Hellsten Et Al. 2009

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CANADIANJOURNALOFEDUCATION32,4(2009):7037332009CanadianSocietyfortheStudyofEducation/

Socitcanadiennepourltudedelducation

TeacherInduction:ExploringBeginningTeacherMentorship

LaurieannM.Hellsten,MichelleP.Prytula,&

AltheaEbanks

UniversityofSaskatchewan

HollisLai

UniversityofAlberta

Inductionprograms, includingmentorship,serve tobridge the transition frompre

service to inservice teaching. This study explored the mentorship experiences of

Saskatchewanbeginning teachers. Analysis of interviews identified three themes:

assigned/unassigned mentors, engaged/disengaged mentors, and single/multiple

mentors.Onemoderating themealsoemerged: thecompatibilityof thementorand

beginning teacher.Thecombinationof themesprovidespreliminarysupport foran

alternativemodelofmentoringbasedon learningcommunitiesand foundedonthe

conceptsofstrongandweaktiesandtheconstructivistmodelofknowledge.

KeyWords:theoreticalmodel,mentorrelationship,multiplementors, learningcom

munities

Lesprogrammesdinsertionprofessionnelle,dont lesprogrammesdementorat,ser

vent faciliter la transition entre la formation initiale lenseignement et laprati

quedenseignement. Cette rechercheporte sur lesexpriencesde nouveauxensei

gnants en Saskatchewan. Lanalyse des entrevues effectues a permis didentifier

trois thmes:mentors attitrs/non attitrs,mentors actifs/peu impliqus etmentor

unique/mentorsmultiples. Unautre thmeentregalementen lignedecompte : la

compatibilitentrelementoretlenouvelenseignant. Lacombinaisondecesthmes

fournit un cadre prliminaire pour un nouveau modle de mentorat ax sur des

communautsdapprentissageetfondsurlesconceptsdelienstroitsetfaiblesetle

modleconstructivistedusavoir.

Mots cls:modle thorique, relationaumentor,mentorsmultiples, communauts

dapprentissage


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704 LAURIEANNM.HELLSTENETAL

Despite being well prepared and committed to teaching, beginning

teachers(BTs)areoftendisillusionedbytheirinitiationintotheteaching

profession (LeMaistre, 2000;McPherson, 2000).Theprocessof teacher

inductionattemptstobridgethetransitionfrompreservicetoinservice

(Ingersoll&Smith,2004).Themostcommonandessentialcomponentof

teacher induction ismentorship (Carver& FeimanNemser, 2008;Cor

bell,Reiman,&Nietfeld,2008; Ingersoll&Smith,2004;Schmidt,2008).

Designed to induce communication and development of skills among

BTs,mentorshipprovidesappropriate supportand resources.Previous

researchhasfoundthatmentorsupportpositivelyinfluencesBTsatisfac

tion in the teachingprofessionandworkplace (Carter&Francis, 2001;

DarlingHammond,2003).Dependinguponjurisdiction,bothformaland

informalprofessionaldevelopmentandmentorshipprogramshavebeenestablished,butfewmodelsofmentorshipexist.

TheprovinceofSaskatchewandoesnotcurrentlyregulateamanda

tory, formal teacher inductionprogram.Mentorshippolicies,whichare

decentralized to each school division, are usually implemented at the

school levelat thediscretionof theprincipal.Todevelopa theoretical

modelofmentorshipandtoexplaintheprocessofinductionforSaskat

chewanBTs,thisstudyexaminedmentorshipexperiencesfromthepers

pectiveof12SaskatchewanBTsintheirfirstclassroomteachingposition

followinggraduation.

LITERATUREREVIEW

Scholars have suggested various models of career development for

teachers (e.g.,Berliner,1988;Fuller&Brown,1975).Stage theoriespro

posethatteachersprogressthroughalinearcontinuumofdevelopmen

talstages (e.g.,Berliner,1994)with the first twoyearsof teachingcom

monlyreferredtoasthetimeofsurvival(Huberman,1989).Researchers

havesuggestedthattheexperiencesofBTs inthefirstyearsofteaching

have longterm implications for teaching effectiveness,job satisfaction,

and career length (Bartell, 2004). More recently, teaching career cycle

modelshaveextendedstagetheoriestobetterrepresentthedynamicand

diversenatureofBTexperiences(Fessler,1985;Huberman,1992;Steffy,

Wolfe,Pasch,&Enz,2000).CareercycletheoryrecognizesthatBTexper

iencesarehighlycontextual, influencedby thebroadersociety, thecul


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TEACHERINDUCTION 705

ture of the teaching profession, the nature of a teacherswork, school

related factors, and the communities inwhich the schools are located

(Lynn,2005;Steffyetal.,2000).As these contexts change, sowill indi

vidual teachers professional priorities, activities, and relationships

(Lynn,2005).Forexample,agoodworkplace,ascharacterizedbycom

petentadministration,opportunities forprofessionaldevelopment,and

strong professional learning communities (Johnson& Birkeland, 2003;

McNeil,Hood,Kurtz,Thousand,&Nevin,2006)canreduceuncertainty

and increasetheopportunitiesforteacherstoachievesuccessandsatis

faction(Johnson&Birkeland,2003).

Manybeginning teachers report an inability to cope, anddescribe

feeling isolated (Stanulis,Burrill,&Ames, 2007), aswell as frustrated,

anxious,demoralized,andoverwhelmedbythedemandsoftheprofession(ONeill,2004;Rogers&Babinski,1999;Schlichte,Yssel,&Merbler,

2005). Beginning teachers also report a lack of mentorship (Hebert&

Worthy, 2001). Teachers may perceive their first years of teaching as

negative because of the unrealistic expectations and beliefs teachers

themselveshaveaboutteaching (FeimanNemser,1983;Marso&Pigge,

1987),oralternately,becauseof theunrealisticexpectations that school

administratorsplaceonBTs(Allen,2000;Romano,2008).ManyBTsenter

theirfirstyearofteachingwiththesameteaching loadandresponsibil

itiesasteacherswithmanyyearsofseniority(Angelle,2006).Beginning

teachers may alsobe given the most difficult classroom assignments

(Danielson,2002;

Ganser,

1996).

