Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) face challenges and need support in their first years in the profession (Caspersen & Raaen, 2014). However, the quality of support they receive in schools varies greatly (Jacobsen & Gunnulfsen, 2023), and they may be unsure of the relevance of their teacher education in practice (Jakhelln, Eklund, Aspfors, Bjørndal, & Stølen, 2019). Although NQTs need support, they also bring updated knowledge to schools and can contribute to colleagues' exploratory dialogues and innovative thinking, as resources in their professional communities (Jakhelln, 2011; Kvam, Roness, Ulvik, & Helleve, 2023).

Mentoring programs for NQTs can provide support for individuals and contribute to professional development in the school's professional community (Jakhelln, 2011). Governing documents emphasize that support for NQTs should be integrated with other professional community activities and school-based development work (Jacobsen, Jensen, & Lejonberg, 2023). A review study suggests that learning and professional development for teachers should be seen as a continuous process involving formal and informal structures (Tynjälä & Heikkinen, 2011). Therefore, it is important to examine how structures for mentoring NQTs can promote the resources developed in teacher education. This study investigates the use of tools to promote mentoring that recognizes NQTs as resources in the professional community. The tools are understood based on three dimensions: discursive, material, and relational (Kemmis et al., 2014).The research question is: How can mentoring be shaped by tools developed to promote NQTs as resources in the professional community? To answer this question, we consider the competence of NQTs in the teaching and mentoring arenas, and how mentoring can contribute to the professional community. Primary data includes videos of one-on-one mentoring and group mentoring, with follow-up interviews and group discussions with mentors as secondary data.

Theory

In this contribution, mentoring using tools is understood based on the Theory of Practice Architecture (TPA) (Kemmis et al., 2014). The practices examined in this contribution are understood as social phenomena where the dicursive, the material, and the relational aspects constitute three dimensions in which practice unfolds. The tools investigated here are understood as architectures that surround and have the potential to hinder and promote practice. What we examine is what characterizes the discourse, actions, and how the actors relate to each other, when they interact in mentoring using tools. In the discursive dimension, the focus is on the participants' language and thinking, as hindered and promoted by the tools. In the material dimension, the focus is on what participants do, as hindered and promoted by the tools. In the relational dimension, the focus is on how relations are hindered and promoted by the tools.

The tools

The tools, understood in light of presented theoretical framework, can inhibit and promote practices related to discourse, action, and relationships. As discursive arrangements, the tools suggest questions and formulations for mentoring, shaping speaking and thinking. Previous research shows that the tools' theoretical concepts and proposed formulations are utilized in mentoring (Hunskaar & Gudmundsdottir, 2023; Nesje & Lejonberg, 2022). The tools include guides with relevant questions to promote reflection on the mentee's competence and its application in the professional community. For example, "What was your master's thesis about?" and "How can the school benefit from your expertise in this field?” The tools also encourage appropriate actions, providing structures for interaction and mentoring sequences. As relational arrangements, the tools offer equal access to mentors and mentees, empowering mentees to take ownership and initiative in mentoring.

The study utilized video recordings from one group mentoring conversation and one one-to-one mentoring conversation as primary data for thematic analysis, with the use of Interact (Mangold-international.com, 2024). Additionally, video recordings from a mentor group conversation and two follow-up interviews were used as secondary data. Three NQTs participated in the group mentoring, taking turns as the focus person, while a fourth person observed digitally. Later, a one-on-one mentoring session was conducted with the observer. Both mentoring sessions was followed by interviews with the mentor. The analysis began with a review of video recordings and observation notes to examine how the tools were used in the two mentoring settings. This initial review revealed how the tool influenced both the form and content of the conversation. A second review was then conducted, focusing on how the tool structured the conversation and how it contributed to discussions about the resources NQTs in the professional community. This review highlighted the adaptability of the tool to the specific context of the mentoring sessions. Further examination focused on how the participants discussed the resources of NQTs and possible contributions to the professional community. The analysis then considered how the tool influenced the mentoring practices, with attention to discourse (sayings), actions (doings), and relationships (relations) (Kemmis et al., 2014). The examination of the empirical material led to the development of theoretically and empirically grounded codes based on the theoretical concepts of sayings, doings and relatings. This proses resulted in three sub-codes for sayings, two for doings and two for relatings being developed, tested on the data and adjusted as needed. The analysis visualized that the mentoring conversations were characterized by a focus on competence, the professional community, and the contributions of NQTs. The study highlighted how the tools used in the mentoring sessions structured the conversations while also being adaptable to the specific context. Moreover, the analysis emphasized the importance of symmetry and support in the mentoring process. Overall, the thematic analysis contribute to our knowledge about how tool can shape mentoring conversations and how such conversations can addressed the resources and contributions of NQTs in the professional community. The findings shed light on the dynamics and practices of the mentoring process and provide valuable insights for future mentoring and tool research, as well as for professional development in the field.

