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Mentoring new teachers of color: how induction mentors characterize their preparation and practices that support new teachers of color
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Mentoring New Teachers of Color: How Induction Mentors Characterize Their
Preparation and Practices That Support New Teachers of Color
Sabarijah Hopkins
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education
August 2024
Copyright by Sabarijah Hopkins 2024
All Rights Reserved
The Committee for Sabarijah Hopkins certifies the approval of this Dissertation
Bradley Ermeling
Cathy Krop
Ekaterina Moore, Committee Chair
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2024
iv
Abstract
This study applied critical race theory (CRT) to provide a lens through which to critically
analyze the preparation and described practices of White mentors in providing support to new
teachers of color as they navigate racism in education contexts as novice educators. The purpose
of this study was to explore induction mentors’ perceptions of their preparation and
characterization of their practice in supporting teachers of color new to the teaching profession.
Two research questions guided the inquiry: RQ1 focused on mentors’ post-preparation-program
perceptions regarding their readiness to support new teachers of color, while RQ2 explored how
mentors characterized the practices they would employ in supporting these teachers. This study
employed a qualitative research approach through a local program document analysis and semistructured interviews of White induction mentors within the local program. Data underwent three
phases of analysis: a priori coding, open thematic coding, and matching analysis between
preparation content and mentor-described practices. Findings from the study indicate that
mentors are well prepared to support new teachers overall but require more preparation in
domains that support new teachers of color through culturally responsive mentoring practices,
such as understanding racism in the education context, racial identity development, and
validating and affirming the experiences of new teachers of color. Additionally, programs should
include formal mentor training on practices that support teachers in key areas outside of the
classroom. This study extends existing recommendations for mentor preparation in teacher
induction programs by proposing specific strategies to support new teachers of color.
v
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my Dissertation Committee Chair, Dr.
Ekaterina Moore, for her invaluable guidance, encouragement, and support throughout the
process of developing the research design and conceptual framework of this study. Her insights
and expertise have been fundamental to the success of this project. I am also immensely thankful
to Dr. Brad Ermeling for his invaluable technical support and encouragement, especially in the
areas of coding and theme development. His expertise was crucial in overcoming some of the
most challenging aspects of my research. My appreciation also extends to Dr. Cathy Krop for her
critical and insightful feedback on the literature review, and for expanding the possibilities of my
research. Her meticulous comments and suggestions have significantly enhanced the quality of
this dissertation.
To every mentor who participated in this study, I thank you for your authenticity,
vulnerability, and honesty. Your willingness to share your stories has provided valuable insight
into the complexities of supporting novice teachers. Additionally, your commitment to
supporting new teachers with care and compassion makes an incredible difference to their
development as life-long practitioners, and impacts the quality of education our students receive.
I would also like to thank my peers and colleagues, César Morales and Yolanda Kol, for
their continuous support and encouragement. Being part of our informal study group provided
not only academic support but also personal reassurance during the most demanding times of this
journey. Their assistance was invaluable during moments of self-doubt and challenge.
Last but most importantly, I wish to acknowledge my devoted partner, David Mueller,
and our two amazing children for their unwavering support throughout the duration of this
vi
journey. Their endless patience, love, and encouragement have been a constant source of strength
and motivation.
vii
Table of Contents
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... v
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures................................................................................................................................. x
Chapter One: Introduction to the Study.......................................................................................... 1
Background of the Problem ................................................................................................ 1
Statement of the Problem.................................................................................................... 2
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................... 3
Study Context ..................................................................................................................... 4
Significance of the Study.................................................................................................... 6
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology .................................................... 7
Definition of Terms............................................................................................................. 8
Organization of the Study ................................................................................................... 9
Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................................. 10
Teacher Shortage and Retention ....................................................................................... 10
Teacher Preparation .......................................................................................................... 15
Induction Mentorship........................................................................................................ 22
Theoretical Framework..................................................................................................... 33
Conceptual Framework..................................................................................................... 36
Chapter Three: Methodology........................................................................................................ 48
Purpose and Research Questions...................................................................................... 49
Overview of Methodology................................................................................................ 50
viii
Credibility and Trustworthiness........................................................................................ 63
Ethics................................................................................................................................. 65
Researcher Positionality.................................................................................................... 67
Limitations and Delimitations........................................................................................... 67
Chapter Four: Findings................................................................................................................. 70
Participants........................................................................................................................ 71
Findings for Research Question 1..................................................................................... 72
Summary of Findings for Research Question 1................................................................ 91
Findings for Research Question 2..................................................................................... 92
Summary of Findings for Research Question 2.............................................................. 116
Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations....................................................................... 119
Mentoring Supports for All Teachers............................................................................. 120
Mentoring Supports for New Teachers of Color ............................................................ 134
Alignment of Preparation to Practice.............................................................................. 149
Recommendations for Practice ....................................................................................... 161
Recommendations for Future Research.......................................................................... 176
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 177
References................................................................................................................................... 182
Appendix A: Interview Protocol................................................................................................. 202
Appendix B: Informed Consent and Recruitment Materials ...................................................... 209
Appendix C: Informed Consent Letter ....................................................................................... 211
ix
List of Tables
Table 1 2020–2021 Certificated Employee Demographics for Summit Grove School District..... 6
Table 2 Content Areas for Effective Mentor Preparation ............................................................. 25
Table 3 Structural Supports for Effective Mentoring.................................................................... 28
Table 4 Mentoring Practice Domains That Support New Teachers of Color ............................... 29
Table 5 Factors That Impact Teacher Retention Where Induction Mentorship Has Influence..... 38
Table 6 Data Sources .................................................................................................................... 51
Table 7 Phases of Research Analysis............................................................................................ 54
Table 8 Participant Selection Timeline Criteria ............................................................................ 57
Table 9 Alignment Analysis Matrix and Implications .................................................................. 62
Table 10 Research Participant Characteristics.............................................................................. 72
Table 11 Summary of Themes for Mentor Perceptions of Preparation ........................................ 74
Table 12 Summary of Themes for Mentor Characterized New Teacher Support Practices ......... 94
Table 13 Mentor Practices and Preparation to Support All New Teachers................................. 122
Table 14 Mentor Practices and Preparation to Support New Teachers of Color ........................ 136
Table 15 Findings for Alignment of Preparation Content to Mentor Described Practices......... 150
Table 16 Recommendation Connections to Key Findings and Literature .................................. 162
Table 17 Practices Absent From Mentor Preparation ................................................................. 165
Table 18 Foundational Mentoring Absent From Practice ........................................................... 167
Table 19 Mentoring Practices Absent for New Teachers of Color ............................................. 171
Table A1 Interview Protocol ………………………………………………………….……………………...204
Table A2 Interview Question Alignment With Conceptual Framework …………………….……... 209
x
List of Figures
Figure 1 Intersection of Mentor Preparation, Practice, and Teacher of Color Retention ............. 37
Figure 2 Aligning Foundational Mentor Preparation and Practice With Preparation to Support
New Teachers of Color ............................................................................................................... 172
1
Chapter One: Introduction to the Study
Teacher attrition is an ongoing issue across the United States, with over two-thirds of
teachers leaving the workforce for reasons other than retirement. Teacher turnover results in
economic loss for school districts and impacts student academic achievement (Carver-Thomas,
2018). Additionally, teacher turnover is greater for teachers of color than it is for White teachers
(Elfers et al., 2022; Ingersoll & May, 2011). School districts nationwide have worked to improve
teacher diversity, as research supports that students of all races benefit academically from a
diverse teacher workforce (Carver-Thomas, 2018; Cherng & Halpin, 2016; Dee, 2004).
Education organizations that are serious about improving education outcomes for students of
color invest in structures that improve both recruitment and retention of teachers of color. Many
districts and education organizations across the United States leverage teacher induction
programs to improve teacher retention (Moir, 2009; Odell & Ferraro, 1992). Induction
mentorship, or the pairing of an experienced teacher to support a new teacher during their early
years of teaching, can improve teacher retention and is considered a critical element to effective
teacher induction programs (Ingersoll & Kralik, 2004; Odell & Ferraro, 1992).
Background of the Problem
Teacher induction mentoring programs for novice teachers can improve teacher
effectiveness and retention (Ingersoll & Kralik, 2004; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011; Smith &
Ingersoll, 2004). In 1988, the state of California created the California New Teacher Project
(CNTP) in recognition of the importance of supporting new teachers to improve teacher quality
and retention. In 1992, findings from the CNTP led to Senate Bill 1422, which phased in
Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) programs and restructured the credential
process to include induction. In 2004, California Assembly Bill 2210 mandated 2-year job-
2
embedded teacher induction as a requirement to earn a professional clear credential (Lovo et al.,
2006). Local education agencies and institutes of higher education were tasked with creating
induction programs based on standards developed by the California Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CTC), subject to CTC accreditation processes similar to those used for teacher
pre-service programs (California Commission on Teacher Credentialing [CTC], 2017; Lovo et
al., 2006).
Over time, induction program standards have been adjusted to emphasize mentoring,
individualized goals and learning plans, and choice with respect to professional learning
(California Commission on Teacher Credentialing [CTC], 2017a). However, the California
Teacher Induction Standards make no mention of culturally responsive teaching or mentorship
practices beyond what is outlined in the Teacher Performance Expectations (TPE) and by
extension the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP). Furthermore, there is no
indication of mentor competencies to support novice teachers in implementing culturally
responsive classrooms or to be culturally responsive in their mentorship. The California program
standards for induction mentorship lack specific guidance on what constitutes research based
best practices in mentor preparation and professional development, and no guidance on
mentoring practices that support new teachers of color.
