"The Bread and Butter of a Difficult Profession": Exploring Relationships Between Teacher Mentoring and Stress

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Mentoring Early Career Teachers

Abstract

Teacher stress continues to threaten the stability of the U.S. teaching workforce, but teacher mentoring, an increasingly prevalent type of teacher support, may uniquely support teachers with their risk-for-stress. The current study investigated how teacher mentoring experiences differ based on vulnerability to stress. Semi-structured focus groups were conducted and analyzed using the Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) method. Results include five emergent domains indicating that teachers at lower and higher risk for stress viewed mentoring as overwhelmingly supportive of their personal and instructional needs. However, differing trends emerged between risk-for-stress groups in two domains, mentoring challenges and protective factors, which may signal the need for differentiated mentoring supports.

Authors

• Kristen C. Mosley, The University of Texas at Austin

• Emily Playfair, University of Texas at Austin

• Abbie Balat, University of Texas at Austin

• Caroline Hudson, University of Texas at Austin

• Madison Blaydes, The University of Texas – Austin

• Christopher J. Mccarthy, The University of Texas at Austin