lens model is used to analyse grade decisions made by 18 primary school mentor teachers who were provided with four vignettes of fictional teacher candidates' practicum performance. Mentor teachers' grade decisions, and their reasoning, showed evidence of some consistency but also significant dissensus. We argue that such dissensus is inevitable in complex social decision-making and therefore needs to be used productively to help make more reliable judgments.     

Effective Practices for Mentoring Beginning Middle School Teachers: Mentor's Perspectives

In order to improve student achievement, school systems must provide new teachers with support to become effective teachers more quickly. Educators frequently use mentoring to support new teachers and reach the goals of improved classroom performance as well as teacher retention. The intention in this study was to provide insights into the mentoring of beginning teachers working in the middle grades. In this exploratory case study, three elements of a mentoring model deemed necessary for the implementation of effective mentoring for middle school teachers are presented. First, the mentor must forge a trusting relationship with the new teacher. Second, the mentor must support and guide the new teacher in creating a classroom environment that is supportive of learning. Third, the mentor must be able to support and guide the new teacher in instructional strategies appropriate to the content and context of the classroom. Furthermore, this research highlighted a need for mentors to receive ongoing training in classroom management, instructional practices, and relationship building in order to remain effective mentors. Without effective trained mentors programs will fail to meet their goals of improving instruction and retaining teachers past their induction year.     

Teacher perceptions of the goals of effective school reform and their own role in it

The role of the teacher in the modern school system is increasingly important and complex. A teacher needs a high level of professional knowledge and autonomous decision‐making when faced with professional challenges. The curricular reform in Slovenia has encompassed several areas of teachers’ professional activities. This paper establishes that declarative goals by themselves are not enough for successful introduction of reform, as the achievement of reform goals in practice is highly dependent on teacher perceptions and how actively they are involved in all phases of the reform. The empirical study examined how teachers understand the main aim of the reform, and how they evaluate their own level of competence in areas which have gained in importance as a result of the reform. The study included 468 primary and grammar school teachers. The results show that teachers have a fairly narrow view of the goals of the reform. The categories stressing a more active and responsible role of the learner (in line with modern models of instruction and learner‐centred paradigms of curriculum development) did not rank highly. The study also points at areas where teachers need additional training. The importance of quality teacher education at pre‐service and in‐service levels is stressed as a pillar of effective school reform.     

我国中小学教师专业发展存在的问题及改革路向

当前我国中小学教师专业发展过程中存在着教师专业素养偏低,教育管理体制不完善等方面的问题。为了提升和优化我国中小学教师专业发展,教师教育通过提升教师专业化素养,树立教师光辉形象;把握教育发展趋势,推进教师专业发展等措施,努力提升我国中小学教师的综合素养,提升我国中小学专业发展水平,使得我国中小学教师专业发展走上一个更高的台阶。     

Theory–practice dichotomy in inquiry: Meanings and preservice teacher–mentor teacher tension in Turkish literacy classrooms

This study aims at exploring the meanings constructed by preservice teachers of literacy about theory–practice dichotomy and investigating the preservice teacher–mentor teacher tension during the internship period. Qualitative data were collected by preservice teachers as researchers in inquiry through field notes, reflective journals, observation reports and open-ended survey questions. Findings are discussed with respect to theory–practice dichotomy and constructed meanings are obtained. High self-efficacy beliefs of preservice teachers of literacy, mentor teacher indifference and supervisor–mentor teacher dichotomy seem to have a lot to do with the preservice teacher–mentor teacher tension.     

民族师范院校教师教育师资队伍建设机制研究——以阿坝师范高等专科学校为例

教师教育类课程是高等师范院校区别于其他院校的标志性课程。民族师范院校探索教师教育师资队伍改革新途径。与基础教育发达地区的优质学校合作,在共育师范生的同时,形成教师教育师资专业发展的长效机制成为必然。     

An embedded professional paired placement model: “I know I am not an expert,but I am at a point now where I could step into the classroom and be responsible for the learning”

We present a sustainable and innovative model for pre-service teacher paired professional placements called the Teaching School model. The Teaching School model was piloted initially in partnership with a Metropolitan University and a P-12 College located in Melbourne’s northern suburbs in 2013. It was expanded in 2014 to capitalise on an existing university school partnership at a regional campus of the university. We present evidence of success through the voices of pre-service teachers, mentor teachers and school principals to demonstrate the success of professional experience model. The findings clearly show the benefit of this model of professional experience for producing work-ready graduates and for creating authentic learning and teaching environments that, according to the school principals and mentor teachers, contribute to school improvement. Our research demonstrates that this Teaching School model builds relationships and creates a community of learning and teaching educators; however, its adoption is not without challenges and limitations.     

