The shortages of qualified teachers, as well as the challenges in the recruitment and retention of teachers that we are facing in Norway as in the rest of Europe, reflect the imperative need to raise the attractiveness of the teaching profession and improve the retention of teachers in their profession. The main causes identified for leaving the teaching profession within the first years of practice are the feelings of isolation and the lack of support that many new teachers experiences when they start working. The partners in STEP represent different perspectives in a diverse educational community. Common to all of us is a desire to contribute to an attractive teaching profession. We believe there is potential in building a bridge between teacher training and the profession to make the transition as smooth as possible and that new teachers experience further professionalization in the profession from the very start. The novelty of STEP is the unique collaboration between researchers and stakeholders, the combination of research- and experienced based knowledge and the knowledge of policymaking in Norway and internationally. STEP aims to develop a model for collaboration between researchers and partners/stakeholders on research- and experience-based policymaking and thereby to facilitate dialogues on policymaking both nationally and internationally. In the Nordic countries, we have a long tradition of tripartite cooperation between authorities, employers, and trade unions to make good decisions. These experiences form an important background for the collaborative work in this project. The partners in STEP are together with other stakeholders now in a process to develop the national framework for mentoring new teachers in Norway. Contributing to research to develop these frameworks is also one of the aims in STEP. In this presentation we will highlight how cooperation between an employer organization, teacher union and student organization contribute to a more complex dialogue and understanding of both local, national, and international context and research. This diversity presents various legitimate interests which may cause tensions but also growth, different perspectives, and possibilities to understand complexity. We will also elaborate on what is distinctive about the teaching profession that makes professional mentoring of new teachers an important measure.

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