Furthermore,

BTs

are

often

expected

to

perform the same duties and responsibilities as experienced teachers

with thesame levelofexpertise,efficiency,andefficacyasexperienced

teachers(Wildman,Niles,Magliaro,&McLaughlin,1989).

InductionPrograms

Induction, a socialization process (Rippon & Martin, 2006), comprises

how a teaching community acculturates itsnew teachers (Wong, 2004;

Wong, Britton, & Ganser, 2005). According to the Ontario College of

Teachers,(OCT),plannedandsustainedsupportfornewteachers,inan

inductionprogram,helps themduring their transition from student to

fullfledgedprofessionalandisvitaltokeepingthemintheprofession

(n.d.). Inductionprogramsvaryas to theirpurpose (Ingersoll&Smith,


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2004)andassuch,thetypeofsupportBTsreceiveininductionprograms

varieswidely (Davis&Higdon,2008).Specificdefinitionsof induction

usually refer to formal and highly structured staff development pro

grams that takeplaceduring thebeginningyearsof a teachers career

(Wong,2004;Wongetal.,2005).Forexample, teacher inductioncanbe

defined as the support and direction provided toBTs in the first few

yearsof teaching (Bartlett,Johnson,Lopez,Sugarman,&Wilson,2005).

However, induction may also involve fairly informal socialization

processesthatvaryfromschooltoschool(Bolman&Deal,1997).

Avarietyoforganizationsdeliverinductionprograms.ManyNorth

American BT induction programs, which are government mandated,

involveassignedmentorswiththeprogramdeliveredthroughauniver

sitystategoverningbodypartnership.Anexampleofsuchanapproachis the province of Ontario (Cherubini, 2007), with its recently imple

mentedNew Teacher Induction Program (OntarioMinistry of Educa

tion,2008).

Although induction programs appear to improve teacher quality,

whichhasbeenshowntobeoneofthebestpredictorsofstudentsuccess

(Davis & Higdon, 2008), lack of funding (Carver & FeimanNemser,

2008)andanunderconceptualized,narrowviewofhowtosupportand

develop BTs (FeimanNemser, Carver, Schwille, & Yusko, 1999) often

cripple their implementation. Furthermore, research on the character,

quality,andeffectsof inductionprogramsandpoliciesremain limited

(Carver&

Feiman

Nemser,

2008,

p.

5).

Mentorship

Studiesofteacherinductiondefinementorshipasthementoringofnov

iceteachersbyexperiencedteachers(Ingersoll&Smith,2003).Morespe

cifically,mentoringhasbeendefinedas:

[C]reatinganenduringandmeaningful relationshipwithanotherperson,with

thefocusonthequalityofthatrelationshipincludingfactorssuchasmutualre

spect,willingness to learn from each other, or the use of interpersonal skills.

Mentoringisdistinguishablefromotherretentionactivitiesbecauseoftheemph

asison learning ingeneralandmutual learning inparticular.(Salinitri,2005,p.

858)


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Otherresearchershaveidentifiedmentoringasasignificantfactorinin

creasing feelings of job satisfaction (Carter & Francis, 2001; Darling

Hammond, 2003; Evertson& Smithey, 2000) and reducing feelings of

isolationexperiencedbyBTs (Schlichte et al., 2005).Aswith induction

programs, the characteristicsand compositionofmentorshipprograms

vary widely (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004). Furthermore, the roles, know

ledge, and skills associatedwithbeing amentor range from informal

colleague to trained,knowledgeableadvisor (OntarioCollegeofTeach

ers,n.d.).

Numerousstudieshaveexaminedmentorshipprogramstodescribe

theireffectivecharacteristics (e.g.,Algozzine,Gretes,Queen,&Cowan

Hathcock, 2007; Serpell, 2000). Results suggest that compatibility be

tweenamentorandBTbecomesanimportantfactorineffectivementoring(Russell&Adams,1997)asdoesthedesireonthepartofaBTfora

mentor to provideboth instructional and emotional support (Odell&

Ferraro,1992).InherstudyofthesupportforBTsandtheirmentorsand

theirchallenges,Certo(2005)identifiedtheneedforadditionalresearch

documentingbothpositiveandnegativementorshipexperiences,acall

thathasbeenansweredinthestudyreportedhere.

Despitemorethan500publishededucationormanagementjournal

articles focusing onmentorshipduring the years 19871997 (Russell&

Adams,1997)andmanymore since thatdate, fewestablishedmentor

shipmodels exist.Manymentorship programs inadvertentlydraw on

theapprenticeship

model

(Hargreaves,

1988)

where

an

expert

teacher

passesonknowledgeandskills toaprotg.However, theapprentice

shipmodelhasbeencriticizedbecause it fails torecognize theexisting

expertiseoftheprotg,encouragesdeferencetoamentorregardlessof

amentorsexpertise,encouragesconformationtoexistingpractices,and

prohibits thedevelopmentofnewapproaches to teachingand learning

(Rippon&Martin, 2006).Anderson and Shannon (1988) proposed an

alternativemodelofeducationalmentorship.Their earlymodel,based

onthepremise thatmentoring ineducationwasfundamentallyanur

turingprocess (p.40),defined the functionsofmentoringas teaching,

sponsoring, encouraging, counseling, and befriending. Maynard and

Furlong (1995) conceptualized the role of teacher mentors as a three

stagedevelopmentalprocess: (a)workingasacollaborative teacher, (b)


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actingasinstructorthroughobservationandfeedback,and(c)position

ingoneselfasacoenquirer,promotingcriticalreflectiononteachingand

learning.FeimanNemser(2001)proposededucativementoring(p.17)

whichconsistsofemotionalsupport(i.e.,acomfortablerelationshipand

environmentfortheprotg)andprofessionalsupportbasedonunder

standing of how teachers learn. Spindler and Biott (2000) support an

adaptable view of mentorship where the relationship adjusts from

structuredsupporttoemergingcolleagueship(p.281).