Statement of the Problem
Teacher preparation and certification programs are largely designed for White educators
and can reinforce White dominant racist ideology through curriculum, teaching practices,
program structures, and deficit narratives about students of color (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016; Sleeter,
2017). Mentors from predominantly White middle-class backgrounds are often unwilling or illequipped (or both) to engage in conversations that navigate racism in the educational context of
3
the novice teacher of color (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). White mentors who lack knowledge about
the additional challenges faced by new teachers of color and practices that support new teachers
of color through these challenges may not improve retention rates for new teachers of color, and
in some instances may even cause harm.
Within the state of California, induction program standards for training induction mentors
do not include language with respect to mentoring practices that specifically support new
teachers of color. Guidance in program standards states that the content, frequency, and structure
of mentor training should be researched based, support the development of the California
Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP), but are largely left up to the context and decision
making of local induction programs (CTC, 2017).
Although there are studies and program reviews of the design, impact, and effectiveness
of induction and mentorship on teacher retention and quality (Bullough, 2012; Coca et al., 2007;
Glazerman et al., 2006, 2010; Goldrick, 2012; Hong & Matsko, 2019; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011;
Kang & Berliner, 2012; Odell & Ferraro, 1992; Reeves et al., 2022; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004;
Squires, 2019; Wong, 2016; Zhang & Zeller, 2016, and others), there is a gap in the research on
how mentor professional learning explicitly addresses supporting new teachers of color, and how
this professional learning is realized in actual mentor practice.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, the study aims to explore how professional
learning for mentors in a specific induction program prepares them to support new teachers of
color. It will examine the content of mentor preparation to determine its alignment with what is
known about the needs of new teachers of color and how to support them, as well as mentor’s
perceptions of their training and preparation. The second purpose is to understand how mentors
4
characterize their mentorship support for new teachers of color. It will examine how mentors
describe the practices they use to support new teachers of color, and to what extent this is aligned
with the content of their mentor preparation. This information is critical in understanding how
content in mentor preparation is realized in practice, particularly as it relates to new teachers of
color. Furthermore, it can lead to recommendations for induction program elements and mentor
training that (a) create a common and shared understanding of the way in which institutional and
structural racism inform education practices and impact students and teachers of color and (b)
target the needs of new teachers of color within the context of mentoring practices. The research
questions that will be addressed in this study are as follows:
1. What are the post preparation-program perceptions of White, secondary education
induction mentors in a medium-size California (CA) school district in regard to their
level of preparation for supporting new teachers of color?
2. Following participation in a mentor preparation program, how do White induction
mentors in a medium-size CA school district characterize the practices they would use
to support new teachers of color in the secondary education classroom?
Study Context
The study will take place in a medium size school district in the state of California, which
will be referred to by the pseudonym Summit Grove School District. Summit Grove has an
instructional coaching and mentorship program, in which teachers serving as both coaches and
mentors are selected by school site administrators based on qualifications outlined in a districtwide job description. Requirements include a minimum of 5 years of successful teaching
experience, knowledge of working with English language learners, students with disabilities, and
culturally responsive teaching practices. Instructional coaches and mentors receive release time
5
based on the number of teachers they support. All engage in monthly professional learning
workshops, and mentors attend specific sessions that focus on the needs of brand new teachers.
Within Summit Grove, the majority of induction program mentors are White. If the aim
of education organizations is to recruit and retain teachers of color, and induction program
mentorship is a critical component of positively influencing retention, then programs need to
know what content mentor preparation should include to prepare White mentors to support new
teachers of color. Induction programs should also understand what mentoring practices mentors
are (or are not) using to support new teachers of color to inform their training and preparation
activities. Although there are structural issues within Summit Grove School District that impact
its ability to recruit and place non-White mentors, the fact remains that a large percentage of the
experienced teaching force within Summit Grove is White, as seen in Table 1. This means that
diversified recruitment efforts need to occur in tandem with mentor preparation programs that
prepare mentors (particularly White mentors) to support new teachers of color.
6
Table 1
2020–2021 Certificated Employee Demographics for Summit Grove School District
Race/ethnicity Active certificated employees Certificated %
Total 544 100%
African Am. 7 1.29%
Am. Indian 0 0%
Asian 64 11.76%
Filipino 21 3.86%
Hispanic/Latinx 71 13.05%
Pacific Islander 0 0%
White 375 68.93%
Two or more 5 0.92%
Not reported 1 0.18%
Note. This table displays certificated staff demographics for the 2020–2021 school year and does
not include classified staff demographics (name withheld, personal communication, September
2021).
Significance of the Study
The problem of study is worthy of research as it addresses the way institutional and
structural racism may be enacted through mentorship intended to support teachers of color new
to the profession. The education workforce remains predominantly White even as policies are
enacted to increase teacher diversity. As teachers of color are recruited into the profession, new
teachers of color will receive mentoring through teacher induction programs. Mentors are
7
experienced teachers recruited from a predominately White pool of candidates. Mentors may or
may not have participated in teacher preparation programs or professional learning that address
equity, diversity, racism, or culturally responsive teaching. Mentor training programs that prepare
White mentors must emphasize the assets and needs of new teachers of color and also understand
how White mentor identity has the potential to shape their mentoring practice.
As noted above, there is a gap in the literature regarding mentor professional learning to
prepare mentors to support new teachers of color. Findings from this study have the potential to
inform induction mentorship training programs that promote mentoring practices to retain new
teachers of color in the profession. The study may also provide a means for critical interrogation
and analysis of other mentor preparation programs and practices, helping to understand the
extent to which they perpetuate White-dominant educational ideologies or promote practices that
are genuinely inclusive of teachers of color. Studying mentor preparation and practices in
supporting new teachers of color is crucial, as effective mentorship can significantly improve the
retention of these teachers. Conversely, mentorship, particularly by White mentors, has the
capacity to reproduce racial harms to teachers of color, discouraging them from staying in the
profession. Furthermore, examining induction mentor preparation and practices to support new
teachers is important because teachers of color face not only the challenges common to all new
teachers but also additional challenges specific to their experiences as teachers of color. Mentors
may or may not be prepared to support new teachers of color through these challenges, which
potentially impact decisions to stay in the teaching profession.
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology
Critical race theory (CRT) will operate as the theoretical framework in the construction of
a conceptual framework that informs the study methodology. The CRT framework examines how
8
racism has been normalized and embedded in institutional structures, including education
systems, to perpetuate a status quo that maintains White dominant ideology and protects White
privilege (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). CRT “acknowledges how notions of objectivity,
neutrality, and meritocracy, as well as curricular practices, such as tracking, teacher expectations,
and intelligence testing, have historically been used to subordinate students of color” (Solórzano
& Yosso, 2002, p. 2). Additionally, Bell (1980) identifies the phenomena of interest convergence
in understanding how progress for racial justice only occurs when it aligns with the interests of
Whites. In considering practices that support new teachers of color, it is important to understand
the ways in which institutional racism may be manifested in programs intended to support them,
such as teacher induction mentoring.
Definition of Terms
● Retention is the rate at which newly hired teachers stay in their teaching positions.
● Attrition is the rate at which teachers across experience levels leave their positions.
● Teacher turnover is the rate at which teachers leave positions and are replaced.
● Induction (California Induction, Teacher Induction) refers to a 2-year, job embedded
program of training and support required of preliminary credential candidates to earn
their clear teaching credential in the state of California.
● Mentors (induction mentors) refer to experienced teachers who provide regular, job
embedded support to novice teachers within a teacher induction program.
● Mentoring practices are the strategies and tools mentors use to support growth and
development of newly hired teachers.
● New teachers (novice teachers): refers to teachers who are working on internship
credentials, or who have received their preliminary credentials at the conclusion of a
9
teacher preparation program and are in their first 2 years of teaching experience
where they are the teacher of record.
● New teachers of color (new educators of color) refers to new teachers who do not
identify as racially White or as White Hispanic/Latinx.
● BTSA refers to Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment; a state of California
funded program that is now known as California Teacher Induction.
● CTC refers to California Commission on Teacher Credentialing; the office within the
California Department of Education that oversees teacher certification and
certification programs.
● CSTP refers to California Standards for the Teaching Profession; standards used by
the CTC to provide guidance on effective educator practices for teachers.
● TPE refers to Teaching Performance Expectations; in alignment with the CSTP, these
standards are designed as competencies required for the beginning teacher.
Organization of the Study
The dissertation is organized in five chapters. This chapter introduced the issue of teacher
retention, with respect to teachers of color, and provided the purpose and research questions that
guide the study in examining induction mentorship of teachers of color. The second chapter
engages in a literature review to understand the issues of teacher retention, induction mentorship
practices that support teacher retention, specific mentoring practices that support new teachers of
color, and provides CRT as a framework for the analysis of the experiences and mentoring of
new teachers of color. The third chapter will address the study’s methodology, the fourth chapter
will present the findings and results, and the final chapter will discuss the implications of the
findings and conclude with recommendations for practice and future research.
