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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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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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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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TEACHERINDUCTION 707
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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TEACHERINDUCTION 709
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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TEACHERINDUCTION 711
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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TEACHERINDUCTION 713
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,
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TEACHERINDUCTION 715
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
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716 LAURIEANNM.HELLSTENETAL
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.
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TEACHERINDUCTION 717
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
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718 LAURIEANNM.HELLSTENETAL
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.
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TEACHERINDUCTION 719
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
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720 LAURIEANNM.HELLSTENETAL
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
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TEACHERINDUCTION 721
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
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TEACHERINDUCTION 723
(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.
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724 LAURIEANNM.HELLSTENETAL
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
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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.