Primary preservice teachers' perspectives of their literacy mentoring experiences during professional placement

Abstract

PurposeBeing literate can change the lives of Australian students. Therefore, graduating effective teachers of literacy is an imperative for Australian schools. Professional experience provides an opportunity for preservice teachers to refine their skills for teaching literacy under the guidance of a mentor teacher. This study investigates from the perspective of preservice teachers, the attributes and practices primary mentor teachers demonstrate when mentoring literacy teaching during professional experience.Design/methodology/approachThis investigation utilised survey design to gather data from primary preservice teachers (n = 402) from seven Australian universities. The 34 survey items were underpinned by the Five Factor Model of Mentoring and literacy practices prescribed by the Australian curriculum. Preservice teachers self-reported their responses about their literacy mentoring experiences on a five-point Likert scale. The Five Factor Model of Mentoring provided a framework to analyse and present the data using descriptive statistics.FindingsFindings revealed 70% or more of preservice teachers agreed or strongly agreed mentor teachers had the personal attributes, shared the pedagogical knowledge, modelled best practice and provided feedback for effective literacy teaching. Conversely, only 58.7% of the participants reported their mentor teachers shared the system requirements for effective literacy teaching.Research limitations/implicationsThe preservice teachers self-reported their experiences, and although this may be their experience, it does not necessarily mean the mentor teachers did not demonstrate the attributes and practices reported, it may mean they were not identified by the preservice teachers. While there were 402 participants in this study, the viewpoints of these preservice teachers' may or may not be indicative of the entire population of preservice teachers across Australia. This study included primary preservice teachers, so the experiences of secondary and early childhood teachers have not been reported. An extended study would include secondary and early childhood contexts.Practical implicationsThis research highlighted that not all mentor teachers shared the system requirements for literacy teaching with their mentee. This finding prompts a need to undertake further research to investigate the confidence of mentor teachers in their own ability to teach literacy in the primary school. Teaching literacy is complex, and the curriculum is continually evolving. Providing professional learning in teaching literacy will position mentor teachers to better support preservice teachers during professional experience. Ultimately, the goal is to sustain high quality literacy teaching in schools to promote positive outcomes for all Australian school students.Originality/valueWhile the role of mentor teacher is well recognised, there is a dearth of research that explores the mentoring of literacy during professional experience. The preservice teachers in this study self-reported inconsistencies in mentor teachers' attributes and practices for mentoring literacy prompting a need for further professional learning in this vital learning area.

Mentoring for Effective Teaching - An Analysis of Austrian Teachers’ School-based Mentoring Practices

“…The aim of the study was to explore the perspectives of mentor teachers about their own mentoring attributes and practices during professional experience. Research studies around the world have used the Five-Factor Model of Mentoring instrument to determine current mentoring approaches and provided directions for advancement of mentoring practices (e.g., Bird et al, 2015;Carrosa et al, 2019;Day, 2020;Galamay-Cachola et al, 2018;James et al, 2020;Kaur et al, 2018;Ploj Virtič et al, 2021). While the previous studies investigated the mentees perceptions of the mentor teachers' attributes and practices for mentoring, this current study is novel as it researches the mentor teachers' perspectives about their own mentoring.…”

Mentoring underrepresented racially minoritized undergraduate students in an education research apprenticeship program: strategies for success

“…Currently, much of the undergraduate education mentorship literature centers on the mentorship experiences of preservice teachers given how central mentorship is to their student experience (i.e. James et al. , 2021).…”

“…Currently, much of the undergraduate education mentorship literature centers on the mentorship experiences of preservice teachers given how central mentorship is to their student experience (i.e. James et al, 2021). However, this leaves gaps in other aspects of mentorship research in the education field, particularly surrounding research mentorship and its impact on URMU students.…”

Exploring experiences of an e-mentoring program in teacher education: Voices of pre- and in-service teachers

“…Today, numerous studies focused on improving the quality of teacher education (James, Hudson, & Lasczik, 2021). Researchers have recently become interested in mentoring practices because they can significantly contribute to the professional development of preservice teachers by leveraging their current experience (Becher & Orland-Barak, 2018).…”