Mentoring as More Than “Cheerleading”: Looking at Educative Mentoring Practices Through Mentors’ Eyes

Work-based learning is an influential period of teacher education, where a mentor teacher is assigned to support the student teacher. Mentoring conversations between the mentor teachers and student teacher seldom cover how student teachers cope with emotional challenges. Therefore, we aimed to investigate mentor teachers’ perspectives on student teachers’ reports of emotional challenges. The study had a particular focus on actions the mentor teachers described as preferable in reacting to scenarios of emotional challenges reported by student teachers. We conducted a constructivist grounded theory study and interviewed 22 mentor teachers. The findings of the study show that mentor teachers’ main concern revolved around student teachers’ understanding of challenges as learning opportunities. According to mentor teachers’ descriptions, the preferred actions in their role as mentor teachers were to regulate, engage/help, be exemplary, and take charge. Thus, our study shows that mentor teachers intended to aid student teachers in navigating emotional challenges.

“Good luck on your first day as an assistant professor, Dr. Tanner! Have a great class!” On the wall above my desk, these words scream out from an otherwise encouraging note that is adorned with many exclamation points. This note has hung on my wall since my very first day as an Assistant Professor of Biology. As I was charging off to teach my first class, a senior faculty member who had been on my hiring committee slipped this note under my office door. In moments of pause years later, I still stare up at that note and breathe a sigh of relief that I had much more than luck to guide me on my first day as a college-level teacher. Although I continue to have much to learn—as all of us do no matter the number of years of teaching experience—I did arrive at the university with both formal and informal training in science education. I had had plenty of exposure to innovative pedagogical approaches, questioning strategies, and techniques for engaging diverse audiences in learning science. As a scientist educator, I had had the privilege of many years of collaboration with outstanding K–12 educators as well as a postdoctoral fellowship in science education. However, my training has been, to say the least, unconventional compared with that of my fellow junior faculty and unique in its preparation in regard to the teaching and learning of my discipline. It will not be news to anyone reading this article that university and college teaching is to a large extent a profession with no formal training. It’s startling but true that the majority of faculty members—and lecturers who often teach large numbers of students—have no formal training in the teaching and learning of their discipline. In fact, the hiring process in university science departments is structured primarily to evaluate a faculty candidate’s ability to be a productive researcher, with success measured in number of publications and magnitude of grant funds raised. Depending on the type of institution, for example, research university, state-level university, or liberal arts college, there may be a component of the faculty interview process that probes a candidate’s teaching ability, for example, requesting a statement of teaching philosophy and requiring the candidate to teach a sample lecture class. However, this sample lecture often screens for gross inadequacies, rather than looking for stellar innovations or pedagogical skills. This lack of formal, accredited training for university and college instructors stands in stark contrast to the requirements for a high school teacher who is charged with the education of students only a year junior to college freshmen. High school teachers in the United States must be credentialed as a secondary science teacher, demonstrate subject matter competency in every subject that they will be teaching, and must continually engage in professional development in the teaching and learning of their discipline throughout their career as a science teacher. With the 2002 federal No Child Left Behind legislation, the onus is upon each precollege science teacher to become “highly qualified” in terms of formal university-level training in science education. However, no such required professional training or measurable standards for teaching are required in institutions of higher education. Many policy documents have suggested standards of teaching practice in postsecondary science education (National Research Council, 1996, 1997; Siebert and McIntosh, 2001), but the extent of implementation of these ideals is unclear and has gone relatively unstudied, although national and regional accreditation boards do look at outcomes, asking colleges and universities to assess what their students have gained from four years of study at their institutions. Nonetheless, there is a striking reversal of accountability that happens when one crosses the precollege teaching to college-level teaching boundary (Table 1). During the K–12 school years, society expects K–12 teachers to be responsible for student learning. Salaries of teachers in many states are tied to student test scores, and poor student performance can potentially invoke penalties. At a college or university, several variables in the educational universe shift. Students are the ones responsible for learning. The evaluation and compensation of college-level teachers is not DOI: 10.1187/cbe.05–12–0132 Address correspondence to: Kimberly Tanner (kdtanner@sfsu.edu). CBE—Life Sciences Education Vol. 5, 1–6, Spring 2006

