NW 01: Ecologies of Teacher Induction and Mentoring in Europe: Practices for Learning and Development of New Teachers

Network
NW 01. Professional Learning and Development

Title
Ecologies of Teacher Induction and Mentoring in Europe: Practices for Learning and Development of New Teachers

Abstract
This special call for proposals for the ECER 2025 conference is organised by the European network Ecologies of Teacher Induction and Mentoring in Europe (TIME), which has been part of EERA's Network 1 "Professional Learning and Development" since 2021. The network aims to bring together scholars interested in researching the support of new teachers during the induction phase. The network has organised various research meetings to promote collaboration between researchers working on mentoring and induction practices. We now extend an open invitation to researchers working on the professional learning and development of new teachers to propose a paper for the ECER 2025 conference.

The Call
This special call is targeted to research on professional practices for promoting learning and development of new teachers in the induction phase of teaching career.  Induction phase here refers to a period of time during which a newly qualified teacher starts working in the teaching profession. Induction practices are defined as structured and comprehensive arrangements designed to support and facilitate the transition of new teachers into the teaching profession. Induction practices encompass a complex range of activities, support mechanisms, and interventions aimed at nurturing the professional growth and promoting the well-being of new teachers as they embark on their teaching careers. One of the most common induction practices is mentoring provided by more experienced educators. Sometimes induction and mentoring are even considered almost synonymous, but it is important to keep them conceptually separate. Mentoring is the most common induction practice, but it is not the same as induction. Ecologies of teacher induction and mentoring refer to the systems approach to study induction and mentoring practices that promote the processes of learning, development and professional growth of new teachers (Heikkinen 2020; Heikkinen et al. 2025; Kemmis et al. 2014).

The overarching goal of teacher induction is to support new teachers with their development of navigating competences in the complexities of the classroom and school communities, enhance their teaching skills, and ultimately contribute to improved student outcomes. By providing support and fostering a culture of continuous learning and development, induction practices play a crucial role in job satisfaction and professional growth. In the international research literature, attention has been paid to preventing new teachers from leaving the profession early in their careers. Improving retention is, however, not the only purpose of induction practices. New teachers must not be seen as only objects of support, but they have much to contribute to school development when they look at school practices with fresh eyes. The transformative role of new teachers in changing schools has been conceptualized, for example, in terms of intergenerational learning (Geeraerts et al. 2018). The tensions between the deficit perspective on new teachers and the perspective of active agents of change (Skytterstad et al. 2025) reveal fundamental differences of curriculum ideologies (Schiro, 2012). These conflicting visions call for discussion and research.

The proposals responding to this special call can be theoretical and philosophical or empirical in nature. They may also be descriptions of development projects, provided they have a valid theoretical justification. What is essential is that they address in one way or another the induction phase and the professional development and growth of teachers. The study of mentoring and induction has been dominated by the Anglo-American research literature, but we believe that there are very interesting projects underway in various European countries that do not fall back on the American way of conceptualising the phenomenon. We are therefore especially interested in the European dimension in induction and mentoring.

Contact Person(s)
Hannu Heikkinen email hannu.l.t.heikkinen@jyu.fi

References
Geeraerts, K., Tynjälä, P., & Heikkinen, H. 2018. Inter-generational learning of teachers : what and how do teachers learn from older and younger colleagues? European Journal of Teacher Education, 41 (4), 479-495.

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. Oslo: Kappelen Damm Akademisk, 25-41. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.105.ch1

Heikkinen, H., Helms-Lorenz, M., Plauborg, H. & Bjerkholt, E. 2025. Introduction: Ecologies of Teacher Induction and Mentoring in Europe. In: M. Helms-Lorenz, H. Heikkinen, H. Plauborg & E. Bjerkholt (Eds.) Ecologies of Teacher Induction and Mentoring in Europe. Leiden: Brill. (Manuscript.)

Kemmis, S., Heikkinen, H., Aspfors, J., Fransson, G. & Edwards-Groves, C. 2014. Mentoring as Contested Practice: Support, Supervision and  Collaborative Self-development. Teaching and Teacher Education 43, 154-164.

Schiro, M. (2012). Curriculum theory: Conflicting visions and enduring concerns. London: Sage.

Skytterstad, R., Antonsen, Y., Aspfors, J. & Heikkinen, H. 2025. Reframing New Teacher Induction: Opportunities Over Deficiencies. (Manuscript).