GlazerandHannafin (2006) introducedamodel for teacher induc

tion that focusesonrelationshipsbetweenteachers intheirprofessional

learningdevelopment.Theirmodelexamineshow to initiatecollabora

tion and collegial support within a professional teaching community.

Elementsofcollaborationamongteachercolleaguesmayinvolvesharingandevencreatinglearningactivities(Glazer&Hannafin,2006;McCotter,

2001).Oneimportantfindingisthatmentors,inadditiontotheirregular

workload, are expected to provide the emotional and developmental

supportBTsneed,butmaynotbewillingtodoso(Glazer&Hannafin,

2006).Althoughpreviousresearchsuggestsnumerousbenefits forboth

mentorandprotgbasedoncollaborativeefforts,thesemodelsofmen

torship falselyassume thatmentorswouldalwaysbewilling toaidBT

development.

Othermodels ofmentorship have emerged to assist in theunder

standing of thedirect supervision ofBTs.Ralph (2002) developed the

ContextualSupervision

Model

to

assist

supervisors

and

cooperating

teachers tomentor preservice teachers to develop their instructional

repertoire (p. 191) and to improve specific skills. Contextual Super

vision specificallyaddresses theneed for supervisors tovary their role

accordingtotheirprotgsstageofdevelopment.Althoughusefulwith

inthecontextofpreservicesupervision,thismodelhaslimitedapplica

bilitywhenthedirectinternshipexperienceends.

Thedifficultyinestablishingamentorshipmodelmaybeduetothe

lack of research focusingon thedesign andprocess ofmentorship, in

comparisontothemanystudiesthatexaminetheoutcomeofmentorship

programs (Bozeman& Feeney, 2007). It is imperative thatmentorship

programs not only focus on the negative or positive outcomes of the

programsthemselvesbutalsoonthecomponentsofmentorship,espec


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ially the characteristics and quality of the mentor (Carver & Feiman

Nemser,2008).The importanceofestablishingamentorshipmodel isa

crucialstepinprovidingastructuredmeanstocompareandinvestigate

theeffectivenessofcurrentmentorshipimplementations.

Thisstudyevolvedfromalargermixedmethodprogramofresearch

examiningtheexperiencesofBTsinSaskatchewan(Hellstenetal.,2008).

InthisstudyweinvestigatedmentorshipexperiencesofBTsintheirfirst

classroomteachingpositionfollowinggraduation.

StateofMentorshipinSaskatchewan

TheSaskatchewaneducation system iscomprisedofadiversepopula

tion with a range of learning environments. The provinciallyfunded

educationsystem

consists

of

approximately

174,000

students

with

an

18

percentAboriginal studentpopulation (SaskatchewanLearning,2007).

Because the students are spread over 759 schools across the province

(SaskatchewanLearning),theMinistryofEducationhastobeflexiblein

devising a learningdelivery system that is equally effective in remote

environments,ruralcommunities,andurbanareas.ThestateofBTmen

torship inSaskatchewan isunregulated.Compared to required teacher

mentorshipprogramssuchastheNewTeacherInductionProgram(On

tarioMinistryofEducation,2008) regulatedby theOntarioMinistryof

Education, theprovinceofSaskatchewan lacksaprovincewide teacher

induction mentorship program. The results from a survey of BTs in

Saskatchewan

show

that

the

majority

of

BTs

identified

having

a

mentor

asanimportantassetintheirfirstyearofteaching(Hellstenetal.,2007).

METHODOLOGY

Participants

Participantsinthisstudyincluded12purposivelyselectedBTswhowere

20052006 graduates of the University of Regina or the University of

Saskatchewan teacher educationprograms.We contacted all 20052006

educationgraduatesemployedasa teacher insomecapacity inSaskat

chewan (e.g., classroom teacher, substitute teacher, etc.) and invited

them to participate in the study.All education graduates received an

initial

questionnaire

designed

to

aid

researchers

to

select

a

maximum

variationsampleforthe12casestudies.Westratifiedcasestudypartici


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pantselectionbypreserviceteachereducationprogram(50%secondary

and 50% elementary trained), gender (20% male),Aboriginal heritage

(20%),andcurrentschoollocation(25%fromeachofrural,urban,north

ern, andband schools). Because Saskatchewan teacher education pro

grams graduate approximately 20 per cent FirstNations teachers and

approximately 20 per cent male teachers, we selected the case study

sampletorepresenttheseproportions.

Final case study selection included five teacherswith a secondary

education degree.Of these secondary teachers, four teacherswere fe

malesandonewasmale, representingboth ruralandnorthernSaskat

chewanlocations.Fourofthesecondaryteacherstaughtinapublicdivi

sionwithoneteacheremployedbyanother(e.g.,conseilscolaire,sep

arate)division.Another fiveparticipants receivedeitheranelementaryoramiddleeducationdegree.Thegenderrepresentationwasexactlythe

sameasforthesecondaryteachers.Twooftheteacherswereemployed

inaruralsetting; threewereemployed inanurbanschool.Twoof the

elementary/middleschoolteacherswereemployedinthepublicsystem;

three were employed in the separate system (i.e., publicallyfunded

Catholicsystem).Twoadditionalteachersreceivedtheirteachingdegree

from an Aboriginal Teacher Education Program in Saskatchewan. Of

theseadditional two teachers, the female teacherwasemployed in the

provincialpublicsysteminanorthernschool;themalewasemployedin

theprovincialpublicsysteminanurbanenvironment.

