Scalability of Hybrid Mentoring Models for Novice Teacher Wellbeing: Evidence from Elige Educar in Chile

• In Event: Virtual Roundtable Session 3
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Innovative Approaches to Learning and Teaching: Peace Literacies, Cross-Cultural Engagement, and Teacher Mentoring

Proposal

Teacher attrition among novices has emerged as a critical challenge worldwide, with detrimental consequences for educational systems, equity, and student outcomes. In Latin America, and particularly in Chile, a significant number of beginning teachers leave the profession within their first years (Elige Educar, 2023), a trend linked both to adverse working conditions and to insufficient competencies for sustaining personal and professional wellbeing—dimensions rarely emphasized during initial teacher education. In response, multiple initiatives have been developed to accompany and support teachers in strengthening these skills.

This applied study examines the potential scalability of a specific Chilean initiative, Somos Profes Somos Educadores, developed by Elige Educar, which annually supports approximately 3,000 novice teachers across the country. The central research question is whether the program’s hybrid mentoring model—combining human assessment, digital communities, and targeted training in wellbeing competencies—can be adapted and expanded to reach beginning teachers across Latin America.

The methodology involves a secondary analysis of the program’s internal evaluations, including assessments of design, implementation, and outcomes, as well as performance indicators, theory of change, and results achieved. This evidence base was used to examine how the model’s main components function together: (a) hybrid mentoring that integrates personalized support with digital tools, (b) training programs that explicitly address teacher wellbeing, and (c) the creation of digital community spaces that enable sustained peer interaction. In addition, a comparative lens was applied to identify points of convergence and divergence among Latin American educational contexts in order to assess the feasibility of regional adaptation.

Findings highlight the need for a central framework that guides wellbeing-related actions, while simultaneously allowing for contextual specialization in each country or region. Three strategic elements emerged as key to scalability: first, leveraging artificial intelligence to expand the hybrid mentoring model while preserving personalization; second, designing training programs that maintain a shared wellbeing framework but incorporate localized examples and culturally relevant practices; and third, fostering digital communities that are both rooted in local contexts and connected regionally to take advantage of digital platforms.

The significance of these results lies in their potential to inform cost-effective, evidence-based interventions that can be implemented across Latin America and beyond. By strengthening novice teachers’ wellbeing competencies, such programs contribute to reducing attrition, enhancing professional sustainability, and addressing a pressing global challenge in education. This case study of Elige Educar demonstrates how hybrid mentoring models can serve not only as national responses but also as scalable regional strategies for supporting teacher retention and professional growth.

Author

• Felipe Andres Vergara Iduya