10
Chapter Two: Literature Review
The literature review will begin by discussing general issues related to teacher shortages
and retention, and then examine retention issues specific to teachers of color. It will provide an
overview of the structure of teacher preparation in California, including program structure and
pathways, induction as a means to improve teacher quality and retention, and known issues for
teachers of color within these programs. Following this general overview, the review will
examine teacher induction mentorship, detailing best practices in induction mentorship and
specific issues faced by teachers of color. This will be followed by a discussion and application
of CRT as a theoretical framework to examine obstacles faced by new teachers of color and
supportive mentorship practices. The review will conclude with the presentation of a conceptual
framework illustrating the theoretical relationship between teacher retention for teachers of color,
mentoring practices that support them, and the preparation of mentors to leverage these practices.
Teacher Shortage and Retention
Teacher shortages across the United States are an ongoing problem that have academic
consequences for students and presents organizational and fiscal challenges for school districts
(García & Weiss, 2019). Districts continue to struggle to hire qualified teachers for hard to fill
positions. The shortage results in large numbers of underqualified and/or inexperienced teachers
placed in classrooms, which has consequences for student achievement (Carver-Thomas &
Darling-Hammond, 2017; García & Weiss, 2019). The teacher shortage trend has been attributed
to decreasing enrollment in teacher preparation programs, increasing student enrollment, efforts
to re-establish pre-recession courses and class sizes, and reduced teacher retention (Sutcher et al.,
2019). Over two-thirds of teachers leaving the workforce do so for reasons other than retirement
(Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). Teacher turnover, or the rate at which teachers
11
leave job postings, is highest for special education, math, science, and English language
development teachers, and is greater in Title I schools and in schools with student demographics
that are primarily Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC; Carver-Thomas, 2018).
Quality of teacher preparation, availability of classroom resources, and school working
conditions are all factors that contribute to teacher retention. Teacher retention refers to the
percentage of teachers who choose to remain in the teaching profession or at a particular school
site; for this study, we will be looking at teacher retention in the profession (Borman & Dowling,
2008). Teachers who come into the profession through alternative preparation pathways, such as
internships or emergency teaching permits, are more likely to leave the profession than those
who have received certification through traditional teacher preparation programs, likely as a
result of a lack of experience and preparation (Redding & Smith, 2016; Zhang & Zeller, 2016).
Teachers’ positive perceptions of their preservice programs are also a strong indicator of their
decisions to stay in the teaching profession (DeAngelis et al., 2013). Teacher’s decisions to stay
at a particular school site or stay in the profession altogether are influenced by available
resources such as curriculum, textbooks, and classroom supplies, with the lowest rates of
retention occurring in the highest poverty schools (Borman & Maritza Dowling, 2008; Ingersoll,
2004; Podolsky et al., 2016).
Borman and Dowling (2008) and Ingersoll and May (2011) found that although personal
variables such as having a family or desiring a different career influence teacher retention,
working conditions play a significant role in early career teachers’ decisions to stay. Teachers are
more likely to leave a school site, and in many instances the profession, when they do not feel
supported or recognized by their school administrator, have poor salaries, have challenging
teaching assignments, and experience student behavior issues (Borman & Maritza Dowling,
12
2008; Coca et al., 2007; Ingersoll, 2004; Podolsky et al., 2016). Additionally, Ingersoll (2004)
found that teachers were more likely to leave when they felt they had little influence over school
and classroom decision-making, experienced frequent interruptions during classroom
instructional time, and had little classroom preparation time.
Teacher turnover results in economic loss for school districts and impacts student
academic achievement (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017; García & Weiss, 2019). In
addition to fiscal impact, high teacher turnover negatively impacts student achievement, the
organization, and the school community. Sorensen and Ladd (2020) found over a 7-year
longitudinal study that high periods of middle school teacher turnover were followed by years of
reduced student scores in math and English language arts standardized test scores. This is similar
to Ronfeldt et al. (2013) finding of reduced student scores in math and English language arts in
New York public schools with high teacher turnover rates. Fiscal impact includes costs of
recruitment, money spent on training and onboarding new teachers, and resources invested in
professional development (Sutcher et al., 2019). The recruitment and training costs associated
with filling a vacant position average $21,000 per vacancy (Carver-Thomas & DarlingHammond, 2017).
School sites and districts with high teacher turnover suffer from a lack of institutional
expertise as there are no longer enough experienced teachers to support the onboarding of new
teachers (Sutcher et al., 2019). This impacts the ability of teachers to collaborate or sustain long
term change efforts. This is exacerbated when vacancies are filled by recruitment through
alternative pathways or emergency permits (Redding & Henry, 2018; Sorensen & Ladd, 2020).
Under these conditions, teachers are even less likely to stay in the profession, leading to
13
prolonged periods of high turnover and further loss of the experience base of teachers at the
school site.
Although low rates of teacher retention are a widespread phenomenon, retention in the
profession is lower for teachers of color than it is for White teachers (Carver-Thomas & DarlingHammond, 2017; Ingersoll & May, 2011). Ingersoll and May (2011) found that teachers of color
left the profession at a rate 25% higher than White teachers in 2012–2013, and that percentage
gap has been increasing over time. Additionally, the retention of teachers of color is not uniform.
Latina/o teachers tend to be retained at higher rates than Black teachers; however, both groups
have lower retention rates compared to White teachers (Elfers et al., 2022).
The literature suggests that there are several explanations for the lower retention rates of
teachers of color (Achinstein et al., 2010; Redding & Smith, 2016; Zhang & Zeller, 2016).
Teachers of color are more likely to enter the profession through alternative teacher pathways
rather than traditional teacher preparation programs (Redding & Smith, 2016; Zhang & Zeller,
2016). Alternative pathways, such as internships or emergency teaching permits, are less likely to
provide teachers with adequate preparation. As a result of being less prepared, these teachers are
more likely to be dissatisfied with the teaching profession. Teachers of color are more likely to
find positions in hard to staff schools which often lack resources, have poor working conditions,
and have inexperienced or unsupportive administrators, all of which are associated with high
rates of attrition (Achinstein et al., 2010; Ingersoll, 2004). When teachers of color are not offered
full time positions, they are also more likely to leave the profession (Elfers et al., 2022).
Although they are less likely to leave high poverty schools than their White counterparts, when
they do leave it is because of the school climate, lack of decision-making ability, and lack of
administrator support (Ingersoll & May, 2011).
14
There is evidence that suggests students of all races, particularly students of color, benefit
academically from a diverse teacher workforce (Carver-Thomas, 2018; Cherng & Halpin, 2016;
Dee, 2004). The current teacher racial demographic is predominantly White and does not match
student racial demographics. As of 2017–2018, the composition of the primary and secondary
education teacher workforce was 79% White, 9% Hispanic, 7% Black, 2% Asian, 2% reporting
two or more races, and 1% Native American (Hussar et al., 2020). In comparison, in the 2019–
2020 school year student racial composition for public elementary and secondary schools was
44.6% White, 27.7% Hispanic, 15% Black, 5.3% Asian, 4.3% two or more races, and 0.9%
Native American (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2022). Between the 1999–
2000 and 2017–2018 school years, the number of White teachers decreased by 5%, Hispanic
teachers increased by 3%, Asian teachers increased by 2%, Black teachers decreased by 1%, and
Native American/Native Alaskan teachers remained at 1% (two or more races not reported in
1999–2000) (NCES, 2020). Between the 1999–2000 and 2017–2019 school years, the percentage
of White students decreased by 13.6%, Black students decreased by 2%, Hispanic students
increased by 10.4%, Asian students increased by 1.1%, and American Indian/Alaskan Native
student percentages have stayed the same (two or more races is at 3.9% in 2017–2018,
previously not reported in 1999–2000). Seventeen years of recruitment and retention efforts have
resulted in an approximate 6% increase in teachers of color, with an approximate 10% increase
in the number of students of color (NCES, 2020).
There are a wide range of policy recommendations designed to address issues of teacher
shortage and retention through the improvement of teacher preparation programs, compensation,
classroom resources, and working conditions. For the scope of this review, the focus will be on
teacher retention efforts through teacher induction mentoring. This is because (a) systems of
15
support influence teachers’ decisions to stay (Ingersoll, 2004; Podolsky et al., 2016), (b) the
teaching profession is complex and historically has had the least amount of onboarding support
(DeAngelis et al., 2013), and (c) induction mentoring support has been found to mitigate impacts
of some negative working conditions (DeAngelis et al., 2013). Before beginning the review of
the literature on teacher induction and mentoring, the review will examine the structure of
teacher preparation in California in order to situate the role induction plays in teacher
preparation, and to understand the experiences of teachers of color in teacher preparation
programs to better contextualize the experiences of teachers of color in education preparation
overall.
Teacher Preparation
Teacher Preparation in California
In California, the Ryan Act of 1970 created an independent agency, the California
Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to create standards for teacher licensure in
response to years of political pressure to establish teaching as a credible profession (Janssen &
Sloan, 2011). The CTC is responsible for creating teacher preparation program standards,
granting accreditation to teacher preparation programs, setting requirements for teacher and
education service certification, and granting credentials. The basic components of teacher
licensure today are as follows: candidates must have a bachelor’s degree, verified subject matter
competency either through coursework or by exam, completed a 1-year preparation program for
the credential type they are pursuing (multiple, single, or education specialist), and verification
of the ability to teach reading, either by exam or through course preparation (CTC, 2020).
Commission approved programs require that at least one semester of the preparation
program involve clinical practice, also known as student teaching. When candidates have met
16
these requirements, they are issued a preliminary credential in their designated credential area,
lasting for 5 years (Janssen & Sloan, 2011).