DataCollection

AllBTsparticipated inaonehour interview in thespringof their first

year intheteachingprofession.Weconducted interviewsviatelephone

with theuseof an audio recordingdevice.The interviewprocesswas

scriptedwiththequestionsconstructedpriortotheinterview.Theques

tionsused in the interviewprobed respondents indetail regarding 10

specificthemesincludingBTreflectionsabout(a)theiremploymentsitu

ation,(b)theirinitialteachingexperiences,and(c)theirpreparationand

supportduringtheirtransitiontoteaching.Thespecificquestionsrelated

to this study are included inTable 1.Weemployed transcription soft

ware and double verification processes to ensure the accuracy of the


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transcription,andallparticipantshadanopportunitytoaltertheirtran

scriptstoensurethattheyaccuratelyreflectedtheirexperiences.

Table1:InterviewQuestions

1 Canyoutellmeaboutthekindsofsupportyouhavereceivedasabe

ginningteacher?

2 Haveyouhadamentor? Whathasthatmentorshipexperiencelooked

like?

3 Whatkindsofsupporthaveotherpeopleintheschoolgiventoyou?

4

Have

you

received

the

support

you

felt

you

needed?

Why

(or

why

not)?

5 Whatadditionalsupports,ifany,mighthavebeenhelpful?

6 Whereorwhowouldyougotonowifyouneededsupportsoradvice

aboutyourteaching?

ThematicAnalysis

Following the recommendations ofBraun andClarke (2006),we used

thematicanalysis to identifyrepeatedpatternsofmeaning from theex

periencesofalltwelveBTsofvariousbackgroundswhilealsospeaking

to thedifferences in the set of interviews.Thematic analysis hasbeen

recentlyembracedasaqualitativemethodinitsownright(Joffe&Yard

ley, 2004; Braun&Clarke, 2006) rather thanjust a process usedwith

qualitative information(Boyatzis,1998).Weusedadeductiveapproach

to thematicanalysis in thatwewerecognizantof theexisting literature

(Boyatzis).Despiteourovertbiases,wealsoworked toensure that the

coding of the transcripts and the interpretationsmade from the codes

were data driven and constructed from the raw information con

tainedinthetranscribedresponsestotheinterviewquestions(Boyatzis,

pp.3031).Furthermore,to limitpersonalbiasesandenhancethe trans


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ferabilityofthestudy,weemployed investigatortriangulation(Denzin,

1978)tointerpretthesamebodyofdata(Decrop,1999).Fourresearchers

withseparatebutcomplementarybackgroundsindependentlyreviewed

and coded the transcripts.We illuminateddiscrepancies and obtained

consensusfollowingdiscussion.

FINDINGS

Overall,mostBTswerecontentwiththeirfirstyearteachingexperiences

in their firstyear,yet facedchallengessurroundingworkloadand feel

ingsofisolation.Theoverarchingthemetoemergefromthedatawasthe

diversityoftheBTexperience inSaskatchewanwithrespect tomentor

ship.Furtherinvestigationintotheinterviewtranscriptsrevealeddiffer

entthemes

in

how

BTs

perceived

mentors.

Three

major

categories

emerged from the interviews: (a)whether thementorwas assigned to

therespondent;(b)whetherthementorwasengaged inthementorship

process; and (c)whether theBTshad single ormultiplementors.One

dominantmoderatingfactoralsoemerged:thecompatibilityofthemen

tor and BT. Despite the diversity in mentoring experiences including

bothperceivedpositiveandnegativeexperiences,allBTsreported that

theyhadlearnedfromtheirmentorshipexperience.Forexample,despite

a perceived negative mentoring experience, one BT indicated that the

mentor demonstrated questionable teaching practices and thus theBT

learnedwhatnottodo.

AssignedVersusUnassignedMentors

The first theme to emerge was the differencebetween having an as

signedmentorversusanunassignedmentor.Theeffectivenessofanas

signedmentorforBTsinthisstudyappearedtobemoderatedinpartby

whether theBTbelieved thementorhadacompatiblepersonality.The

followingexcerptprovidesanexampleofhowanassignedmentorand

beginningteacherwereabletoformaproductiveworkingrelationship:

Somymentor,whichissomethingthatthisschoolalsooffers,hasbeenreally

greatingivingmeadviceandjustbeingsomeonetokindofbounceideasofffor

that.


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Because thecompatibilityofmentorsandBTscannotbeeasilypre

dicted, theuseofassignedmentorsdidnotalwaysresult in favourable

experiences.ABTspeakingaboutbeingassignedamentorexplains:

Mymentorrightnowshehasabout, Ithink,aboutfouryearsofexperience teaching

butIfeellikeshedoesnthavetheemotionalmaturityorexperiencethatIneedasafirst

yearteacher.Ineedsomebodythathasalotmoreexperiencetobeabletogivemeideasof

howtohandlesituationsorwhattodo.

But thisBT,whodidnotbelieve theassignedmentorwasparticularly

helpfulandwhowas frustratedby thisoverallmentorshipexperience,

stilldidnotperceivetheexperienceasdetrimental.Insteadofdismissing

the

idea

of

mentorship

outright,

the

experience

pushed

the

BT

to

actively

seekoutand identifyanalternative,unassignedmentorwithmoreex

perience. Assignment ofmentors may not work for all BTs and thus

someBTsmayactivelyseek thehelp theyneed if thementor towhom

theywereassignedwasunabletohelp.

Incomparison,experiencesofBTswhodidnotparticipate ina for

malmentorshipprogramwerequitedifferent.TheseBTswererequired

toestablishtheirownsupportstructureandtoseektheirownresources.

ThefollowingisanexampleofhowoneBTwholackedaformalmentor

shipprogrameffectivelyidentifiedunassignedmentors.