Have conceptual reforms (and one anti‐reform) in preservice teacher education improved the education of multicultural,multilingual children and youth?

This article examines three conceptual reforms in US teacher education (competency‐based teacher education (CBTE), reflective teacher education (RTE) and constructivist teacher education (CTE)) for their effects on the education of multicultural, multilingual youth, as well as considering alternative certification (AC), known here as an ‘anti‐reform’. The author suggests that although each reform made incremental improvements in the ways that preservice teachers are prepared to teach multilingual and multicultural learners, none significantly altered the education of under‐served children and youth. For instance, CTE points out the importance of prior knowledge, but fails in connecting its core concepts with culturally relevant instruction. CBTE, while also generally failing to alter teacher preparation for multicultural learners, did try to make explicit connections for preservice teachers. RTE made explicit the moral consequences of working in diverse communities but fell short when it altered the apprenticeship–mentor relationship. AC of teachers is presented as the work of neo‐liberals whose largely successful efforts to deregulate teacher preparation offer both an improvement and retrenchment for urban children and youth. Finally, the article links the field’s focus on the preparation of teachers for diverse students and the moral dimension of teacher education, concluding that such a connection may be the only way to maintain the professional school preparation of teachers.     

Affordances of teacher professional learning in secondary schools

It is commonly understood that teachers in secondary school should develop throughout their career in order to stay as an essential factor in student learning. Schools can offer opportunities to link teachers’ professional learning to their school practice with a positive impact on teachers’ motivation to learn and the effectiveness of their learning. In this field study, teachers, school leaders, policy-makers, educational consultants and educational scholars were asked for their perceptions of conditions for teacher learning in school and of interventions in school to enhance teacher professional learning. These conditions and interventions were understood as affordances in schools that enable and support teacher professional learning. The main affordance in school these stakeholders mentioned was an open, but critical way in which teachers share their practices, collaborate and reflect upon their teaching practice. Collaborative practices seem to stimulate many interventions of teacher professional learning in school. Two implications of this finding are discussed. First, we suggest that the maximum teaching time should be reduced, team teaching should be more implemented or classes should be scheduled in such a way that teachers can meet. Second, distributed leadership approaches match with our findings about the role of school leaders in teacher professional learning.     

Building a model to define the concept of teacher success in Hong Kong

The research studies how outstanding teachers from Hong Kong conceptualize teacher success or effectiveness. This study adds to the knowledge base concerned by raising the importance of the coexistence of personal attributes and professional qualities as well as contextual factors, in bringing out the success of a teacher. It draws the attention of teacher educators/trainers and school administrators to the necessity of viewing the concept of teacher success from a broader perspective, instead of focusing narrowly on the professional qualities of a teacher. It also provides insights for school administrators in selecting teachers or supporting their work.     

Dialogue as a catalyst for teacher change: A conceptual analysis

Teacher–teacher dialogue is a central activity within many professional learning programmes. Understanding how and why dialogue works as an effective tool for teacher change is a question, however, that needs more careful probing in the extant literature. In this paper, I draw upon the philosophical theory of practical reason in order to show why and how teacher–teacher dialogue plays such a crucial role in the evolution of teacher practice. This conceptual analysis also builds our understanding as to the kinds of teacher–teacher dialogues that are more likely to be effective at catalysing teacher learning.     

教师专业发展需求及其影响因素研究——教师专业发展需求的若干理论问题探讨之一

“教师专业发展需求”是指教师在现有发展阶段或水平基础上,在专业知识与技能、专业经验和能力、专业职业情意三个方面的追求或者需要提升的方面。影响教师专业发展需求的因素可以分为内部因素和外部因素。内部因素主要有教师的教育教学经验与理念和见识、个人所处的专业发展阶段水平、职业认同与工作责任感、发展的准备性与抓机遇的能力和个人所拥有的发展资源五个方面。外部因素主要有教师所处的时代背景和文化氛围、所工作的学校及其周边环境、发展的客观机遇三个方面。     

Life in the Village: Teacher Community and Autonomy in an Early Childhood Education Center

This article presents findings from a qualitative case study of a public early childhood education center whose motto, the familiar African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child,” reflects the emphasis given to teacher community in the official school discourse. The meanings teachers gave to professional community were investigated. Interviews and observations were conducted at the school over a period of 12 months. Data analysis revealed an inherent tension between community ethos and personal autonomy. These findings suggest that professional teaching community is complex and contradictory, and that explicitly addressing the tension between community and autonomy would enhance teacher education and professional development.