There are multiple pathways to earning a teaching credential. In the traditional pathway,
candidates engage in a 1-year preparation program that includes a semester of student teaching
(CTC, 2017a). However, some candidates are certified through internship programs where they
teach part-time while taking coursework in the evening or on weekends at a local college or
university. Internships are usually paid and do not require student teaching (CTC, 2022). Teacher
residency programs are similar to traditional programs but usually provide a year of clinical
experience in addition to preparation program coursework. Some individuals enter the profession
through emergency credentials or long-term permits. When a district cannot fill a vacancy, they
can hire an individual by applying for one of these special permits. Generally, the candidate has
fulfilled some of the requirements for a credential, but not enough to qualify for a preliminary or
internship credential; the district must demonstrate that the vacancy cannot be filled in any other
way, and the individual must demonstrate a willingness to complete preparation coursework
(CTC, 2021).
In 1988, the state of California recognized the importance of supporting new teachers and
created the California New Teacher Project to research and pilot programs that support new
teachers. In 1992, findings from the California New Teacher Project led to Senate Bill (SB)
1422, which called for phasing in of Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA)
programs along with restructuring the credential process to make teacher induction a required
part of the credentialing process. SB 2042 in 1998 outlined implementation of a state funded 2-
year induction program as a part of a new, two-tiered credential system. In 2004, Assembly Bill
(AB) 2210 mandated teacher induction to earn a professional clear credential (Lovo et al., 2006).
17
Local education agencies were tasked with creating programs based on induction program
standards developed by the CTC, subject to CTC accreditation processes for teacher preparation
programs (CTC, 2020; Lovo et al., 2006). Regardless of the teacher preparation pathway, once
individuals are issued a preliminary credential they have 5 years to earn a clear credential
through a 2-year accredited teacher induction program. Accredited programs are offered through
local districts, county office of education consortiums, and some private and state colleges.
Teacher Induction as an Extension of Preparation
Teacher induction serves two primary purposes. The first is to ensure that teachers are
supported in building on the foundation of their teacher preparation programs to continue
developing as effective educators. The second is to provide novice teachers with mentoring and
support to help them navigate the challenges inherent in the first few years of teaching while
developing as reflective practitioners (CTC, 2017b; Lipton et al., 2017).
According to Goldrick (2012), a teacher induction program is considered strong when the
following criteria are addressed: (a) they identify which teachers are served and for how long, (b)
they have program standards, (c) they provide mentor selection criteria, (d) they include mentor
training, (e) they define mentor caseload, (f) they define program delivery, (g) they designate
funding, (h) there is an educator accountability component, and (i) there is program
accountability. Although the state of California meets some of Goldrick’s recommended criteria,
it falls short in several categories (Goldrick, 2012). California induction standards do not provide
clear mentor selection criteria, nor do they provide guidance on mentor caseload limits (CTC,
2017). The standards advocate for mentor training but do not define key training components.
California has also shifted from a designated state funding model to a local funding model. The
implications are that local induction programs must establish their own criteria for mentor
18
qualifications, mentor curriculum and training programs, mentor caseloads, and mentor release
time or compensation. Because induction funding no longer comes directly from the state, it is
dependent on local control funding formulas, which vary widely between programs and do not
necessarily guarantee that induction programs are free of charge to participants.
Over time, induction program standards have been responsive to teacher feedback and
research, and adjusted to emphasize mentoring, individualized learning plans, and choice with
respect to professional learning (CTC, 2017). However, little exists in the induction program
preconditions or standards to address how to support teachers of color or diverse backgrounds in
the profession.
Impact of Teacher Induction on Retention
Teachers participating in quality induction programs are more likely to be retained in the
profession (Coca et al., 2007; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011; Ronfeldt & McQueen, 2017). Retention
improves when beginning teachers receive quality mentoring in combination with other
induction supports contextualized to their site or assignment. Kang and Berliner (2012) found
that induction activities that provided additional classroom assistance, participation in beginning
teacher seminars, and common planning time for new teachers had the greatest impact on new
teachers’ decisions to stay at their school site. DeAngelis et al. (2013) found that although highquality induction and mentoring can mitigate the effect of negative preservice education
perceptions, low-quality mentorship does not. Low-quality mentoring or mentoring without any
additional induction support can decrease teacher retention. Teachers also perceive induction
mentoring more positively when there is a subject area or grade level match between mentor and
teacher, and when it occurs with greater meeting frequency (DeAngelis et al., 2013; Kang &
Berliner, 2012; Kwok et al., 2021; Mitchell et al., 2020).
19
Coca et al. (2007) study of teacher induction in Chicago Public Schools found that strong
induction support enhanced the experience of early career teachers. Their quantitative study
evaluated survey data from over 1,700 teachers at the primary and secondary levels. The survey
investigated perceptions of teaching experience quality as well as intentions to continue in the
profession. According to Coca et al. (2007), well-structured and comprehensive induction
programs positively impacted retention when they included frequent, high-quality mentoring.
High-quality mentoring included support with instructional strategies, classroom management,
guiding new teachers through school policies and procedures, feedback on instruction, and
flexibility in addressing the teacher’s immediate needs.
In 2010, Glazerman et al. conducted an empirical study examining induction impacts on
teacher retention and student achievement at 17 different school districts under two treatment
conditions over a 3-year period of time. The control group for this study included districts with
an established induction program, and the treatment group participated in a new, intensive
induction program. The study concluded that there was no significant difference in teacher
retention, no difference in measured classroom practices, no difference in the qualifications of
stayers, no difference in job satisfaction, and some achievement gains in math and English test
scores after 3 years for the intensive induction group. Other researchers note that within the
Glazerman et al. study, the control group had high variability in induction program structure and
services (Fletcher & Strong, 2009; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). Some induction programs within
the control group were providing their own version of comprehensive support through
established programs and were likely working with experienced mentors. The treatment group
was working with mentors who had been newly trained in the intensive induction program
(Fletcher & Strong, 2009; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011).
20
In contrast to Glazerman et al. (2010), Ronfeldt and McQueen (2017) found that novice
educators who received multiple and comprehensive induction supports were significantly less
likely to leave the profession or migrate to other schools. This impact was significant after
teachers’ 2nd and 5th years in the profession. Ronfeldt and McQueen (2017) conducted a
secondary analysis of data from the Schools and Staffing and Teacher Follow-up Surveys
(SASS/TFS), Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study (BTLS), and Teacher Follow-up Survey
(TFL) to examine short and long-term effects of teacher induction on retention beginning
teachers across multiple teacher cohorts. This study found that each additional induction support
decreased the likelihood of teacher migration and attrition, suggesting a cumulative benefit of
comprehensive support. Induction program components of greatest significance included
mentoring, supportive communication from school leadership, beginning teacher seminars, and
embedded collaborative work time with colleagues.
The impacts of teacher induction and mentoring on retention are also influenced by site
context and working conditions. Induction supports have a more significant impact on low
poverty schools than in moderate to high poverty schools (Smith & Ingersoll, 2004). Student
behavior issues, challenging teaching assignments, and the absence of a supportive and
welcoming staff also play a large role in teachers decisions to stay, even when they receive
induction support (Coca et al., 2007).
Challenges for New Teachers of Color
New teachers of color navigate all of the challenges beginning teachers face “but are also
consciously or unconsciously managing the persistence of societal, historical and negative
mantle [of institutional racism] generally placed on all people of color” (Achinstein, 2012, p.
299). Ginsberg and Budd (2017) provide a summary of key issues new teachers of color face that
21
their White counterparts do not. When hired, new teachers of color are often expected to be
disciplinarians for students of color. They are often reluctant to connect with other teachers of
color for fear they will be seen as “trouble makers” and experience isolation from their
colleagues (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017, p. 2). Even when assigned a mentor, they may be concerned
that mentors are acting as evaluators of their performance, or that they are supported by White
mentors who are not capable of talking about race or racism.
New teachers of color often feel pressured to focus on state standards over culturally
relevant pedagogy. Kohli and Pizarro (2016) found that teachers of color can be challenged,
questioned, or silenced by those in authority when there is not a shared community orientation or
“transformative approach to schooling” (p. 80). As defined by Kohli and Pizarro (2016), a
transformative approach is a commitment to change educational outcomes and experiences for
students of color that do not reproduce racialized outcomes. A community orientation holds that
teachers emphasize the importance of relationship building and models of cultural wealth, and
that education occurs within the school and community as a partnership. Unfortunately, teachers
of color with a community orientation are often under attack by peers, do not receive as many
professional development invitations, and receive fewer administrator supports, resulting in a
lack of support overall that they need to grow professionally (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016). Cultural
hierarchies that value White culture and assimilationist practices create “racially hostile
conditions” that make it difficult for teachers of color to “teach through their community
orientation” (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016, p. 80). White leaders must take care to attend to the
development of school culture in ways that do not reinforce White dominant culture, which when
left uninterrupted, continues to marginalize both staff and students of non-dominant (or nonWhite) culture (Fraise et al., 2015).
22
Induction Mentorship
Induction mentorship is considered a key component of induction programs within
California, and program standards require that mentors provide “no less than an average of one
hour of support a week of direct or mentor coordinated support” (CTC, 2017b). Induction
mentorship is not a random assignment of support, but is an integral part of teacher induction and
more broadly tied to a system of professional development that helps teachers grow their practice
(Wong, 2016). Within California, mentors support new teachers’ growth in the California
Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP), which builds on Teacher Professional
Expectations introduced in teacher preparation programs (CTC, 2020). Individual induction
programs determine mentor training, mentor curriculum, and the structure of mentor interaction
and feedback.