This work explores how mentoring using tools can promote practices that enhance awareness of NQTs as resources in professional communities. We focus on competence expressed in teaching and mentoring arenas, with relevance for the professional community. The findings indicate that the tools help promote the mentees as resources by focusing on their competence and its relevance for the professional community. Grounding analysis in TPA, has helped us highlighting how tools as discursive arrangements promote ways of thinking and talking about NQTs as potential resources in the professional community. Despite the mentor describing relevant terms as unfamiliar for NQTs, the tools promote the use of the terms "resource" and "professional community" in mentoring. The findings suggest that awareness of NQTs as resources develops in mentoring, making competence from both the teaching arena and the mentoring arena accessible to the professional community. Understanding the tools as material arrangements reveals how they can promote actions that make NQTs' competence relevant for the professional community. By contributing with structure and content to mentoring, the tools promote interaction that develops competence and increases awareness of NQTs as resources. Investigation of relating visualize how tools can promote symmetry in the mentoring relationship, challenging but also developing the mentees. As illustrated in the introduced model, integrating the different arenas—teaching, mentoring, and professional community—can strengthen the development of NQTs' competence and the school's professional community. Tools, seen as architectures for practice, can help create coherence between these arenas. (Figure 1: illustrating how tools can enhance competence developed in different arenas to influence each other)

Caspersen, J., & Raaen, F. D. (2014). Novice teachers and how they cope. Teachers and Teaching, 20(2), 189-211. Hunskaar, T. S., & Gudmundsdottir, G. B. (2023). Tool-based mentoring conversations in teacher education: new structures, opportunities and the role of adaptive expertise. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 12(4), 424-439. Jacobsen, H. M., & Gunnulfsen, A. E. (2023). Dealing with policy expectations of mentoring newly qualified teachers–a Norwegian example. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 1-15. Jacobsen, H. M., Jensen, R., & Lejonberg, E. (2023). Tracing ideas about mentoring newly qualified teachers and the expectations of school leadership in policy documents. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 1-23. Jakhelln, R. E., Eklund, G. B. M., Aspfors, J., Bjørndal, K. E. W., & Stølen, G. (2019). Newly qualified teachers’ understandings of research-based teacher education practices in Finland and Norway. doi:https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2019.1659402 Kemmis, S., Wilkinson, J., Edwards-Groves, C., Hardy, I., Grootenboer, P., & Bristol, L. (2014). Changing practices, changing education. Singapore: Springer Kvam, E. K., Roness, D., Ulvik, M., & Helleve, I. (2023). Newly qualified teachers: Tensions between needing support and being a resource. A qualitative study of newly qualified teachers in Norwegian upper secondary schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 127, 104090. Mangold-international.com. (2024). Qualitative and Quantitative Video Coding Software. Nesje, K., & Lejonberg, E. (2022). Tools for the school-based mentoring of pre-service teachers: A scoping review. Teaching and Teacher Education, 111, 103609. Tynjälä, P., & Heikkinen, H. L. (2011). Beginning teachers’ transition from pre-service education to working life. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 14(1), 11-33.