I have felt like a student ... because [Mary] is teaching me so many things and so sometimes we're in that role. But it's not me sitting on the other side of the desk. It's kind of like sitting beside her being a student. And, I have felt like we're colleagues when we share, particularly when we work with literature. ... We were able to feed off each other. It wasn't me so much learning, I mean I was learning, we were learning from each other. A student teacher in the Effective Mentoring in English Education (EMEE) project, Jessica (pseudonyms used), described the various relations she negotiated with her cooperating teacher, Mary. In this interview, she portrayed herself as both student and colleague. Later in the same conversation, Jessica described Mary as a friend who invited Jessica to dinner when her husband was out of town. Jessica's portrayal provides a glimpse into the importance she attached to her relationship with her mentor teacher, one in which she could find guidance, mutual learning, and friendship. This supportive, friendly relationship has not frequently appeared in the professional literature on preservice education. Most recent studies have focused on the student teachers' perceptions of their preservice experiences or the power cooperating teachers exert over their less experienced colleagues (Britzman, 1991; Vinz, 1996). In these studies, mentor teachers have often been viewed as impeding student teachers' professional growth rather than as promoting it. Considering the importance student teachers place on their practice teaching and the crucial role that mentor teachers play in this experience, the few portraits of effective mentors highlight the need for detailed examinations of effective mentoring in preservice teacher education. To this end, the EMEE project explored how effective mentors, such as Mary, supported student teachers during their practice teaching. We organized this project as a clinical partnership (Wagner, 1997). In these partnerships, teachers participate in reflexive, systematic inquiry sustained by the opportunity to engage in extended conversations about teaching practice (Wagner, 1997, p. 13). In the EMEE project, the cooperating teachers and student teachers served as both coresearchers and informants, exploring with us the significance of their evolving relationships for the education of new teachers. This research process was exploratory, emergent, and dialogic in character (Allen, Cary, & Delgado, 1995; Clark et al., 1996; Dyson, 1995). It emphasized the voices of teachers and student teachers in understanding experiences while it engaged them in expanding the boundaries of their own knowledge about teaching and professional growth. This approach and the topic of inquiry are significantly connected to contemporary thought on teacher development (Clifford & Green, 1996; Elliott, 1995; Hawkey, 1997; McNamara, 1995). Previous studies have suggested that mentors act as instructional models, sources of advice, and sounding boards for concerns about teaching; they challenge student teachers to think more broadly about their practice; and they guide the student teachers' professional development (Daloz, 1986; Elliott & Calderhead, 1993). Moreover, research suggests that mentoring relationships evolve over time in predictable ways, although student teachers' growth may be spurred by unanticipated but significant events (Fairbanks & Meritt, 1998; Maynard & Furlong, 1993; McIntyre & Hagger, 1993; Vinz, 1996). Current research suggests that mentoring relationships shape new teachers' professional practice in important ways (Hawkey, 1997). McNamara (1995) argues that the quality of mentoring influences student teachers' capacity to reflect on teaching strategies and to incorporate them into their own practice. In sum, these studies suggest that mentoring consists of complex social interactions that mentor teachers and student teachers construct and negotiate for a variety of professional purposes and in response to the contextual factors they encounter. …

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the role of educative mentors as two novices learn to teach, following them from their yearlong student teaching (2015–2016) through their first-year teaching (2016–2017). During student teaching, each novice was paired with a mentor teacher who received preparation and support to engage in educative mentoring practices. This study analyzes evidence from multiple data sources collected over 2 years to understand what novices take up from their student-teaching mentors and take with them into their first-year teaching. Findings illustrate that the activities of mentoring matter in the learning to teach process of novices, particularly related to the way novices are able to focus their planning, instruction, and reflection around pupil thinking and understanding.