Internationally, mentorship of new teachers is recognized as vital for creating effective
teachers and mitigating issues of teacher retention, but many nations, including the United States,
do not have certification programs or standards to guide the training and development of teacher
mentors (Wei et al., 2009). Even though California does not have state adopted mentor standards
or certification, induction accreditation standards require programs to “provide ongoing training
and support for mentors that includes but is not limited to, coaching and mentoring, goal setting,
use of appropriate mentoring instruments, best practices in adult learning, support for individual
mentoring challenges, reflection on mentoring practice, and opportunities to engage with
mentoring peers in professional learning networks” (CTC, 2017).
Induction Mentor Preparation
Despite the mixed research on the impact of induction on teacher retention, when
induction is found to have a benefit, it includes a structured mentorship component (Coca et al.,
23
2007; DeAngelis et al., 2013; Hong & Matsko, 2019). In an analysis of the 2007–2008
Beginning Teaching Longitudinal Study, it was found that in the 5 years following a new
teacher’s 1st year, teachers who were assigned a mentor were more likely to be teaching than
those who were not (Gray & Taie, 2015).
Although induction mentorship structures vary from program to program, there is
agreement among many researchers that high-quality mentorship requires training, as classroom
experience alone does not guarantee the skills or knowledge needed to guide novice teachers
(Achinstein & Athanases, 2006; Evertson & Smithey, 2000; Glassford & Salinitri, 2007;
Goldrick, 2012; Ulvik & Sunde, 2013, and others). According to DeAngelis, untrained or lowquality mentors have a negative impact on teacher’s positive perceptions of teaching. An
individual’s success in educating children does not mean they have the ability to guide adult
learning, and in some cases, an untrained mentor can unknowingly promote harmful beliefs or
practices (Giebelhaus & Bowman, 2002; Langdon & Ward, 2015; McDonald & Flint, 2015;
Thies-Sprinthall, n.d.).
Lejonberg et al. (2015) study of 146 formally trained mentors found that trained mentors
were less likely to hold “judgementoring” beliefs. Judgementoring beliefs about supporting
teachers are evaluative, directive, and assessment focused rather than constructivist. This
“judgementoring” disposition can interfere with teacher development and professional learning.
This is in line with Richter et al. (2013), who found that new teachers benefit from constructivist
mentoring strategies that support them in problem solving through dialogue and support, as
opposed to a focus on fixing problems for new teachers.
In Giebelhaus and Bowman’s (2002) comparison study of student teachers with formally
trained and untrained mentors, they found that student teachers are more reflective, better at
24
planning, and more effective in organizing classroom processes when they had mentors who
underwent mentor training. Although mentors of student teachers and new teachers have slightly
different mentoring structures, the process and theory that undergird teacher development are the
same, and as noted above, are not necessarily skills or knowledge that experienced teachers
possess.
Mentors report that an effective format for professional learning occurs when there is a
mix of theoretical inputs with practical application and discussion (Gardiner & Weisling, 2018;
Ulvik & Sunde, 2013). This is augmented when mentors engage in communities with other
mentors, where they can apply theory through case studies or scenarios, role-playing, reading
discussions, generating mentoring strategies for problems of practice in context, and
collaborating with more experienced mentors (Gardiner & Weisling, 2018; Stanulis & Ames,
2009; Ulvik & Sunde, 2013). Mentors have also reported that professional learning should be
done within the context of their mentoring roles and immediately applicable to their problems of
practice (Betlem et al., 2019; Coca et al., 2007; Shanks, 2017). Immediate application allows
mentors to synthesize the relationship between theoretical knowledge, personal teaching
experience, and application to their mentoring practice (Stanulis & Ames, 2009). Whenever
possible, professional learning for mentors should be job embedded in terms of both time and
context, and formal professional development (release days or training days) should be combined
with more frequent opportunities (like weekly forums) for mentors to engage in their own
professional learning community (Moir, 2009). A summary of key mentor preparation structures
is provided in Table 2.
25
Table 2
Content Areas for Effective Mentor Preparation
Preparation content Source
Selecting appropriate mentoring strategies and
support based on knowledge of teacher
development.
Achinstein and Athanases (2006); Clark
and Byrnes (2012); Gardiner and
Weisling (2018); Henning et al. (2015);
Hong and Matsko (2019); Odell and
Ferraro (1992)
Building effective relationships; non-evaluative,
trusting, and emotionally supportive.
Achinstein and Athanases (2006); Aspfors
and Fransson (2015); Gardiner and
Weisling (2018); Henning et al. (2015);
Hong and Matsko (2019); Lipton et al.
(2017)
Providing feedback and using questioning
strategies that promote reflection and growth.
Henning et al. (2015); Hong and Matsko
(2019); Moir (2009); Parker et al.
(2021)
Training in specific observation tools; purposes,
practice, and use.
Gardiner and Weisling (2018); Hong and
Matsko (2019); Kent et al. (2012);
Stanulis and Ames (2009)
Facilitating difficult conversations to shift teacher
practice.
Henning et al. (2015); Parker et al. (2021)
Mentor’s ability to reflect on both teaching and
mentorship practice.
Beutel et al. (2017); Leshem (2012);
Parker et al. (2021)
Mentor professional development and preparation should provide mentors with a
knowledge base that supports teacher development and relationship building. Mentors should be
knowledgeable about the stages of teacher development (Clark & Byrnes, 2012; Henning et al.,
2015; Hong & Matsko, 2019; Odell & Ferraro, 1992). This enables mentors to provide
individualized support based on developmental needs, from topics such as effective classroom
management, lesson planning, or student work analysis (Hong & Matsko, 2019). Understanding
26
the needs of new teachers helps mentors support new teachers in identifying and navigating
challenges at the classroom and school site level (Achinstein & Athanases, 2006; Henning et al.,
2015; Odell, 1990). This knowledge base also enables mentors to determine whether the teacher
needs a more directive approach, as is often needed in the early stages of development, or if the
teacher is ready to be supported in their own problem solving (Clark & Byrnes, 2012).
Mentors need to know how to build effective relationships with new teachers and provide
emotional support (Aspfors & Fransson, 2015; Gardiner & Weisling, 2018; Henning et al., 2015;
Hong & Matsko, 2019; Lipton et al., 2017). The relationship needs to be trusting, non-evaluative,
and encourage new teachers to bring challenges into the mentor-mentee conversation. Henning et
al. (2015) found that struggling new teachers withhold sharing challenges because they fear
bringing negative attention to themselves or being evaluated.
Mentors also need to provide teachers with feedback that is not evaluative and creates
opportunities for learning and reflection (Henning et al., 2015; Hong & Matsko, 2019; Moir,
2009; Parker et al., 2021). Mentors must understand the importance of providing feedback and
have the opportunities to practice delivering feedback in non-evaluative ways that prompt
reflection on practice. To provide useful feedback, mentors must be trained in observation,
presentation of evidence, and questioning strategies (Gardiner & Weisling, 2018; Hong &
Matsko, 2019; Kent et al., 2012; Stanulis & Ames, 2009). Mentors need training in a variety of
observation tools, such as scripting or student engagement tracking. Training includes
understanding each tool’s purpose in data collection and opportunities to practice using the tools
(Kent et al., 2012; Stanulis & Ames, 2009). Mentors must be able to review observation evidence
to develop questions for teacher reflection and to help the mentor assess the new teacher’s areas
of need (Kent et al., 2012; Stanulis & Ames, 2009). To effectively select the appropriate
27
observation tools and prompt reflective questions, mentors must be able to adopt an appropriate
stance or position on how they intend to direct the teacher’s growth based on the teacher’s
developmental level (Lipton et al., 2017; Massey et al., 2019; Parker et al., 2021).
When evidence and questioning reveal gaps in knowledge, skill, or beliefs a teacher may
hold, mentors need to have difficult conversations to help the teacher shift practice (Henning et
al., 2015; Parker et al., 2021). This is an important component of making sure teachers are able
to meet the needs of their ethnically and culturally diverse students (Achinstein, 2012; Hong &
Matsko, 2019). As mentors prompt teachers to reflect on their practice, they support the
development of reflective skills that help teachers identify and solve problems on their own in
the future (Richter et al., 2013). Effective questioning and reflection strategies can also help new
teachers identify challenges and overcome their reluctance to ask for support (Henning et al.,
2015). Mentors need to practice self-reflection on their own instruction and mentorship, and
engage teachers in collaborative reflection on the mentoring practice to model the practice and
encourage reciprocal growth (Parker et al., 2021).
Structural Supports for Effective Mentoring
There are specific structural recommendations for mentoring to be highly effective, and a
summary of these considerations is included in Table 3. New teachers report that mentoring is
more effective when teachers and mentors have common planning or embedded time in their
workday, and the creation of this time is supported by site administrators (Clark & Byrnes, 2012;
Hong & Matsko, 2019). The frequency of mentor-teacher interactions impacts teacher retention
(Caven et al., 2021), and also the perceived quality and usefulness of mentoring with a
recommended minimum of bi-weekly (every other week) interactions (Hong & Matsko,
2019). Effective mentorship is associated with a subject or grade level match between the mentor
28
and the beginning teacher (DeAngelis et al., 2013; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004)). A school site
match may be as or more important than a specific subject area or grade level match, as mentors
can provide valuable support in navigating the context of the school environment and teaching
assignment (Achinstein & Athanases, 2006; California County Superintendents Educational
Services Association, 2016).