Idonthave,likeoneparticularmentorattheschoolherebutIguessthestaffissovery

helpful;anybodyIgotoismorethanhelpful.SoIkindof,andbeinginalldifferentgradelevels,Ijustuse,dependingonwhatareaIhavequestionsabout,Igotothatteacherand

theyreallmorethanwillingtohelpaswellastheviceprincipalandtheprincipal.So,I

probablyhaveabouttenmentors.

This exampledemonstrates the positive outcome of a natural support

systemwithina school thatdidnotparticipate inanassignedmentor

shipprogram.Thesupportofferedby thestaffof thisparticularschool

was sufficient tohelp theBTwithouta relianceonone singlementor.

Suchascenarioprovidesabeginningteacherwithmultiplerolemodels

toemulate.Furthermore,havingmultiplementorsmayallow formore

comparisons,contrasts,andhigherlevelsofreflectiononthepartofthe

BT.


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Thebenefitsofnotassigningmentorsmayleadtomoreindependent

developmentforBTsandperhapswhen(andif)amentorisidentified,a

moregenuinementorshiprelationship.However,suchsituationsmaybe

beneficialonlywhenthereisasupportivestaffwithinaschoolandwhen

BTsareabletoidentifypotentialmentors.

IthinkIvecreatedmoreofarapportwithquiteafewofthedifferentteachers,sodepend

ingonwhatthesituationwas. ... IfitwasastudentthatIwashavingtroublewith,

IdgototheSpecialEdteacher.Ifitwasanotherstaffmember,Idgotothemortheprin

cipal.Thatsortofthing.

In addition,where formalmentorship programs existed, there ap

peared

to

be

an

expected

structure

and

curricula

to

the

mentorship

ex

periences thatwere often lacking in informalmentorship experiences.

Thus,informalmentorshipexperiencesmaybeoflowerqualitythanthe

experiencesofBTsparticipatinginformalprograms.Althoughonepar

ticularBTwasable to identify twomentorsandbelieved that themen

torshipactivitieswereextremelyhelpfultoherpersonaldevelopmentas

abeginningteacher,thequalityofthementorshipexperiencewasinre

trospect, quite poor. Her experience was limiting: I spent the entire

summerphotocopying[thecontentsof]theirfilingcabinets.

The lackofanassignedmentormaybedetrimentaltothedevelop

mentofBTsiftheyareunabletoidentifythesupporttheyneed.Thelack

ofassignedand/orformalmentorshippromptedthefollowingreflection:

AtfirstIwasfeelingveryoverwhelmed.IdidntfeelthatIhadalotofsupportfrommy

administration.Butthatwasthewaythattheydealwiththings.Theydontreallyhavea

mentorshipprogramhere.Theirphilosophy iswedontwant to tellnew staff all that

muchbecauseitforcesthemtospeakwithotherstaffmemberstofindoutwhattheyneed

todo.

Similarly,oneBTstated:

No, I didnt have anything like that [speaking about amentor].Whatever I hadwas

whateverI,myself,reachedfor.Itwasntanythingthatwassetupthroughtheschoolor

thedivisionoranythinglikethat.IguessIhadapersonalmentor,Idontknowifthats

just another teacher in the school that I could visitwith after school,just,you know,


13/31


sometimeswhenyourereallyfrustrated,thingslikethat.Butitwasntsomebodythatwe

scheduledthateveryWednesdayafternoonwegottogetheroranythinglikethat.

ThisparticularBTwasalsooneoffewteacherstocommentontheper

ceptionthatmentoringwasonlyforthoseteacherswhowereexperienc

ingdifficulties.TheBTwenton tosay:Iguessamentorprobablywould

havebeennice.Butitwasntsomethingthat,Iguess,nooneeverthoughtthatI

needed.IguessnoonethoughtthatIeverlookedlikeIwasfrazzledeveryday.

EngagedVersusDisengagedMentors

Whetherornotamentorwasengagedintheconceptofmentorshipwas

evidentinthemannerofsupportprovidedtotheBT.Anexampleofan

engaged

mentor

would

be

someone

possessing

the

ability

to

build

a

rela

tionshipbetweenthetwoteachersthatwasnotlimitedtoresourceshar

ing.Anexampleofsucharelationshipisdescribedbelow:

Imteachingherclassthisyearanditworkedperfectlybecausewehadthatbondandshe

trustedmeandlefteverything.Shedidnttakeonethingoutofthatclassroom.Sothat

made iteasierformeasafirstyearteacher intheK to6system . . .shemademefeel

reallywelcome.Shegraduatedmaybethreeyearsbeforemeandknewhow itwasgoing

intoanewschool...sowhenIarrivedformyinternshipshehadapresentthereforme

andletmeknowthatifIneededanythingshewouldbethere.Ohandshealsotaughtmy

sonandduringmypreinternshipIactuallyborrowedresourcesoffher.

The

mentor

in

this

example

actively

volunteered

her

time

to

induct

the

BT into the teaching profession. TheBT feltwelcome to ask for help.

However, therewas adefinitehistory to the relationshipbetween the

twocolleagues thatspannedavarietyofroles.Perhaps this levelofac

tive engagement and the level of trustwere unusually high.Engaged

mentorsalsoparticipatedinamorepassivemanner.

IcameintotheclassroomandmymentorhadgivenmeabunchofmaterialthatIcould

useandhad lotsofresourcesand ideasandsuggestionsand therearealwayspeople to

bounceideasoffwiththat.TheunfortunatepartofteachingphysicsisthatImtheonly

onesotherearentalotofpeoplewhoIcangotoandsay,wellwhatdoyoudoforthis?

Buttheboardhasalsobeenreallygoodandtheschool itselfhasbeenreallygoodabout

encouragingfirst

year

teachers

to

go

to

different

schools

and

observing

other

teachers

in

ourteachingareas,whichissomethingthatIshouldprobablydobeforemyfirstyearis


14/31


up.Sotheyhavesaid,ifyoutakeadaytogotoobservesomebodywhoteacheslikeyour

self,wellcoveryoursubandgeteverythingarrangedforthat.

