Virtual mentor partnerships between practising and preservice teachers

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential benefits of a virtual mentorship between teacher candidates and practising teachers. Specifically, the research aimed to determine whether candidates felt they had increased their professional learning and prepared for the realities of the job early in their training program as a means to enhance their well-being. Design/methodology/approach A systemized, virtual mentorship network was set up and a qualitative mixed-methods study was conducted with two separate groups of 77 students total consisting over a three-month course in two consecutive years. Three data sets were collected; this paper reports on one set – qualitative self-reports from mentee participants. Findings The response from preservice teacher participants was, through qualitative self-reports, an overwhelmingly positive. After engaging in a guided virtual mentorship with an experienced teacher, they felt more prepared, more confident and more supported. Response from the preservice teacher participants provided evidence and confirmed a sense of improved educational preparedness for teaching by engaging in a guided virtual mentorship partnership with an experienced teacher. Research limitations/implications Virtual mentorships are highly beneficial for teacher candidates’ learning and professional growth; the relationships positively impact preservice teachers’ level of preparedness for the profession, which can lead to increased confidence and contribute to a positive sense of well-being. In addition, the virtual approach eliminates many of the access barriers that limit the efficacy of traditional, face-to-face mentorships. In doing so, the virtual format makes mentorships a possibility in any teacher preparatory education program, with endless opportunities to connect teachers across the world. Originality/value In an effort to better prepare quality teachers, a virtual mentorship program, embedded in teacher education programs, is a viable solution for shaping preservice teachers learning in the early stages of their careers, establishing a commitment to professional learning and mitigating teacher attrition rates and burnout by enhancing well-being. For these reasons, the authors believe virtual mentorships can be considered to be used as a framework for the future.

E-Mentoring in Higher Education: A Structured Literature Review and Implications for Future Research

“…The third area is educational methodology to promote continuous improvement of the teachinglearning approach. This finding is congruent with the work of ChanLin [13] and Briscoe [9], which highlighted the benefits of effective mentoring that promote a global understanding of situations at the educational level and foster a culture of leadership and entrepreneurship based on the development of networks in the mentoring programs.…”

“…Future research is needed to evaluate e-mentoring programs that incorporate the principles of effective mentoring programs outlined by Obura et al [8], Golubski [38], Briscoe [9], and Doukakis et al [33]: (1) a clear program management structure, (2) a mentoring-matching process that is well designed, (3) initial training and preparation for mentors and mentees to participate in mentoring, (4) ongoing support programs for mentors and mentees, and (5) periodic review for continuous quality improvement of the program.…”

“…Article • To contribute to raising the quality of the mentoring process in the academic field [13,15,43] Conference papers • To foster positive mentor-student relationships through communication [14,34] Book chapters • To offer the mentees individualized support through of specific tools [38,39] Terminology Article • Mentor-mentee [7][8][9]12,13,15,16,32,41,42,44].…”

“…Only a few authors to date [8,9,20,32,36,42,44] have included challenges and opportunities in e-mentoring as part of their research. Their work often adapts the extensive literature on computer-mediated mentoring to compensate for the lack of research in the field.…”

Mentoring and skill development in e-Internships

“…In the context of careers, a mentor is normally understood as being an older, more experienced person who is able, on the basis of that experience, to provide help to a younger career actor in developing their career through its early stages" (Inkson et al, 2015, p. 229). Indeed, virtual mentorship schemes to support the development of preservice teachers and practicing teachers has shown that computermediated mentoring can promote confidence, commitment to, and knowledge about, one's job choice (Briscoe, 2019). In combination, e-internships featuring mentoring can be expected to generate higher skill development and opportunities than those that lack mentoring.…”