Table 3
Structural Supports for Effective Mentoring
Structure Source
Common or embedded planning time; time
embedded during the day or in common with
mentors and colleagues.
Clark and Byrnes (2012); DeAngelis et al.
(2013); Hong and Matsko (2019); Kang
and Berliner (2012); Redding and Smith
(2016); Zhang and Zeller (2016)
Support frequency: at least bi-weekly support
from the mentor.
Caven et al. (2021); Hong and Matsko (2019)
Mentor match: mentor match between
candidates within the same grade level,
subject area, or teaching style or philosophy.
DeAngelis et al. (2013); Kraft and Blazar
(2017); Smith and Ingersoll (2004)
Strong school leadership that supports and
values induction programs.
Coca et al. (2007); Hong and Matsko (2019);
Ronfeldt and McQueen (2017); Shanks et
al. (2022)
29
Mentoring new teachers requires knowledge and skills that are not automatically acquired
through teaching experience, and practices must be supported through structures that support the
learning of the mentor, and the learning that takes place between mentor and mentee. What we
know about the knowledge base required for mentoring is reinforced through new teacher reports
of effective mentoring practices.
Mentoring Considerations for New Teachers of Color
There are additional considerations for new teachers of color concerning the support and
mentorship they receive in teacher induction programs. As Ginsberg and Budd state, “A mentor
teacher might have a strong grasp of subject matter and/or be a skilled classroom manager, yet
still lack sensitivity to the issues that are driving teachers of color out of teaching” (2017, p. 3).
The key domains and characteristics for mentoring practices that support new teachers of color
are summarized in Table 4.
Table 4
Mentoring Practice Domains That Support New Teachers of Color
Domain Characteristics Source
Educational
context
Knowledgeable about the school context and
conditions where new teachers operate.
Achinstein (2012); Achinstein
and Ogawa (2006)
Understand the historical roots of racism
within education and how it manifests at the
school.
Kohli and Pizarro (2022)
Understand how teachers of color come into
the profession having navigated structural
and institutional racism.
Gist et al. (2018); Kohli
(2009); Redding and Smith
(2016); Zhang and Zeller
(2016)
Assist new teachers in navigating spaces and
creating systems of support to counteract the
impacts of racism.
Achinstein and Ogawa (2006);
Kohli and Pizarro (2016)
30
Domain Characteristics Source
Identity and
selfawareness
Develop self-awareness and understand their
own identities in relation to race and racism.
Achinstein (2012)
Critically reflect on practice; challenge status
quo.
Utt and Tochluk (2020)
Support teachers in understanding their
identities, the impact of identity on practice,
and navigating racially hostile conditions at
the school site.
Achinstein (2012); Kohli and
Pizarro (2016)
Planning activities and emotional support
affirm culturally responsive teaching.
Ginsberg and Budd (2017)
Teachers as
learners
Validate the cultural wealth of new teachers
including cultural, linguistic, and
educational experiences.
Achinstein (2012); Yosso
(2005)
Disrupt deficit narratives; celebrate the wisdom
of communities of color by uplifting
counternarratives.
Solórzano and Yosso (2002;
2001)
Use knowledge of site context to connect new
teachers of color with professional learning
opportunities
Achinstein and Athanases
(2006); Kohli and Pizarro
(2016)
Culturally
responsive
mentoring
Support new teachers in navigating racism
within the school site; mentors are
comfortable talking about race
Achinstein (2012); Ginsberg
and Budd (2017)
Lift up teachers’ experiential knowledge and
commitment to improving outcomes for
students.
Kohli (2009); Ladson-Billings
(1995)
Minimize feelings of isolation through regular
meetings, emotional support, reflection on
challenges, and a system of teacher
support.
Bristol (2020); Clark and
Byrnes (2012); Ginsberg
and Budd (2017); Henning
et al. (2015);
Act as knowledgeable peers, not evaluators,
respect teacher agency, and provide
confidential support.
Ginsberg and Budd (2017)
31
An area that has received attention with mixed results is the importance of a racial or
cultural match between the mentor and the new teacher. According to Caven et al. (2021), the
matching of a teacher of color with a mentor of the same race/ethnicity had no impact on teacher
of color retention rates. Although overall retention rates were improved by a racial match, they
found it was driven by the large number of White mentors supporting White teachers. The study
also found that White teachers were more likely than Black teachers to report that the local
induction and mentoring program influenced their decision to stay at the school. Of interest is the
finding that Black teachers with a White mentor were more likely to report the positive influence
of mentoring and induction than Black teachers with a mentor of color. Caven et al. (2021)
suggest that this could be attributed to variation in years of mentorship experience between
White mentors and mentors of color, which was not a variable measured by their study. Although
not discussed by Caven et al., mentors of color were generally viewed as a singular group within
the study, and there was no analysis describing the cultural/racial identities of mentors of color
matched with Black teachers.
According to Dingus (2008), Black women educators derive important benefits from
forming their own mentoring networks with a shared cultural orientation. Such benefits include
providing leadership opportunities, affirmation of Black women’s perspectives, and spaces to
discuss individual and institutional racism. Involving Black women educators in leadership
opportunities provides career advancement opportunities and positions Black women where they
can be informed about and participate in education policy making. Black women often find that
their education philosophies and pedagogical beliefs about teaching are not in alignment with
their White colleagues, who frequently hold deficit perspectives on teaching students of color.
Mentoring spaces with a shared cultural orientation affirm and encourage Black women
32
educators to continue practices that serve students of color. These spaces also become a place to
discuss racism Black women educators experience at the personal and institutional level, and
support their perspectives that counter “prevailing institutionally sanctioned ideas of what
constitutes good teaching” (Dingus, 2008, p. 373).
Achinstein (2012) articulates that mentors must simultaneously support teachers in
developing classrooms that support students of color while supporting new teachers of color in
navigating context challenges at their school sites. Achinstein (2012) suggests four domains of
mentoring support that should be considered for supporting new teachers and students of color.
In the first domain, mentors provide culturally responsive mentoring exchanges. According to
Achinstein, culturally responsive mentorship includes creating trusting relationships that support
dialogue on race, the mentor’s ability to assess and support new teachers’ development using a
range of strategies, and a focus on developing new teachers’ culturally and linguistically
responsive instruction, leveraging new teacher’s cultural and linguistic capital (2012). In the
second domain, mentors focus on the teacher as a learner. Mentors learn about teachers’
backgrounds, identities, and educational experiences recognizing that they have unique
experiences and funds of knowledge and should not be labeled or treated as representatives of a
particular racial or ethnic group. In the third domain, mentors are knowledgeable about the
school site and local context. Mentors understand how racism operates in education and the
larger political landscape and can also identify and articulate how it manifests at the school site
level. They use this understanding to support teachers of color in identifying and navigating
racism at the school site level among colleagues, administrators, and the community. This is
similar to Kohli and Pizarro’s (2016) finding that teachers of color with a social justice
orientation often find themselves in conflict with the school culture and cultural hierarchies. In
33
Achinstein’s (2012) fourth domain, mentors focus on understanding their own identities in order
to support new teachers in understanding how their identities and experiences in education
impact teaching. This requires mentors to develop self-awareness about their role and
relationship to education, race, and privilege and provides opportunities for new teachers to
explore how their identities and experiences shape their beliefs about teaching and learning.
Theoretical Framework
Theoretical frameworks in qualitative studies situate the problem under study within the
broader context of current research, assist in explaining the relationships between concepts
presented in the conceptual framework, and provide a basis for data analysis (Lochmiller &
Lester, 2017; Rocco & Plakhotnik, 2009). Critical race theory (CRT) will be used as the
theoretical framework to analyze the issue of retaining new teachers of color and how it relates to
the induction mentorship of new teachers of color. This study will explore how key tenets of
CRT inform answers to the following two research questions:
1. What are the post preparation-program perceptions of White, secondary education
induction mentors in a medium-size CA school district in regard to their level of
preparation for supporting new teachers of color?
2. Following participation in a mentor preparation program, how do White induction
mentors in a medium-size CA school district characterize the practices they would use
to support new teachers of color in the secondary education classroom?
CRT was developed by legal scholars and activists who sought to provide an explanation
for the decline in advances in the civil rights legislation of the 1960s (Delgado & Stefancic,
2023). CRT examines how race and racism in all aspects of society reproduce outcomes that
systematically advantage White persons and disadvantage persons of color (Delgado &
34
Stefancic, 2023). In the context of this study, CRT helps explain challenges unique to new
teachers of color and provides a basis for a mentoring framework to support new teachers of
color through these challenges. With respect to the research questions, this framework allows
critical examination of the professional learning provided to mentors in the program of study.
This critical analysis will help determine if the program is in alignment with the knowledge and
skills mentors require to support new teachers of color. Additionally, a critical analysis of
mentors’self-described practices in supporting new teachers of color can help determine the
extent to which professional development makes its way into actual mentor practice, as well as
how mentors conceptualize the support moves within their practice.