In this instance, thementorwasnotas invitingandpersonalas in the

previousexample.AlthoughtheBThadamentorwhowasnotskilledin

the subject that theBT taught,analternativewasoffered for theBT to

acquiretheknowledgesheneededtoexcelinteachinginherownsubject

area.

EngagementofmentorsmaynotnecessarilybereflectedintheBTs

satisfaction. Although an incompatible relationship would surely

prompt disengagement from thementor, getting alongwith amentor

maynotnecessarilydemonstrateanengagedmentor.OneBTsmentor

wasthe

vice

principal.

Although

this

BT

had

acompatible

relationship

withthementor,thementorwasnotengaged in thementorshipexper

ience,promptingtheBTtofeellostandunsupported:

Idonthaveanyother teachers toget thematerialfrom.But itwouldhavebeennice to

maybeknowifsomeoneelsetaughtEnglishinanotherschool.And,atthebeginningof

theyearIdidntknowanybody.

The BT positively adapted to this negative mentorship experienceby

actively seeking out her peer group and finding sources of support

throughresourcesharingwithherpeers.

Ididnt

know

Icould

do

that,

but

then

we

had

acongress

in

October

and

as

Imet

new

teachersandIrealizedthatsomeofthemwereteachingthesamestuffthatIhadandthat

mighthavebeen67years,orsomethinglikethat,Ikindofusedthemasaresourcefor

booksandstufflikethat.

ThelevelofmentorengagementwasnotundertheBTscontrol.Aswas

demonstrated inour interviews,BTsappear tohave theirownadapta

tionstrategiestothetypeofmentorshiptheyreceive.Althoughconnec

tiontoanengagedmentorwouldlogicallyleadtoabetteroutcome,con

nectiontoadisengagedmentormaynotalwaysbedetrimentalbecause

BTsmayseetheflawsoftheirmentorsandseekalternativesorlearnto

speakoutwhensuchproblemsarise.


15/31


SingleVersusMultipleMentors

Regardlessofwhethermentorswereassignedorunassigned,someBTs

observed that theywere influenced primarilyby onementor on their

staff,whileothersnotedthatmorethanonementorimpactedtheirfirst

year experience.Such an experiencehad an effecton theBTs levelof

engagement,potentiallyreducingthecloningeffectofasinglementorto

influenceteacherthinkingandpedagogy,aninfluenceoftenresultingin

activities suchascopyingresources in filingcabinetsor findingdiscip

linetechniques.Thisengagementappearedtotakeplacewhenmentors

haddifferentapproachestotheirteaching,asdescribedbelow:

EverytimeIhaveaquestionaboutanything,theyarethefirsttwoIgotoanditsreally

greattoobecausetheyhaveverydifferentteachingstylesandsoItrytofindabalance

betweenthetwoofthemandobviouslymyown.Putalltogether,itsjustreallyinterest

ing toseehow the threedifferentclasses,doing thesamematerialand thesame every

thingelsearedifferent.

Engagement frommultiplementors occurred in adeeperway for this

BT,whowasemployedintwoschools.Inoneschool,shewasinvolved

inalearningcommunityofteachers,focusedonastudentlearninggoal.

Intheother,therewasnolearningcommunity.Shenoticedadifference:

Wesatdownatthebeginningoftheyear,theprincipalsaidletsseeyoursmartgoaland

. ..nowImkindofcheckingmysmartgoal,WhereamI? Thenwesetupaninter

viewwhenwegotback,(weneededtoanswer)sohowdid itwork,wheredidyougo,

howdidyoudoit.Didyouchangeanything? Sowedoalotofthattherewheretheres

alotoftalkabout,(suchas)howdoesthisworkforyouandevenamongstthestaffthat

justhappensso,whatareyoudoinginyourclassroom,howsitgoing,whatareyou

doing? Intheotherschool,andalotofitisatimething,youknowthereisntatimein

whichthewholestaffissittingaroundthestafftableor,youknow,evenagoodportionof

thestaff.

Beingexposedtomorethanonementorprovidedexposuretodifferent

stylesof teachinganddifferentapproaches,anexperience thataffected

theprofessional learning of one participant. For example, oneBTwas

assignedamentorwhowasverysimilarinageandexperience.Thisrela


16/31


tionshipdidnotappeartostimulate learningfor thebeginning teacher.

Shethenfoundherselfanotherverydifferent,unassignedmentor:

IcurrentlyconfideinandtalktoateacherwhohasalmostfortyyearsexperienceandI

wouldpreferheronlybecause,andshedoesnteventeach inmyarea,onlybecauseshe

hasthatmuchexperienceandthatmuchemotionalmaturitythatIneed.

Fromthesecases,whetherthementorswereassignedorunassigned,

engagedordisengaged,theopportunitytobeexposedtomorethanone

mentorappeared to influence theBTsengagementandpersonal learn

ing.TheBTswereengaged in inquiryand inmaking intellectualdeci

sionsaboutthedifferentapproachestofindwhatworkedbestforthem.

DISCUSSION

Thematicanalyses identified the followingmoderating themes: (a)en

gaged/ disengagedmentors, (b) assigned/unassigned mentors, and (c)

single/multiplementors. In this article, we have explored how these

themes identify areas that need considerable attention to improve the

teacher induction processes in Saskatchewan. The discussion of these

themes also creates a space for the consideration of the professional

learningcommunitymodelasaprocessforsuccessfulteacherinduction.

Previous research suggests that unwilling or uninterestedmentors

areunlikelytoprovideeffectivementoring(Normore&Loughry,2006).

