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The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact that mentoring has on Canadian early career teachers’ (ECTs’) well-being. The authors describe findings from a pan-Canadian Teacher Induction Survey (n=1,343) that examined perceptions and experiences of ECTs within K–12 publicly funded schools, with particular interest in retention, career interests and the impact of mentoring on well-being.

An online survey was used to examine perceptions and experiences of ECTs within publicly funded K–12 schools across Canada. For this paper, the authors selectively analyzed 35 survey questions that pertained to mentorship and well-being of ECTs, using quantitative and qualitative procedures.

The findings revealed a strong correlation between the mentoring experiences and well-being of the participating Canadian ECTs. The teachers who did not receive mentorship indicated significantly lower feelings of well-being, and conversely, teachers who participated in some kind of mentorship demonstrated much higher levels of well-being.

This paper draws on the selective analysis of the data from a larger study to elicit the connections between the mentoring support and perceived well-being. Due to inconsistencies in terminology and multifaceted offerings of induction and mentoring supports for ECTs across Canada, there might have been some ambiguity regarding the formal and informal mentorship supports. A longitudinal study that is designed to specifically examine the connection between the mentorship and well-being of ECTs could yield deeper understandings. A comparative study in different international contexts is commended.

The findings showed that the ECTs who did not receive any mentorship scored significantly lower feelings of well-being from external, structural, and internal well-being sources, and conversely, the ECTs who participated in some kind of mentorship scored much higher levels of feelings of well-being. Policy-makers should therefore continue to confidently include mentorship as an intentional strategy to support and help ECTs to flourish. However, inconsistent scoring between individuals and their levels of external, structural and internal well-being suggest that more research on the connection between mentoring and well-being of the ECTs.

Work-life imbalance seems to be more challenging for ECTs than policymakers who provide these expectations are aware. Therefore, excessive work demands and intensive workloads need to be given proper attention for their potential negative effects (such as stress, burnout and absence) on the beginning teachers’ health and well-being. Likewise, purposeful strength-based approaches should be undertaken to establish generative and pro-social efforts to enhance the connectedness, collaboration, collegiality and resilience-building opportunities for novice professionals within flourishing learning communities.

In this paper, the authors have undertaken the first steps in exploring the impact that mentoring has on Canadian ECTs’ well-being. The study increases the understanding of how mentoring can be used as a purposeful strategy to support the well-being of ECTs and retain them in the teaching profession in Canada and potentially in different international contexts.

Mentoring is an essential tool for teacher education, not least because it allows knowledge and experience sharing. Research findings suggest a close relationship between mentoring and the well-being of those involved. However, little is known about this relationship or the mechanisms involved. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned issues.

Through an integrative literature review, important links between mentor and mentee well-being and certain aspects of mentoring are explored. The results of the review are then synthesised into a theoretical framework.

The framework developed here posits that the well-being of teachers relates to the quality of mentoring. This includes teachers' perceptions of mentoring and their decision to get involved, their contributions to functional mentor–mentee relationships and the selection and use of mentoring styles that support both mentor and mentee well-being. Moreover, the framework hypothesises that the quality of mentoring received by mentees is related to their well-being, which is in turn connected to their professional development. Most of these relationships appear to be bidirectional, meaning that mentee well-being also contributes to mentoring quality and mentor well-being. Finally, it is hypothesised that the well-being of both mentors and mentees is connected to the school context in which the mentoring takes place.

This work provides a novel, comprehensive framework for future examinations of the connections between well-being and mentoring. It synthesises the prior work on this topic by integrating findings from both the mentor and mentee perspectives into a single framework.

The purpose of this study was to explore how teacher coaching was implemented across eight schools.

A subjectivist epistemological position was adopted as the most appropriate for this study, and a qualitative approach to methodology, data collection and analysis was used within an evaluative multiple case study framework in order to investigate three research questions.

The findings indicate coaching has the potential to provide schools with a professional learning approach that allows staff to explore a wide variety of challenges of practice. However, inconsistencies in perceptions, staffing and coach development mean positive outcomes for students may not be guaranteed.

One limitation of this study is that it provides a snapshot of teacher coaching in relation to a specific group of schools in a constantly changing New Zealand context.

School leaders implementing teacher coaching programmes are encouraged to consider how they will evaluate whether their programmes are changing teachers’ practice and improving outcome for students. School leaders should also plan how to manage changes in personnel.

The findings show the concept of teacher coaching is a social construct influenced by the unique environmental context and individual perceptions of those involved, leading to variations in its application.

This study provides new knowledge in relation to the challenges that can be experienced when implementing teacher coaching across a community of schools.

The purpose of this study is to describe the perceptions of participants regarding a blended learning training course in Chile (and its e-learning adaptation due to the COVID-19 pandemic) for mentor teachers (MTs). The MT learns theoretical elements of mentoring and in parallel accompanies a newly qualified teacher while receiving support from an online tutor. Opinions are presented from MTs and accompanied teachers (ATs) about the contribution, format and methodology of the course.

A program evaluation with mixed methodology was used. Online questionnaires were sent to MTs and ATs at the end of the course. Returned questionnaires totaled 98 MTs and 20 ATs for the blended learning version and 75 MTs and 54 ATs for the e-learning format. In addition, 11 post-course interviews were conducted in three schools with MTs, ATs and their school leaders.

The course contributed to the development of mentoring skills. Participants highlighted the importance of the face-to-face component of both versions. The theoretical–practical methodology used was positively evaluated. Support and feedback provided to MTs by the online tutor was important for developing skills.

Results are part of a case (n = 247), so general statements cannot be made about the population.

While this program evaluation focuses on a specific context, the results can contribute to the design of effective MT online training courses in other contexts and countries, given the limited body of research on this type of experience.

The course provided is described in detail, which may be useful when designing similar mentor education courses in other contexts.