Practicum in early childhood teacher education is widely acknowledged as essential, with kindergarten-based mentor teachers playing a key role in student teachers’ professional development. Despite their importance, research on early childhood education mentor teachers remains limited to date. This mixed methods study explores how mentor teachers perceive their role, including motivations and challenges. It combines survey data with qualitative interviews with Norwegian mentor teachers. Findings indicate that mentor teachers are highly motivated, view mentoring as a professional responsibility, and find collaboration with student teachers and teacher education programmes rewarding. However, several challenges are identified, particularly competing roles and responsibilities, academic pressure, and the organisation and demands of the practicum. The results offer insights to strengthen mentor teachers’ role, enhance partnerships between higher education institutions and the practice field, and support mentor teachers in providing student teachers with a realistic understanding of the early childhood profession.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review and highlight key findings, themes and ideas from selected published academic papers on mentoring in education, with a specific focus on how mentoring can foster the professional learning and development of educators at all stages of their professional development. Design/methodology/approach The author conducted a literature review of all the papers published in the International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, from Volume 1, Issue 1 (2012) to Volume 4, Issue 4 (2015), that contained the word “mentoring” in either the title, abstract and/or keywords and with a discussion of mentoring in the main text. In total, 37 papers were analysed in order to create a meta-synthesis of the primary findings. Findings The findings present factors that foster mentoring success or failure. The purposes and components of mentoring programmes are diverse and contextually bound. Additionally, there is a tendency to view mentoring as a developmental relationship in which the mentor shares knowledge and expertise to support the mentee’s learning and professional development. Research limitations/implications As this meta-synthesis literature review is focussed on articles published in a single journal on mentoring, it has limited scope. However, the range of countries in which the authors of the reviewed empirical studies reside (13 countries), and the diversity of papers included in this review allowed the author to summarize and synthesize unique information for researchers and practitioners who are seeking to understand the process, outcomes and issues related to mentoring for the professional development of educators. Practical implications The review provides information for those seeking to study and implement mentoring programmes. It focusses on mentoring for professional development of educators, identifies primary concepts in the literature reviewed and highlights new research areas in mentoring in education. Originality/value This literature review discusses mentoring definitions from 37 different papers and contributes important knowledge to produce a picture of the intricacy of mentoring. Complex issues linked with mentoring are addressed, generating a critical systematization of mentoring research likely to have a lasting influence in the field.

PurposeThis paper is about mentoring of initial teacher education (ITE) students whilst on their practicum.Design/methodology/approachInformed by a social constructivist theoretical framework, an online survey was used to capture the breadth of quantitative data and the richness of qualitative responses relating to factors that impact student teachers' experiences during practicum.FindingsQuantitative data indicate that many student teachers were positive about the practicum, but this varied across the type of school in which they were placed. The qualitative data analyses showed a greater in-depth understanding of the range of issues that impacted how student teachers are treated in their role as a mentee by the mentor and the wider school community.Practical implicationsBetter understanding the experiences of student teachers helps to inform ITE providers of the critical role that mentor teachers play in preparing student teachers. The practical implications are that strategies to develop deep and collaborative partnerships amongst ITE providers, mentor teachers and school leaders, which build stronger understandings of a mentor teacher's role, are critical in order to support student teachers.Originality/valueThis research study repositions the critical nature of effective mentoring of student teachers so that mentor teachers and ITE providers can be informed by the voices and lived realities of these student teachers. The mentoring relationship needs to be critically interrogated to provide a more even and supportive “playing field” for all student teachers.

In this qualitative study, we engage in a critical discourse analysis of the counternarratives of a Black female preservice teacher (Paula) to understand how she experienced planning and teaching a literacy lesson, using a picture book about a Black girl's experience of racism, in her white mentor teacher's classroom. Drawing upon counternarratives and theories of curriculum and dominant ideologies, we explore how racetalk was silenced and dominant ideologies were legitimized. We also discuss how Paula learned from and resisted lessons in silencing racetalk from her mentor teacher. Lastly, we explore intersections of race, gender, and agency in student teaching. We conclude with implications that include exploring how race, gender, and power dynamics influence literacy in internship classrooms; accounting for students' intersectional identities in theories of teacher development; dispelling myths about racetalk; informing mentor teachers about the competencies that student teachers bring; and recognizing racial literacies as an asset.

This article reports on research undertaken to understand the impact on primary student teachers’ professional learning when school-based mentors explicitly share their expertise through discussing some of the ‘Learn how to’ statements from the Core Content Framework for Initial Teacher Training, introduced by the Department of Education in 2019 to establish minimum entitlement for all student teachers. Initial Teacher Education has become more school-based and the role of school-based mentors is increasingly significant. Primary student teachers took part in an online survey, and school-based mentors in focus group discussions, to explore the impact of weekly expert guidance meetings and how these might be improved. Student teachers valued learning from school-based mentors when they shared their expertise in an explicit, well-contextualised way but this practice was not fully embedded across schools. Mentors were keen to share their expertise with student teachers, and identified the importance of structured, dedicated time to discuss the ‘learn how to’ statements, tailored to individual needs, and for student teachers to identify specific follow-up actions to apply to their developing practice. Mentors identified ways in which such discussions might have greater impact through, for example, developing their knowledge of the curriculum of the ITE provider.

