Beginning teachers and mentors

 

Ms Eleni Stathatos Ringwood Secondary College Ringwood, Victoria, Australia

 

World-wide research is ringing the alarm bells to highlight a serious loss in the retention of young teachers. The toll is being heard nationally and internationally, with departments of education bringing in induction and mentoring programs, in a bid to support, and ultimately retain, beginning teachers. The statistics reveal that many beginning teachers do not make it past their first year and the attrition rate after that is of great concern to governments. Ten per cent of new teachers in Australia leave teaching within their first year; 20% leave within three years and 30% within their first five years (Darling- Hammond, 2000).

Some statistics place the new teacher attrition rate at nearly 40% after four years (Moir, 2003). It has to be acknowledged that teacher attrition isn't always bad. ‘Some of this turnover is, of course, normal, inevitable, and even beneficial. Not all of those who enter the teaching occupation should, or will, remain in teaching' (Smith and Ingersoll, 2004:691). However, a major concern is that beginning teachers are not always choosing to stay in the profession.

A close examination of the research into the programs designed to support beginning teachers inevitably focus on their induction and mentoring in the school. The research reveals that the terms ‘induction' and ‘mentoring' are used interchangeably today (Smith and Ingersoll, 2004). In the context of Victoria, Australia, a formalised induction and mentoring program has been mandated in all government schools and the requirements for supporting beginning teachers by schools has increased. The mandatory assigning of mentors to beginning teachers and the performance-based criteria to demonstrate their capabilities has been a challenge to schools, mentors and the beginning teachers themselves.

Studies highlight that where there are multiple induction components there is a strong and significant effect on teacher retention (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004). There have been interesting comparisons about measuring what matters in the first year of a beginning teacher's life. Comparisons between first year out teachers in the United States and Japan (Martin &Wilson, 2002) have provided an alternative perspective other than the one western society has been grappling with: that teacher assessment in the first year is a series of tests to evaluate the competencies of beginning teachers. Emphasis in the case of Japanese beginning teachers is on mentoring of the beginning teacher, not assessing his or her competence (Martin & Wilson, 2002). The mentor is usually a retired teacher and is paid by the prefecture, which ensures that the ‘mentors' primary responsibility is to the new teachers they are assisting' (Martin & Wilson, 2002: 17). Furthermore, new teachers receive 10 days of professional development in the form of collaborative partnership to develop, teach and refine successful lessons called ‘the study of teaching' (Martin & Wilson, 2002:19). Thus, in Japan, ‘the emphasis on mentoring and professional development during the induction year in Japan reflects a belief that learning to teach takes place more gradually and in a community of other teachers. Mentoring is viewed as so important that the government hires professionals who make it their prime responsibility. The new teacher becomes part of a group of colleagues who expect to collaborate and assist each other to improve the quality of their teaching' (Martin & Wilson, 2002:19) It is a far cry from the traditional view of entering a profession in which ‘critics have long assailed teaching as an occupation that “cannibalises its young” and in which the initiation of new teachers is akin to a “swim or sink”, “trial by fire” or “boot camp” experience' (Smith & Ingersoll, 2004:682). Indeed, the mentoring programs the west usually adopts translates to one experienced teacher taking on the role of a mentor on top of allotted teaching duties, raising its own unique problems.

Firstly, there is the question of whether a great teacher can become an effective mentor. Does one need training to be able to take a beginning teacher through the intricacies of the first year? Various approaches have been made to investigate this very concept, from large scale studies with numerous participants to single subject studies that allow for in-depth investigation of a mentor's learning. Orland's study (2001) on the process of learning to construct the role of a mentor led her to adopt a qualitative study inquiry stance. Acknowledging the limitations of a single case study, the research nevertheless highlights that ‘learning to become a mentor is a conscious process of induction into a different teaching context and does not “emerge” naturally from being a good teacher of children' (Orland, 2001: 75). Norman & Feiman-Nemser (2005) support this argument from their study:

‘If we want to promote mentoring as a significant influence on new teacher learning, we need to know more about the kind of mentoring that makes such a difference'.
(Norman & Feiman-Nemser, 2005: 681).

It is frightening to think that even if there is a support program for beginning teachers, ‘few programs provide any organised training for the mentors to assist them in mentoring effectively. In fact, most mentors have never seen a formal job description of their duties and have little idea what those duties might be' (Gagen & Bowie, 2005).

The idea that a mentor must undertake professional development is advocated by a number of researchers, whose studies have shown that a trained mentor has greater success in developing highly skilled beginning teachers than an untrained mentor (Holloway; Darling-Hammond). As Brock and Grady's survey of the principals in Nebraska highlighted, 71% did not have a formal training program for mentors (Brock & Grady, 1996). Other researchers warn of the dangers of untrained mentors as ‘new mentors are treated pretty much as new teachers were, allowed to sink or swim, armed with only intuition and good intentions to keep themselves afloat' (Moir, 2003:5). Furthermore, Bullough and Draper's study of the emotions of a mentoring relationship highlights that the mentors in their study, ‘although inexperienced, shared a conception of the “proper” mentor. The proper mentor is an expert teacher and skilled coach, a sometimes mother figure who defends her ‘children', is open and responsive to whatever needs a neophyte presents, has a flexible but heuristically useful concept of how beginning teachers develop, is able to maintain an optimal distance and involvement in the neophyte's classroom and protects the neophyte not only from threatening parents and potentially meddlesome administrators but from knowing too much about the mentor, what the mentor actually thinks about the neophyte as a person and as a teacher, and about the range of responsibilities the mentor has embraced on the neophyte's behalf.

