Session Information
01 SES 08 A, Ecologies of Teacher Induction and Mentoring in Europe (Part 2)
Symposium continued from 01 SES 07 A, to be continued in 01 ONLINE 20 A
Contribution
The professional literature describes the complexity of the induction process (Flores, 2017) and the importance of support systems for beginning teachers (BTs) (Thomas et al., 2019). The presentation will focus on a new support model, namely professional learning communities comprising interns, new teachers, mentors, school administrators, and policymakers, called MIT - Multi-Players Induction Teams (Kaplan et al., 2021). The program was implemented as part of an international project called Promentors. The goals of the project are to develop models for teachers' mentoring and to promote mentoring within the Israeli education system. The project, led by Kaye College, has been researched over one school year in a Bedouin school (middle and high school) in the town of Kseife in southern Israel. The conceptual framework of the project draws from SDT - Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017) as well as from a model of Autonomy-Based Mentoring, which is grounded in SDT (Kaplan & Israel, 2020). According to SDT, people have three universal psychological needs: autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Satisfaction of these needs, by means of support from the environment (e.g., a mentor), contributes to optimal development, autonomous motivation and well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2017). SDT emphasizes the quality of motivation, and refers to different motivation types: autonomous and controlled motivations, which reflect the level of the individual’s self-determination (Ryan & Deci, 2000). The model of Autonomy-Based Mentoring introduces a new mentoring paradigm, which is autonomous, relational, and humanistic. The model concentrates on creating a need-supporting environment for both mentors and mentees as well as on promoting autonomous motivation for mentoring and teaching. The project was accompanied by a qualitative study, employing research tools such as semi-structured interviews, reflective journals and observations. Thirty-three interns, BTs, mentor teachers, administrators, and policymakers participated in the study. The findings indicate organizational work conducted collaboratively with the school and policymakers. The project assisted in creating an optimal induction climate at the school. The workshops for BTs and interns created a need supporting environment. The mentoring relationships were characterized by equality and reciprocity. The participants experienced need-satisfaction and autonomous motivation for mentoring and teaching. The MIT influenced the positioning of the teachers at the school. During the school year they led educational initiatives, operating under the model of Peer-Group Mentoring (Heikkinen, 2020). The findings reveal a unique model of a professional learning community, which supports BTs within the relevant culture and context, through meaningful mentoring processes.
References
Flores, M. A. (2017). The complexities and challenges of be(com)ing a teacher and a teacher educator. European Journal of Teacher Education, 40(1), 2-5. Heikkinen, H. (2020). Understanding mentoring within an ecosystem of practices. In K. N. Olsen, E. Bjerkholt & H. Heikkinen (Eds.) New Teachers in Nordic Countries: Ecologies of Induction and Mentoring. (pp. 25-41). Oslo: Kappelen Damm Akademisk. Kaplan, H. (2021). Promoting optimal induction to beginning teachers using self-determination theory. Sage Open, 11(2). Kaplan, H., Govrin, D. and Mindlin, M. (2021) A Learning Community of Beginning Teachers: A Systemic Intervention Based on Self-Determination Theory to Promote Autonomous Proactive Teachers. Creative Education, 12, 2657-2686. Kaplan, H., & Israel, V. (2020). SDT/Autonomy-based Mentoring: The ABC Mentoring Model (Autonomy, Belongingness, Competence, Community. PROMENTORS Project, Kaye Induction Unit. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory. Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. The Guilford Press. Thomas, T., Tuytens, M., Moolenaar N., Devos, G., Kelchtermans, G., & Vanderlinde, R. (2019). Teachers’ first year in the profession: The power of high-quality support. Teachers & Teaching, 25(2), 166-188.
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