ONSIDE Mentoring

Witnessing well-being in action: Observing teacher well-being during field experiences predicts student teacher well-being

“…In particular, the findings of this study highlight that observational learning might be a promising route in supporting student teacher well-being. In addition to other support measures like dedicated university courses, mentoring, and self-help interventions (e.g., Goodday et al, 2019;Hobson, 2020;Dreer, 2021), methods of observational learning, like targeted classroom observations, should therefore be considered in teacher well-being education. This might be particularly valuable if student teachers are able to observe in-service teachers with high rates of occupational well-being, which emphasizes the importance of choosing a quality school for conducting field experiences.…”

“…The authors' experiments led them to conclude that when watching others, participants experienced strong positive emotions that inspired them to improve themselves, their behavior, and their relationships. Accordingly, research on mentoring showed that mentor well-being and emotional support are connected to student teacher wellbeing (Hobson et al, 2009;Squires, 2019;Hobson, 2020). In addition, studies conducted in classrooms indicate that emotional contagion makes non-verbal and verbal teacher behavior influence the emotions and behavior of recipients (Mottet and Beebe, 2000;Becker et al, 2014;Houser and Waldbuesser, 2017).…”

Well-being and mentoring in pre-service teacher education: an integrative literature review

“…These effects include a strengthened identity as a teacher, functional relationships with their students and colleagues and increased knowledge in areas such as pedagogy, communication and the use of digital technologies (e.g. Clarke et al, 2014;Davies et al, 1999;Hobson, 2020;Lopez-Real and Kwan, 2005;Templeton, 2003). Ultimately, teachers' job-related well-being can be linked to their ability to grow in their roles as mentors and to provide quality support in accordance with the support needs of their menteeswhich is what successful mentors do (Beck and Kosnik, 2002;Hobson et al, 2009).…”

“…Broad and Muhling, 2017;Dreer, 2020;Orland-Barak and Wang, 2020;Squires, 2019). To help improve the quality of this relationship, mentors need to be committed to their tasks and roles (Allen and Eby, 2008) and understand that the social and emotional aspects are integral to mentoring work (Hobson, 2020;Hoffman et al, 2015). Clarke et al (2022) argued that a positive mentor-mentee relationship can mitigate some of the challenges faced by beginning teachers and provide resources for the well-being of both mentors and mentees.…”

“…For example, teachers who chose to be mentors in order to learn and develop or to share their experiences with the next generation of educators were more likely to engage in a developmental (personal growthoriented) style. Even though student teachers clearly articulate their need for emotional support during their school practicum (Beck and Kosnik, 2002), their emotions and psychological needs are less often considered during mentoring (He, 2009;Hennissen et al, 2008;Hobson, 2020;Orland-Barak and Wang, 2020). Previous studies on mentor-mentee matching have indicated that expertise, attitudes and interpersonal skills may be crucial to the alignment between what the mentor offers and what the mentee needs (Callahan, 2016).…”