A major theme in CRT is the assertion that “racism is ordinary and not aberrational” and
is embedded throughout social and political systems (Delgado & Stefancic, 2023, p. 8). This
shapes institutional structures, practices, and policies in ways that perpetuate the status quo
which maintains White majoritarian narratives and racial superiority (Delgado & Stefancic,
2023; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). As a part of this central theme, CRT posits that White
dominant ideology centers the privilege and status of Whites while simultaneously erasing the
racialized nature of the system by claiming policies are race-neutral or colorblind (Delgado &
Stefancic, 2023; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). This is done by diverting discussions of equity
through emphasizing the role of individual effort or meritocracy over structural inequality. CRT
also asserts that reform efforts to improve the conditions for people of color are only initiated as
long as they align with the interest of the dominant group, or through interest convergence (Bell,
1980; Delgado & Stefancic, 2023; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). Race and racism are also
perpetuated through the social construction of race which assigns psychological and behavioral
characteristics to particular groups of people based on physical traits, language, and geographical
35
location (Delgado & Stefancic, 2023). These social ideas or constructs of race are reinforced and
perpetuated through media, legislation, policies, and practices. CRT takes a critical antiessentialist stance and asserts that no individual has just one identity, but has multiple identities
and can experience simultaneous and overlapping forms of oppression related to these identities
(Collins, 2015; Delgado & Stefancic, 2023). Finally, CRT emphasizes the importance of lifting
up the individual experiences and stories of persons of color through storytelling and counterstorytelling to make visible the lived experiences of people of color as they navigate race and
racism (Delgado & Stefancic, 2023; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). This provides a counter-narrative
to the White majoritarian narratives, which operate to silence both the experiences and histories
of people of color.
When applied to systems in education, CRT becomes a tool with which to better
understand the experiences of teachers of color. Education programs, teacher preparation
programs, and schools operate within the social political environment and are influenced by
policymaker’s knowledge and beliefs about racism, which reflect White majoritarian narratives.
Teacher preparation programs inculcate prospective teachers into an education system and
resulting classroom processes and adopted curriculum that serve to reinforce White dominant
ideology (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016; Picower, 2009; Sleeter, 2017). This can be seen in the
ambiguity of state diversity requirements in accreditation standards for teacher preparation
programs (Akiba et al., 2010). Teacher education programs often only provide a semester or two
of culturally responsive or social justice issues in teaching, rather than integrating these
approaches throughout the coursework (Sleeter, 2017). State certification exams define what
counts as content specific teacher knowledge, and this knowledge base often emphasizes
Eurocentric traditions and curriculum (Sleeter, 2017).
36
Education reinforces racism and racialized outcomes through policy, practice, curriculum,
pedagogy, and instruction. Without a critical understanding of the role race plays in education,
White educators continue to adopt “color-blind conceptions of quality teaching, by failing to
account for ways race matters in education, support[ing] the continued Whiteness of teacher
education” (Sleeter, 2017, p. 162). New teachers of color encounter racial ideologies and racism
through society, their own early education, teacher preparation programs, induction programs,
mentoring relationships, and the school context in which they work. As a result, structures
intended to foster the development of a new teacher of color instead add layers of racism,
creating additional challenges that they must navigate as they enter the profession (Ginsberg &
Budd, 2017; Kohli & Pizarro, 2022).
Conceptual Framework
A conceptual framework operates to make transparent the relationships between factors,
variables, and concepts central to a study and is a visual representation of how those factors work
in concert to explain a particular phenomenon (Maxwell, 2013). According to Ravitch and Carl
(2016), a conceptual framework serves as the “connective tissue” of a research study by linking
significance, relevance, and methodology, to the research questions and purpose (p. 35). The
conceptual framework in Figure 1 outlines the relationship between mentoring professional
learning and practices that potentially impact the retention of teachers of color. The arrows
between mentoring practices and domains of CRT represent reciprocity; the domain informs the
necessity of the practice, and the practice itself theoretically operates to disrupt the impacts of
racism within that domain. The dotted arrows represent the factors that inform the inputs of
mentor preparation, as well as the potential impact on teacher retention.
37
Figure 1
Intersection of Mentor Preparation, Practice, and Teacher of Color Retention
On the left-hand side of the conceptual framework, the green box represents factors that
impact all new teachers’ decisions to stay in the teaching profession. Factors such as teacher
salaries, teaching assignments, class interruptions, and other structural or policy level issues
where a mentor is likely to have no impact are beyond the scope of this study (Borman &
Dowling, 2008; Coca et al., 2007; Podolsky et al., 2016; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004). This study
will focus on factors discussed in the literature review where a mentor has potential influence, as
listed in Table 5. These previously discussed factors include: mitigating the effects of poor
38
teacher preparation programs (DeAngelis et al., 2013; Redding & Smith, 2016; Zhang & Zeller,
2016), mitigating the effects of ineffective leadership (Hong & Matsko, 2019), providing
collaboration and planning with colleagues (Clark & Byrnes, 2012; Hong & Matsko, 2019; Kang
& Berliner, 2012), creating a supportive work environment (Coca et al., 2007), supporting
classroom management and student behavior issues (Borman & Dowling, 2008; Coca et al.,
2007; Podolsky et al., 2016; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004), embedding time to work with a mentor
(Clark & Byrnes, 2012), time to work with other new teachers, and providing beginning teacher
seminars and professional learning (Kang & Berliner, 2012).
Table 5
Factors That Impact Teacher Retention Where Induction Mentorship Has Influence
Factor Source
Mitigating poor teacher preparation programs DeAngelis et al. (2013); Redding and Smith
(2016); Zhang and Zeller (2016)
Mitigating weak site leadership Hong and Matsko (2019)
Creating a supportive work environment Coca et al. (2007)
Supporting classroom management and
student behavior issues.
Borman and Maritza Dowling (2008); Coca et
al. (2007); Podolsky et al. (2016); Smith and
Ingersoll (2004)
Embedded work time Clark and Byrnes (2012)
Beginning teachers professional learning Kang and Berliner (2012)
Collaborative planning time with mentors,
colleagues and other new teachers
DeAngelis et al. (2013); Kang and Berliner
(2012); Redding and Smith (2016); Zhang
and Zeller (2016)
39
In addition to factors that influence all new teachers’ decisions to stay in the teaching
profession, there are factors that are unique to the experiences of new teachers of color. The inner
yellow circle of the conceptual framework identifies three domains of CRT that characterize the
experiences of new educators of color. This categorization is not meant to be absolute, as factors
can be viewed through multiple and overlapping lenses within a critical race theory framework.
The first domain, the centrality of race and racism, describes how education systems are
designed to reproduce educational inequities along racial lines in order to maintain White status
and privilege (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). We see this enacted in
the ways teacher preparation programs center White teacher narratives and beliefs about
education which reinforce deficit narratives about communities and students of color (Picower,
2009; Sleeter, 2017). This is also evident when teachers of color feel pressured to focus on state
standards over culturally relevant pedagogy (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). Teachers of color are
often challenged, questioned, or silenced by those in authority when there are not shared values
around a “transformative approach to schooling” that aims to disrupt deficit mindsets about
communities and students of color (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016). The maintenance of White
dominance is reinforced through the social construction of race, in which psychological and
behavioral characteristics are assigned to particular groups of people based on physical and
linguistic traits (Smedley & Smedley, 2005). This can be observed in the way teachers of color,
particularly Black teachers, are subject to racial stereotyping that leads to feelings of isolation in
environments where there are few teachers of similar racial backgrounds (Bristol, 2020). As
previously discussed in the literature review, the centrality of race and racism can be viewed in
the context of an entire school site where the cultural hierarchies support policies that protect
Whiteness and silence teachers of color (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016).
40
In the second domain, educators challenge dominant perspectives and question “the
traditional claims of the educational system to objectivity, meritocracy, colorblindness, race
neutrality, and equal opportunity” (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001, p. 313). This questioning works to
make racism visible by critiquing narratives that obscure the role of racism. However, when
educators of color speak up on issues of race and equity, they are often silenced by their White
colleagues and administrators (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016). Additionally, new teachers of color may
be reluctant to connect with other teachers of color for fear they will be labeled “troublemakers”
(Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). This call to challenge dominant perspectives also means
understanding how racial hierarchies have been accepted by teachers of color through their own
education and socialization (Kohli, 2014). New teachers of color cannot challenge dominant
ideologies if they are not aware of how their perceptions of culture, language, community, or
race have been shaped by messages of inferiority to dominant White culture. This is problematic
as teachers of color can repeat practices and messages that lead to their own students’
internalization of racism. Teachers of color need opportunities to build their self-awareness and
dialogue about internal racism as “being a person of color does not guarantee you immunity from
seeing the world, or parts of the world, with a perspective that privileges White culture” (Kohli,
2014, p. 372). Furthermore, the inability to critically question policy, practice, or narratives that
reinforce White dominant culture is exacerbated when teachers of color are paired with White
mentors who are incapable of discussing race and racism (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017).
The third domain requires centering and valuing the experiential knowledge of
individuals of color with respect to their experiences with racism and oppression (Solórzano &
Yosso, 2002; 2001). “The knowledge people of color acquire in the fight against hegemonic
forces in education is legitimate, valid, and necessary for creating spaces where they can engage
41
in justice work” (McGee & Stovall, 2015, p. 494). For new teachers of color, this domain
represents challenges in two different ways. First, authentically valuing experiential knowledge
of persons of color sees that individuals experience racism in a way that is unique to their context
and identities. Their experiences are not necessarily representative of others with similar
identities (Delgado & Stefancic, 2023; Yosso, 2005). For example, new teachers of color are
often hired to be disciplinarians for students of color who do not assimilate or adhere to
acceptable White norms and codes of conduct (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). This presumes that a
single shared characteristic, such as skin color, between a teacher and student provides the
teacher with a knowledge base for understanding and interacting with a very diverse group of
students. A second challenge for teachers of color can occur when they bring rich experience
working with particular communities or groups into their classrooms. If their practices do not fit
the definition of what is deemed useful in maintaining the status quo, it is disregarded and found
of little value (Burciaga & Kohli, 2018).
