Investing in Beginning Teachers: Mentoring and Coaching as Remedies for Teacher Attrition

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Mentoring in Education (Table 3)

Abstract

Mentoring and coaching through induction are a key remedy for teacher attrition. While many mentoring and coaching practices could be helpful to use with beginning teachers, some mentors/coaches are reluctant to use certain practices. Utilizing vignette sorting (Kavanagh et al., 2023) via a critical single-case study (Yin, 2017), researchers investigated mentors’/coaches’ reasoning behind their choice of practices. Findings reveal unanimous use and approval of addressing classroom management issues, with most mentors/coaches supporting outside practices like debriefing, simultaneous grading, and planning together. The least utilized practice was co-teaching including "huddling,” with varied mentor feedback. Challenges in vignette interpretation and practice classification highlight the complexity of mentor experiences. Scholarly significance includes clarifying practices for mentors/coaches and replicating the study with beginning teachers.

Authors

• Julie Bell, University of Nebraska - Omaha

• Chris Wilcoxen, University of Nebraska - Omaha

• Amanda Steiner, University of Nebraska - Omaha