Ina similarmanner,disengagedmentors,evenmentorswhoareunin

tentionallydisengaged, areunlikely tobe effective.Traditionallymen

torshavebeenexpectedtobeengaged,butinreality,somementorsmay

be unwilling to take on this additional responsibility (Glazer&Han

nafin,2006).SimilartoChubbuck,Clift,Allard,&Quinlan(2001),oneBT

inour study found thatbecause sheappeared tobe competentand in

control, others in the school forgot shewas new, anddid not initiate

mentorship relationships or provide support. Although the potential

mentorsmaynothaveperceivedaneedformentorshipinthiscase,po

tentialmentorsmayalsohavebeenreluctanttotakeontheresponsibil

ity.Thusmentorshipmodelssuchascontextualsupervisiondonoteven

comeintoplaybecausetheenvironmentdoesnotfacilitatesuchrelation

ships.


17/31


What isneeded isan environmentwhere a groupofmentors sur

roundaninductee,ratherthanjustasinglementorassuggestedbythe

apprenticeshipmodel.Assumingthatonepersonhas theknowledgeto

inductanewcomermaycreateasituationwhereaBTdeferstothemen

torandfeelscompelledtobecomejustlikethementor.AllowingtheBT

to learn fromavarietyofmentors createsanopportunity for learning,

discernment,anddialogue.This situation isbeneficialnotonly for the

BT,butalsofortheexperiencedteachersaswell.

A tradeoffoccursbetween the formalityofamentorshipprogram

anditseffectiveness,especiallyiftheformalmentorshipprogramsfocus

isnotcentredonstudent learning (Spindler&Biott,2000).Previousre

searchhasfoundthatBTswhodidnotparticipateinformalmentorship

programs found teaching tobe a less desirable profession than thosewhodidparticipate(HulingAustin&Murphy,1987).Incontrast,some

researchhassuggestedthatinformalmentorship,suchashavinganun

assigned mentor, tends to provide more psychosocial benefits when

compared to more formal relationships (Sosik & Lee, 2005). Perhaps,

then,lessstructuredmodelsneedtobeconsideredintheareaofteacher

induction.The fact thatoneparticipantperceivedaverypositiveexpe

rience as a result of experiencing a natural, unassigned,multimentor

environmentpointstotheideathattheissueisnotwhetheramentoris

assignedorunassigned,butperhaps,instead,whetheraparticipantisin

asingleversusamultiplementorenvironment.

Ourstudy

did

not

identify

aclear

preference

on

the

behalf

of

the

BT

for assigned/unassigned mentoring. Beginning teachers appeared to

learnregardlessofthetypeofmentorshiprelationshiptheyexperienced

evenwhentheypurposefullychosenottoengageinamentorshiprela

tionship.This lack ofpreference,however,mustnotbe confusedwith

the perception that an unassignedmentor versus an assignedmentor

creatednodifference in the levelofparticipant learning.Following an

unsuccessful mentorship experience, one BT in our study adopted a

closed doormindset and attempted to learn onher own a survival

techniquethatChubbucketal.(2001,p.374)argueisnotalwayseffective.

ItisalsopossiblethatBTsareunabletoaccuratelyjudgethequality

oftheirmentorshipexperiences.Beginningteachersmaybeunawareof

the potential for learning that effectivementorship and induction ap


18/31


proachesoffer,andthusinaccuratelyjudgetheirownexperiencesasbe

ingofhigherqualitythantheywouldotherwisebe.OneBTinourstudy

believedthatherexperienceofhavingaccesstothefilingcabinetofher

mentorwas extremely helpful to herpersonal development as a beginning

teacher.AsCarverandFeimanNemser,(2008)declare,Acomprehen

siveandeffectiveapproachtoinductionmustoffermorethanhelpfind

ingpaperforthecopymachine(p.5).

WeidentifiedthecompatibilitybetweenamentorandBTasamod

erating theme in our study. Previous research suggests that effective

mentorship requires a degree of compatibility between mentor and

protg(Russell&Adams,1997)toavoidpersonalityconflicts(Johnson

&Birkeland,2003).BecausetheprocessofmatchingBTswithmentorsis

considered tobevery important in traditionalmentoring,researchsuggeststhatforoptimaloutcomesBTsshouldbepairedwithmentorswho

teach the same subject(s)and/orgrade(s) in the same schoolas thebe

ginning teacher (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004;Johnson & Birkeland, 2003;

Normore & Loughry, 2006). Unfortunately, BTs are seldom paired in

such amanner (Johnson&Birkeland, 2003) and it isunlikely that the

Saskatchewan contextwould readilyallow for suchoptimalmatching.

Partofthereasonforthelackofmatchingcouldbeattributedtothelack

ofaprovinciallymandated(formal)mentorshipprogramorthelocation

and sizeofa school.BecausemanyBTs inSaskatchewan findemploy

mentinruraland/ornorthernareasoftheprovince(Hellsten,Ebanks,&

Prytula,2008),

they

do

not

always

have

access

to

another

teacher

of

the

samegrade/subjectwithintheschoolorevenwithincloseproximity.In

addition,thecompatibilityofasinglementorandaBTappearstobees

sentialtothesuccessofthementorshipexperience.Attemptingtodevel

opsinglementorstoachieve thissupportseemsuncertain,atbest.This

situationbegsthequestionastowhyasinglementorisevenconsidered

for a successfulmentorship program, and again suggests the need to

consideralearningenvironmentwithmultiplemembersthatfocuseson

studentandteacherlearning,andthatlastslongerthanoneyear.

Despitethepopularityofinductionprogramsandmentoring,Levine

(2006)suggests that it israre to find inductionprograms thatareeffec

tive.Partofthereasonbehindthisineffectivenessmaybethatthefocus

ofinductionvariesfromplacetoplace,andteacherinductionprograms


19/31


have historically focused on helping BTs feel more comfortable in a

schoolculture(Anderson&Shannon,1988;HulingAustin,1990).How

ever, feelingmorecomfortabledoesnotautomaticallymakeBTsbetter

ormoreeffectiveteachers(CochraneSmith&Lytle,1999).Thus,thereis

aneed todevelopmentorswhoprovide supportnotonlyon the rela

tionshipsideofthingsbutalsoforthelearningsideorthecomplexand

thoughtprovokingconversationsthatsurroundthepracticeofteaching

(Stanulisetal.,2007,p.144).