It is little wonder that mentoring is stressful ' (Bullough & Draper, 2004:285). The ‘emotional masking' whereby the mentor takes on the role of the emotional provider, without revealing any of his/her emotions with the beginning teacher, prompts the researchers to suggest that ‘the same arguments that support the value of mentoring for beginning teacher development can, and should, be made for mentor teacher development' (Bullough & Draper 2004:287).

The recognition that mentoring has its own subculture of emotions is a fairly new development. In their intense study of the emotions of mentors and beginning teachers, Bullough and Draper gathered data from 14 beginning teachers weekly, about the high and low points of their week, ‘and their views and feelings about their mentors and their work with their mentors' (Bullough & Draper 2004:273). They acknowledge the work of previous researchers, like Goddard and Foster, who described six stages of development for the beginning teacher, one of which is to question their abilities to meet intrinsic and extrinsic expectations (Bullough & Draper, 2004). They highlight Kelchterman's notion of vulnerability (Bullough & Draper, 2004:273) and felt that, armed with this information, it was time to examine the emotional role played out in the mentoring relationship. They conclude that ‘at one time or another, virtually all of the interns wanted and needed emotional support' (Bullough & Draper 2004:275). However, in most studies, the mentoring relationship focuses on the skills the mentor sees as fundamentally important for the beginning teacher to establish, like lesson planning, classroom management skills, communication with parents, and so on (Gagen & Bowie, 2005).

In Victoria, the recognition that mentors need training is translating into a substantial program. The Victorian Institute of Teaching instigated such a program three years ago. Mentors are required to officially register with the institute and attend inservice training, while undertaking the role of mentor. The training consists of a series of workshops aimed at familiarising mentors with the requirements of a beginning teacher's performance, encompassed in the Standards of Professional Practice. The three areas mentors are trained to provide guidance in are:

• planning and completing an analysis for teaching and learning; completing and compiling records of collegiate classroom activities;
• listing and commenting on a range of professional engagement activities.

The Principles of Effective Mentoring espoused in the institute's documentation to schools makes sense. However, there are other possibilities that the institute may wish to explore, such as training mentors to build trust and collaboration into the mentoring relationship and to nurture the efficacy of beginning teachers in their first year.

It is too early to tell if the institute's approach is working. Statistics to reveal the attrition rate since the program's implementation have not yet been revealed, perhaps because the program is still in its infancy. However, statistics from overseas suggest that well designed mentoring programs lower the rate of attrition of beginning teachers (Andrews, 2003; Moir, 2003). If this is the case, then the training for those who wish to become an effective and successful mentor to a beginning teacher should be a high priority on any department of education's agenda.

References

Andrews, SP (2003). No Teacher Left Behind: Mentoring and Supporting Novice Teachers, Paper presented at the Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education/Georgia, Spring 2003. Association of Teacher Educators Conference.

Brock, BL & Grady, ML (1996). Beginning Teacher Induction Programs. Paper presented at the annual general meeting of the National Council of Professors in Educational Administration Corpus Christi.

Bullough, JR & Draper, RJ (2004). ‘Mentoring and the Emotions'. In Journal of Education for Teaching. Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 271-288.

Darling-Hammond, L (2000). Solving the Dilemmas of Teacher, Demand and Standards: How can we ensure a competent, caring, and qualified teacher for every child? New York: National Commission on Teaching and America 's Future.

Gagen, L & Bowie, S (2005). ‘Effective Mentoring: A case for Training Mentors for Novice Teachers'. In Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Vol. 76, Issue 7, pp. 40-46.

Holloway, JH (2001). ‘The Benefits of Mentoring'. In Educational Leadership. Vol. 58, Issue 8, pp. 85-86.

Ingersoll, RM & Smith, TM (2004). ‘Do Teacher Induction and Mentoring Matter?' National Association of Secondary School Principals. In NASSP Bulletin. Vol. 88, Issue 638, pp. 28-41.

Martin, KM & Wilson, VA (2002). ‘Measuring What Matters: Assessing Novice Teachers in Ohio and Japan '. Paper presented at the Japan-United States Teacher Education Consortium, Tokushima.

Moir, E (2003). ‘Launching the Next Generation of Teachers through Quality Induction'. Paper presented at the State Partners Symposium of the National Commission on Teaching and America 's Future, Denver, Colorado.

Norman, PJ & Feiman-Nemser, S (2005). ‘Mind Activity in Teaching and Mentoring'. In Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol. 21, Issue 6, pp. 679-697.

Orland, L (2001). ‘Reading a Mentoring Situation: One aspect of learning to mentor'. In Teaching and Teacher Education. Vol. 17, Issue 1, pp. 75-88.

Smith, TM & Ingersoll, RM (2004). ‘What are the Effects of Induction and Mentoring on Beginning Teacher Turnover?' In American Educational Research Journal. Washington. Vol. 41, Iss.3, pp. 681-715.

 

Ms Eleni Stathatos is a leading teacher at Ringwood Secondary College, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Before her role as Staff Development and Professional Learning Leader, she was a year 7 coordinator and, previous to this role, head of LOTE (Languages Other Than English) at the college. In her current role, Ms Stathatos works closely with beginning teachers and staff mentors and runs a successful induction and mentoring program. She supports the professional learning and skill development of all staff and has introduced innovative programs, such as ‘Teaching in Action', which showcases good teaching practice. Ms Stathatos has presented at the Modern Language Teachers Association of Victoria, Navcon Adelaide 2003, the Victorian University of Technology and as part of Ringwood Secondary College's Professional Development Program.

Join the online discussion for all supporting papers from Monday 19 June to Sunday 26 June 2006.