Extending the mentor role in initial teacher education : embracing social justice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how mentors can act as change agents for social justice. examines mentors’ roles in initial teacher education in the lifelong learning sector (LLS) and how critical spaces can be opened up to promote a flow of mentor, trainee teacher, learner and community empowerment. Design/methodology/approach – Two thematic literature reviews were undertaken: one of UK LLS ITE mentoring and the other an international review of social justice in relation to mentoring in ITE and the first year of teaching. Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, field and habitus (Bourdieu, 1986) are used as sensitising tools to explore LLS mentors’ practices and the possibilities for increasing the flow of “pedagogical capital” between mentors, trainee teachers, learners and communities, in such a way that would enable mentors to become agents for social justice. Findings – LLS mentors and trainee teachers are uncertain about their roles. In the UK and several countries, mentoring is dominated by an instrumental assessment-focused approach, whereby social justice is marginalised. In contrast, what we call social justice mentors establish collaborative democratic mentoring relationships, create spaces for critical reflection, support trainees to experience different cultures, develop inclusive critical pedagogies, and generally act as advocates and foster passion for social justice. Research limitations/implications – While the literature reviews provide timely and important insights into UK and international approaches, the existing literature bases are limited in scale and scope. Practical implications – A model for mentoring that promotes social justice and recommendations for mentor training are proposed. Originality/value – The paper addresses the omission in policy, research and practice of the potential for mentors to promote social justice. The proposed model and training approach can be adopted across all education phases.</p

Untangling the complexity of mentoring feedback practices in post-compulsory initial teacher education in the UK

In post-compulsory initial teacher education (ITE) in the UK, mentors are purported to play a critical role in shaping trainee teachers’ professional development through the provision of regular, constructive and purposeful feedback on their mentee’s teaching practices. However, the complexity of mentoring feedback practices – socially, spatially and temporally – situated within programmatical and institutional architectures and in the turbulent landscape of Further Education (FE), is often underestimated. Using the theory of practice architectures, this single-site case study attempts to untangle this complexity as it explores how mentoring feedback practices were realised on one post-compulsory ITE programme, examining the processes, arrangements and artefacts which enabled and constrained their enactment. The site ontological approach also examines the dynamic unfolding of mentoring feedback practices in response to these institutional conditions in time and space, concluding that their trajectory largely depends on the ‘stickiness’ of their relationship and congruence with other organisational practices and concerns

Untangling the complexity of mentoring feedback practices in post-compulsory initial teacher education in the UK

In post-compulsory initial teacher education (ITE) in the UK, mentors are purported to play a critical role in shaping trainee teachers’ professional development through the provision of regular, constructive and purposeful feedback on their mentee’s teaching practices. However, the complexity of mentoring feedback practices – socially, spatially and temporally – situated within programmatical and institutional architectures and in the turbulent landscape of Further Education (FE), is often underestimated. Using the theory of practice architectures, this single-site case study attempts to untangle this complexity as it explores how mentoring feedback practices were realised on one post-compulsory ITE programme, examining the processes, arrangements and artefacts which enabled and constrained their enactment. The site ontological approach also examines the dynamic unfolding of mentoring feedback practices in response to these institutional conditions in time and space, concluding that their trajectory largely depends on the ‘stickiness’ of their relationship and congruence with other organisational practices and concerns

Beyond prescription, rhetoric and routine:A single-site comparative case study of the conceptualisation, enactment and development of mentoring feedback practices in post-compulsory initial teacher education

In initial teacher education, mentors are generally purported to play an extensive and influential role in socialising trainee teachers into the workplace and shaping their professional development. One significant aspect of this support is the provision of regular, constructive and quality feedback on the mentee’s teaching practices yet how to do this in a time-poor, assessment-driven context is rarely made explicit. Situated within the theoretical framework of practice architectures, this single-site comparative case study compared how mentoring feedback practices were conceptualised and realised on two post-compulsory education initial teacher training programmes. It adopted a qualitative, ethnographic insider research methodology to examine the processes, arrangements and artefacts which enabled and constrained their performance. This site ontological approach also examined the dynamic unfolding of mentoring feedback practices in time and space in relation to these institutional conditions. In the presentation, analysis and discussion of the data, participant vignettes were used to elucidate the various ways in which feedback from mentors was perceived, valued and enmeshed in a complex web of practice relations. The findings from the research illustrated how the participants’ conceptualisations were influenced by prototypical assumptions and personal experiences of mentoring and feedback, and how these evolved during their professional development trajectories. The study also highlighted the practice architectures which facilitated and hindered the enactment of mentoring feedback practices, the development of which depended on the “stickiness” of their relationship and congruence with other organisational practices and concerns. Implications arising from the research include a need to reconceptualise mentoring feedback to shift the focus from assessment practices to those which cultivate greater collaboration, dialogue and self-reflection. In adopting a practice sensitivity, by critically surveying and negotiating existing institutional arrangements, mentoring stakeholders are better positioned to create the requisite conditions of possibility for feedback to flourish: beyond prescription, rhetoric and routine

In Pursuit of Professional Knowledge and Practice: Some Experiences of Lifelong Learning Sector Trainee Teachers in England 2008 - 10

This thesis explores the participation of student teachers during their part time in-service initial teacher education course based on the campus of a higher education institution in the North West of England. It investigates the extent to which initial teacher education prepares teachers as professional practitioners in the lifelong learning sector. The research was conducted in a university campus forming part of a higher education institution, using a qualitative, reflexive methodology. The data is derived from naturally-occurring class discussions, a range of course-related artefacts and semi-structured interviews with participants. The fieldwork took place in during the period 2008-2010. The participation of student teachers is examined within the context of work-based learning (WBL) in the lifelong learning sector (LLS), drawing upon the work of John Dewey and a Bourdieusian concept of habitus. The study broadly contributes to debates about the nature of professional knowledge and practice in work based learning. The literature review presents a picture of a sector struggling to define itself and of initial teacher education (the focus of the research) buffeted by external regulation and control. It concludes that restrictive notions of confidence, a contested notion of what constitutes excellence, and routinised practices restrict and constrain the participation, experiences and development of teachers. The data suggests that participants experienced funnelled and routinised practices, resulting not only from initial teacher education curricula, but also from evidence-based practices and workplace regulation. It argues that time and space are crucial elements of the development of professional knowledge and practice, recommending that both the teacher education curricula and the workplace should work more closely to inculcate the processes and practices of an expansive educational experience for developing teacher