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- Title
The positioning tensions between early career teachers' and mentors' perceptions of the mentor role.
- Authors
Curtis, Elizabeth; Nguyen, Hoa Thi Mai; Larsen, Ellen; Loughland, Tony
- Abstract
Early career teacher (ECT) mentoring has never been so important with escalating levels of attrition reported in numerous countries, including Australia, the US and the UK. However, inconsistent understanding of what a mentor can or should do continues to compromise the ways in which early career teachers experience this support. While previous research has reported on mentors' differing perspectives on their role, we take a unique approach to this issue. In this paper, we explore the ways in which both mentors and ECTs understand the mentor role. We argue that where mentor and ECT understandings are in tension, the productive outcomes of mentoring for both the mentor and ECT are undermined. Drawing on Positioning Theory we report findings from the thematic analysis of 31 online interviews with 16 mentors and 15 ECTs in Australia. We found that while ECTs and mentors hold some common positionings, some significant differences were noted. These findings highlight the need to extend opportunities to learn about the mentoring role to include ECTs.
- Subjects
AUSTRALIA; MENTORING; TEACHER attitudes; POSITIONING theory; CAREER development
- Publication
British Educational Research Journal, 2024, Vol 50, Issue 3, p1327
- ISSN
0141-1926
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/berj.3974