Aspreviouslystated, the traditionaldefinitionofmentorship is the

process of creating an enduring and meaningful relationship with

anotherperson,withthefocusonthequalityofthatrelationshipinclud

ingfactorssuchasmutualrespect,willingnesstolearnfromeachother,

or the use of interpersonal skills (Salinitri, 2005, p. 858).Despite thisunderstanding,severalparticipantsinourstudydescribedenrichingBT

experiencesthatoccurrednotbecauseofasinglementor,butbecauseof

morethanonementor.

Throughworkingwithmultiplelearners,orsociallearning,individ

ualsdeveloptieswithcolleagues,whichcanbeconsideredeitherstrong

orweak (Mitchell&Sackney,2000).Strong tiesare those thatdescribe

close relationships with colleagues who have similar goals, and with

whomtheyworkclosely(compatiblerelationships).Thoserelationships

thatmakeupweaktiesarethosewithcolleagueswhoarelessconnected

(incompatiblerelationships);however,weak tiesare thoserelationships

fromwhich

new

information

is

often

learned.

Weak

ties,

often

contro

versial,result inconflict thatcancreateconditionswhere teachersmust

examineand reexamine theirnarratives, resulting innewprofessional

knowledge.Thedanger in having toomany close ties is thatwork is

rarelychallenged,resultinginstagnationofprofessionalknowledge.On

theotherhand, thedanger inhaving toomanyweak ties is thatwork

mayremainisolatedandconflictmightbehigh.Aneducatorwithabal

anceinstrongandweaktieswouldthenhavethebestofbothworlds

stabilityandcomfort,aswellasconflictandchallenge.

In addition to an expanded opportunity to learn, havingmultiple

mentors who differ in teaching styles and methods requires BTs to

bridge thegapbetween theoryandpracticeandalso tobridge thegap

between different experienced teachers. The relationship also moves


20/31


21/31


(indicatedbyboldandnarrowarrows). Again,strongtiesexistbetween

likethinkers,affirmingbeliefsandpractices,andweaktiesexistbetween

unlikethinkers,challengingbeliefsandpractices. Throughtheconstant

actionofconversationsandreflection, learning takesplace,bothwithin

thestudent,andwithintheteachers.

McNeiletal.(2006)developedatheoryofmentorship inwhichthe

inducting teacher progresses through five learning stages, beginning

withaninternalfocuswherehe/sheisisolatedanddependent,andpro

ceedingtoanexternalonewherehe/sheisacompetenteducator.Basing

themodelonthezoneofproximaldevelopment(Vygotsky,1978),over

time,BTsarebelievedtorecognizethemselvesaslegitimatemembersof

aschoolcommunityastheybuildmasteryinteachingskills,assisttheir

learners tobecome independent,and successfully collaboratewith colleagues(McNeiletal.,2006).McNeilsmodel,however,requiresthatthe

mentoringteacherestablishanindividualizedinductionplan,collabora

tionwithassignedmentorswhoaretrained,andacommunityoflearn

ers. In contrast, in theproposedmodel resulting from this study, the

centre of themodel no longer represents a BT,but instead represents

learning as evidencedbyboth student learning outcomes andmentor

andBTlearning.Thealternativemodelofmentorshipalsoeliminatesthe

need for thementoring teacher todevelop an individualizedplan,be

causeaBThasanopportunitytolearnfrommanydifferentteachers,and

isnotsubjecttooneteacherspaceorapproach. Similartothecentreofa

learningcommunity,

the

centre

of

this

model

is

student

learning

goals.

Thisfocuskeepsconversationsonteachingandlearning,andallowsfor

multiple perspectives tobe shared, discussed, and learned. Sharing a

commongoalalso induces teacherengagement,andprovidesabench

marktomeasuresuccess.


22/31


Figure1.AlternativemodelofmentorshipforSaskatchewan

(AdaptedfromPalmer,1998).

Severalpotentialbenefitsoccur from thismodel.Thesearch for the

bestmatchedmentor (i.e., subject/grade) isno longer requiredbecause

theBT (indicatedbya * in theFigure)has, ineffect,multiplementors.

Multiplementors,consistingofnewandexperiencedteachers,providea

rangeofopportunitiestoshareexperiences(Algozzineetal.,2007).Mul

Teach

er*

Teacher

Teacher

Teacher

Teacher

Teacher

Teach

er*

Teacher

Learn

ing


23/31


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Dr.LaurieannHellstenisanassociateprofessorintheDepartmentofEducationalPsychology and Special Education,College of Education, at theUniversity of

Saskatchewan.Herresearch interestsincludeappliedmeasurementandevalua

tionwithaspecificfocusoninstrumentdevelopmentandvalidationintheareas

ofeducationandhealth.

Dr.MichellePrytula isanassistantprofessor in theDepartmentofEducational

Administration, CollegeofEducation,at theUniversityofSaskatchewan. Her

research interests include teacher learning, action research, the professional

learningcommunity,teacherinduction,andschoolimprovement.

AltheaEbanks isaMasters student inMeasurementandEvaluation in theDe

partmentof

Educational

Psychology

and

Special

Education,

College

of

Educa

tion,attheUniversityofSaskatchewan.

HollisLai,M.Sc.isadoctoralstudent inAppliedMeasurement, Evaluation,and

CognitionintheDepartmentofDepartmentofEducationalPsychology,Faculty

ofEducationattheUniversityofAlberta

Contact information: Dr. LaurieAnn Hellsten, EPSE, College of Education,

University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 0X1.

Hellsten Et Al. 2009

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