Being “adopted” into a teaching community

Abstract

Purpose In order to prepare new members of the education profession, it is imperative that teachers enter their classrooms with the confidence, knowledge, and skills to serve their students from day one. One method for preparing such teacher candidates or student teachers is through school-based field placements during their preparation program. The purpose of this paper is to describe one example of a yearlong field placement and the mentoring relationships that emerged among participants. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study used the following data sources: focus group interviews among the teacher candidates, focus group interviews among the mentor teachers, field placement reflections and teaching analyses composed by the teacher candidates, and interviews conducted among teacher candidates and mentor teachers. Findings Analysis of the data revealed that the yearlong field placement promoted positive mentoring relationships between teacher candidates and their classroom teachers. Specifically the following themes emerged: the “adoption” of teacher candidates into the high school classrooms, risk-taking within the classrooms, the mentor teachers’ use of constructive feedback, and collaborative “mentoring-down-the-hall.” Originality/value In recent years, various scholars have investigated the impact of field placement experiences on teacher candidates; however, these studies have lacked a detailed analysis of how such experiences impacted mentoring relationships among candidates and their mentor teachers in a collaborative setting. This paper provides an in-depth study of the perceived experiences of mentor teachers and their candidates.

Mentors’ Perceptions of Supervising Student English Language Teachers During One-Year Clinical Practice

“…The development of the mentoring relationship is also determined by its length and closeness. Bentley et al (2017) explored mentor-mentee relationships across a year-long practicum at one school and concluded that during the year, pre-service teachers were more likely to establish stronger and trusting relationships with their mentors; the mentees who felt comfortable with their mentors were more willing to take risks and utilised mistakes as valuable learning experiences. Contrary to that, Jederud et al (2021) show how implementing a paired practicum, one of the structural changes that the practice turn has brought to Sweden, has a negative influence on the mentor-mentee relationship.…”

“…Ambrosetti and Dekkers (2010) argue that in the context of ITE, the relationship follows a developmental pattern within a specified timeframe, which is two semesters in this study. With reference to Bentley et al (2017), it may be concluded that the length of the practicum in the ELTE study programme at the University of Pardubice is conducive to the development of the mentor-mentee relationship. Moreover, the one mentor-one mentee format of the practicum is also favourable regarding the development of the relationship, unlike the paired format (one mentor with two mentees), which changes the relational dynamics (Jederud et al, 2021).…”

To Be or Not to Be a Great Educator

“…The development of the mentoring relationship is also determined by its length and closeness. Bentley et al (2017) explored mentor-mentee relationships across a year-long practicum at one school and concluded that during the year, pre-service teachers were more likely to establish stronger and trusting relationships with their mentors; the mentees who felt comfortable with their mentors were more willing to take risks and utilised mistakes as valuable learning experiences. Contrary to that, Jederud et al (2021) show how implementing a paired practicum, one of the structural changes that the practice turn has brought to Sweden, has a negative influence on the mentor-mentee relationship.…”