Reimagining Mentoring: Pláticas-Testimonios of Latinx Teachers in Southern California

• In Event: Mentoring from the Margins: Preparing and Sustaining Teachers of Color for Educational Equity

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how Latinx high school teachers in Southern California experience and navigate mentoring. Using pláticas-testimonios methodology grounded in Chicana feminist epistemologies, the study centers participants’ cultural knowledge, identity, and lived experiences. Interviews with six Latinx teachers revealed three key themes: (1) the need for culturally responsive mentoring, (2) the importance of emotionally safe and trust-based relationships, and (3) self-directed, adaptive support-seeking through informal networks. Data were analyzed using in vivo and process coding. Findings contribute to research on teacher retention and mentoring by illustrating how Latinx educators resist race-neutral approaches and build mentoring webs that affirm their identities. The study offers implications for culturally sustaining and equity-driven mentoring programs in K–12 educational settings.

Author

• Natalie Marie Carter, Claremont Graduate University