Lesson Study (LS) is a methodology that enables student teachers (STs) to gain insights into their pupils' learning processes during their practicum, thereby improving their instructional practices and supporting their professional learning throughout teacher education. However, "time" has emerged as a critical factor for the successful implementation of LS, particularly within the context of a one-year university-based initial teacher education program. To address this challenge, an integrated LS model was designed and implemented within the curriculum, specifically in relation to a thesis component and the practicum experience. This model was evaluated with a focus on professional learning, with the aim of fine-tuning the conditional input factors necessary for its effectiveness. The conceptual framework of Kager guided this evaluation, identifying input factors across three levels: compositional (team level), structural (LS process level), and contextual (organizational level). STs were consulted through questionnaires, individual interviews, and focus group discussions to explore which factors at these three levels either enhanced or hindered their professional learning. In addition, a document analysis of the thesis projects was conducted to triangulate the findings. The results indicate that the three levels interact and mutually influence each other. At the compositional level, interpersonal dynamics—such as trust, dysfunctional collaboration skills, and open communication—as well as limited teaching experience, prior knowledge, and group composition, were found to impede professional learning. At the structural level, STs reported time pressure due to the duration of the entire LS cycle, and some LS groups failed to make sufficient use of the provided tools and support, suggesting a limited understanding of LS. At the contextual level, misalignments in support systems created difficulties for STs in navigating and planning the LS process. This study sheds light on the complex interplay between team composition, contextual support, and structural guidance in the implementation of LS within a one-year university teacher education program. It further provides practical recommendations for improving the integration of LS into the curriculum in order to enhance STs' professional learning and overall engagement with the LS process. Received: 21 April 2025 | Revised: 25 June 2025 | Accepted: 10 October 2025 Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work. Data Availability Statement The data that support the findings of this study, as well as the measurement instruments used, are openly available in Figshare at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.30149167 Author Contribution Statement Iris Willems: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization, Project administration. Wouter Schelfhout: Writing - review & editing. Elke Struyf: Writing - review & editing, Supervision.

Competence in using information and communications technology (ICT) in teaching is required for Qualified Teacher Status and considerable attention is given to acquiring skills during initial teacher training and school experience. In the past, in secondary schools (ages 11-18 years), serving and student teachers of the more numeric subjects (sciences, social sciences, technology and maths) generally reported more positive views and use of ICT than their fellows of the less numeric subjects such as humanities and languages. However, there appeared to be considerable variation amongst individuals within subjects. Explanations of individual variation were explained by access to ICT equipment, preparation and opportunities for student teachers to use ICT in school experience, compatibility of views of ICT use amongst teacher mentors and their colleagues and competing demands on student teachers' time and energy. Both general trends and individual cases are considered in this article. Findings suggest that positive views and actual use of ICT in teaching have increased considerably in recent years. A sample of student teachers and teacher mentors were able to describe a range of uses of ICT; they valued ICT highly but generally less than teaching skills such as planning, preparation and class management.

This paper systematically reviews the contemporary research literature surrounding physical education (PE) mentors in initial teacher education (ITE). Using the 'Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta- Analysis Protocols' (PRISMA- P) methodologies, articles were analysed qualitatively using deductive thematic analysis in relation to content related to three core aspects of PE mentorship: i) terminology ii) attributes and iii) professional learning. The findings identified variations in the terminology and the expectations associated with the role of the PE mentor. A significant number of research studies identified in the literature search focused on developing mentoring processes through collaboration and co- enquiry approaches. However, the literature review found a lack of explicit reference to the professional learning needs and opportunities for PE mentors. The review has led to six key recommendations, two of which are: i) PE mentors should be selected because they possess appropriate attributes to be effective in the role and, ii) professional learning opportunities should be made available to enable PE mentors to recognise the scope of the role and build their capacity to employ collaborative and enquiry- based approaches to supporting the development of student teachers.

Student teaching is a powerful formative experience for special education teacher candidates. Crucial to candidate success in student teaching is the effectiveness of their mentor teacher. However, the role of mentor teacher does not occur in a vacuum and context factors into the quality of the experience. A growing body of research indicates that a placement school’s working conditions may also contribute to candidate outcomes. Yet, prior research provides little insight into how these elements may interact and relate to candidates’ development. This study investigates this potential relationship and the ways in which they may shape candidate development. Results suggest mentor teachers’ available planning time and collaborative relationships with general education colleagues are important working conditions in supporting relationships between mentors and candidates, candidate development, and candidates’ future career plans. Implications and future directions for mentorship research are discussed.

It is 40-plus years since the upstart Professional Development Program was initiated at Simon Fraser University. Among its many audacious innovations, the program offered opportunities for practicing teachers to play leading roles in the professional development of student teachers. Seconded (temporarily released) to the university for two-year terms, these not only supervised student teaching, but also were given responsibilities for directing, organizing, and implementing teaching seminars for students on campus. While the advantages of involving faculty associates in the professional development of students were immediately clear, it was not initially foreseen that such experiences would contribute to the professional development of the faculty associates as well. Forty years later seems, then, a good vantage point from which to examine how the role of faculty associate became a pathway to personal and professional change. While professional development comes in various shapes and sizes, there is, arguably, no experience comparable to the two years in which practicing teachers are given opportunities to play key roles in the education of future teachers. They are changed in major ways as a result of their experiences--both in terms of their teaching practice and in their personal behavior. The Professional Development Program The Professional Development Program, launched in 1965, turned all the rules of teacher education upside down. Students, in teams of two, begin their three-semester experience with a half-semester of student teaching. They observe and participate in such tasks as tutoring individual students, helping the teacher with various instruction-related jobs, and offering instruction to small groups, closely supervised by the mentor teacher. Students working in pairs can support each other. Most important, this initiation into practice disabuses students of any romantic notions they might have about teaching. In the second half of the first semester, students attend seminars in which they examine and reflect on classroom experiences, read relevant texts, and advance their understandings and skills in key curriculum areas. The second semester includes 16 weeks of student teaching. The third semester consists of coursework. Given this bold new approach, critics claimed that it would never fly. We'll give you two they said. The rest, as they say, is history. The program has become one of the most highly regarded teacher education programs in Canada. But this is not a paean to the teacher education program. It is, rather, an examination of the role of the faculty associate--what it actually is and how it not only serves the students in the program, but advances the professional development of the practicing teachers. Selecting Faculty Associates Approximately 40 to 50 faculty associates work in the program each year. Each is a practicing teacher who has been released temporarily from his or her school district to join the Simon Fraser faculty. Most come from British Columbia, though a few may come from other provinces and, over the years, some have come from abroad and even from the United States. The selection process is very much like any other job search. Ads are placed in newspapers and education journals, and applications are sought from practicing teachers who have at least five years of teaching experience. Teachers assemble a portfolio that includes a formal application, letters of reference, plus any other relevant materials, including a DVD that shows the teacher's classroom work. At the first screening level, all applications are reviewed by a selection committee that includes faculty and program coordinators (former faculty associates who have responsibilities for program development). Candidates are selected based on several criteria: length and breadth of teaching experiences, nature of teaching experience, reasons for wishing to become a faculty associate, and the relationship between a candidate's area of expertise and program needs for that year. …

The relative contributions of higher education and schools, and hence the conceptual and practical aspects of ITE, to student teachers’ professional learning have been an issue of concern in teacher education. This article reports a mixed-methods study showing the relationship between student teachers’ engagement with the practical and conceptual aspects of a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) Programme in Hong Kong and different facets of their perceived professional competence. One hundred and thirty-two student teachers participated in the quantitative survey of whom seven were interviewed. The findings reveal that experiences associated with learning the pragmatic facets of professional practice were more valued by student teachers compared to learning the conceptual aspects of ITE. Yet, in terms of relationship with professional competence, student teachers’ engagement with the practical aspects of ITE was related to competence in classroom teaching, whereas their engagement with the conceptual aspects contributed to their mastery of professional knowledge, competence in classroom teaching and competence in interacting with stakeholders. The study illuminates the distinctive contributions of schools and higher education in ITE. While acknowledging the important role of schools in providing a setting for practical work, this study affirms the distinctive contribution of higher education in equipping student teachers with practical and conceptual tools in the preparation of professionally competent teachers.