Solórzano and Delgado discuss how critical race theory in education requires a
commitment to social justice on the part of educators and researchers (2002). In the fourth
domain, this can be viewed as a commitment to transforming the educational experiences of
students of color, and spaces for teachers of color to engage in dialogue and a supportive
education community. These educators understand that “educational institutions operate in
contradictory ways with their potential to oppress and marginalize coexisting with their potential
to emancipate and empower” (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001, p. 313). Educators of color often
demonstrate their commitment to social justice through their community orientation, or “feel a
relationshipality [sic] and accountability to their communities” (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016, p. 75).
These educators resist the dominant narrative that students of color are best helped when they are
42
removed from their communities and resist the assumption that students’ home communities
harm their academic potential (Burciaga & Kohli, 2018). Educators commit to social justice
work with and within communities by valuing community cultural wealth and situating student
success within their own communities (Burciaga & Kohli, 2018; Yosso, 2005). This commitment
to social justice seeks transformative education for all groups that are marginalized and
experience oppression. Related to the stance taken by Black feminists, a commitment to social
justice considers the intersectional nature of oppression; because forms of oppression are often
overlapping, you cannot aim to reduce one form at a time but must consider the source and
disruption of oppression for all marginalized groups (Collins, 2002; Delgado & Stefancic, 2023).
Unfortunately, teachers of color experience racism and resistance throughout their
primary education, teacher education, and as new educators (Kohli, 2009). This is exacerbated
when new teachers of color are not supported in talking about issues of race, class, or gender
with either students or colleagues (Achinstein & Aguirre, 2008). Efforts at mentoring new
teachers of color are further undermined when mentors are positioned as evaluators of teacher
performance, and as noted earlier, when mentors have difficulty talking about race and racism
(Ginsberg & Budd, 2017).
The third tier circle in blue represents mentor preparation domains to inform mentoring
practices that support new teachers of color as proposed by Achinstein (2012). The mentoring
practice of “understanding racism in the education context” is positioned as an extension of the
CRT domain related to the centrality of race and racism. According to Achinstein and Athanases
(2006), mentors need to be proficient at understanding the school context and conditions where
new teachers operate. Mentors must know the historical roots of racism within education
systems, how education systems reproduce inequities for students based on race, and how those
43
practices manifest at the school site. An important part of this is emotional support (Clark &
Byrnes, 2012), where mentors provide space to help new teachers dialogue about the challenges
they are facing. However, mentors must not limit exchanges to emotional support and should
create opportunities to engage teachers in challenging conversations that prompt reflection and
growth (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017; Henning et al., 2015). Understanding how racism is central to
school contexts provides mentors with insight into how new teachers of color experience
structural racism. For example, in McCoy’s study on higher education faculty mentoring students
of color, mentors can enact “colorblind” mentorship where they fail to take race into account
(McCoy et al., 2015). In these instances, mentors make broad assumptions about student’s
motivations and academic preparedness where “structural injustices (e.g., lacking primary and
secondary education, poverty, etc.) are ignored in favor of hard work or a pulling yourself up by
the proverbial bootstrap mentality” (McCoy et al., 2015, p. 235). Mentors knowledgeable about
institutional and structural racism leverage knowledge of their school site with advocacy and
support to disrupt harmful practices. Mentors should also be aware that a large number of
teachers of color enter teaching through alternative preparation programs. They should
understand that this is often not a choice because traditional pathways are unavailable due to
structural forms of racism, such as income inequality and the inability to meet admissions
standards (Gist et al., 2018). Furthermore, mentors who understand these conditions also know
that teachers who enter through alternative pathways are more likely to leave the profession due
to poor preparation (Redding & Smith, 2016; Zhang & Zeller, 2016). Effective induction
mentorship can mitigate poor preparation associated with alternative teacher preparation
pathways through additional classroom and instructional support (Achinstein et al., 2010).
44
Challenging dominant perspectives calls on educators to think critically about
assumptions made about students and communities of color with respect to their capability and
intelligence (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). The mentoring practice of “racial identity awareness”
in the blue circle is positioned as an extension of the CRT domain related to challenging
dominant perspectives. Achinstein recommends that mentors develop their self-awareness in
order to understand their identities (2012). A part of identity awareness is understanding the
historical and systematic positioning of privilege with respect to race and/or language identity,
and how it informs beliefs about race and racism (Utt & Tochluk, 2020). Mentors need
opportunities to explore their own identities in relation to the historical nature of racism in
education (Utt & Tochluk, 2020). This is so they build self-awareness of how their own practices
as educators may have been complicit in upholding White dominant narratives (Utt & Tochluk,
2020). In Howard’s (2008) case study on culturally relevant pedagogy preparation in teacher
education, he notes that educators cannot provide culturally responsive pedagogy without critical
self-reflection on race, racial identity, and the biases and assumptions educators hold about
students of color. He further explains that critical reflection “requires the ability to critically
examine one’s own personal beliefs, opinions, and values about racial identity, and the race of
others; and the ramifications of these intersecting and colliding values and beliefs” (p. 200).
Without reflection and self-awareness, mentors cannot effectively challenge dominant
perspectives that maintain the status quo, or support educators of color in understanding their
identities and how those identities operate in the educational setting (Achinstein, 2012). With this
foundation, mentors can support new teachers of color in navigating their identities, the impact
of their identities on teaching practice (Achinstein, 2012), and the navigation of
potentially racially hostile conditions at the school site (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016).
45
In order to value experiential knowledge, mentors work with new teachers first by
knowing them as learners with their own unique cultural, linguistic, and educational experiences
(Achinstein, 2012). The mentor practice of “validating and knowing teachers as learners” is
positioned as an extension of the CRT domain related to valuing experiential knowledge. Adult
learners need to know that their background experiences are valued and taken into consideration
when presented with new learning experiences (Knowles et al., 2020). As mentors learn about
the cultural wealth new teachers bring with them, they help to draw out and validate this
knowledge in connection to classroom practice. In Byars-Winston et al. (2023) study on
mentoring relationships in higher education, mentors trained in cultural awareness were more
likely to understand the relevance of race and culture in their mentoring relationships, and
mentees were more likely to have positive perceptions of the mentoring relationship. For new
teachers of color, mentors must get to know them and their histories and recognize that they may
be experiencing and navigating multiple layers of oppression (Kohli & Pizarro, 2022).
New teachers of color may experience the quadruple burden of having experienced
oppression within the very system they seek to change; being new teachers learning to
teach; being expected to have special connections and abilities to meet the needs of
students of color; and facing tensions when the cultural match they assumed with
students turns out to be more complicated in practice. (Achinstein, 2012, p. 302)
Learning about the learner means understanding the complex history and experience new
teachers of color bring with them into teaching, and not applying a single category or race that
oversimplifies or assumes their experience with oppression (Delgado & Stefancic, 2023).
Because of the nature of racism, the stories and experiences of persons of color are missing from
historical and current narratives (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002; 2001). Learning about the learner
46
and valuing experiential knowledge means mentors create spaces for teachers to recognize and
share their stories. This is key to disrupting deficit narratives about people and communities of
color by celebrating the wisdom, knowledge, and wealth of these communities. Learning about
the learner also means recognizing their assets and needs (Vargas et al., 2021). New teachers of
color often have fewer invitations to professional development opportunities, and receive less
support than their White peers from administrators and colleagues (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016).
When mentors know the teachers they support as learners and understand that new teachers of
color often receive less support than their White peers, they use their knowledge of site and
district context to connect them with professional learning that supports their growth.
A commitment to social justice is a commitment to transforming educational experiences
for marginalized students. These commitments can be supported through culturally responsive
mentoring practices. In Han and Onchwari’s (2018) review of a culturally responsive mentoring
program for employees of color and indigenous Americans at a mid-western university, mentees
reported feeling a sense of belonging and inclusivity, empowerment in expressing their identity
through their work, and the ability to make connections with colleagues in other departments and
experts who they would not otherwise be able to access.
When mentors develop their racial identity awareness, understand racism in the education
context, and validate and know their teachers of color as learners, they are able to enact
culturally responsive mentoring, represented by the outermost circle. Culturally responsive
mentoring includes the ability to identify, dialogue, and support new teachers in navigating
racism and oppression within the school site context (Achinstein, 2012; Vargas et al., 2021).
Mentors with culturally responsive practices also work to lift up teacher’s experiential
knowledge, cultural wealth, and commitment to improving the education outcomes for students
47
of color and other oppressed groups. This means that induction mentors should not act as
evaluators, but act as knowledgeable peers who provide support under conditions of
confidentiality (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). In addition to a focus on relationship building, mentors
are clear about what is documented and shared as part of the mentoring process. Furthermore,
mentors acknowledge new teacher agency by supporting professional growth without directing
goal-setting based on external agendas. Additionally, all new teachers can experience isolation,
and teachers of color at schools with a majority White staff are particularly vulnerable. As Bristol
(2020) found, Black male teachers at teaching sites with few or no other Black teachers are
subject to racial stereotypes, impacting their relationships with colleagues and ability to be heard
in group settings. Culturally responsive mentoring can minimize feelings of teacher isolation
through regular meetings and coordinating a system of support with other teachers (Ginsberg &
Budd, 2017).
The conceptual framework poses a model for understanding how CRT can inform
mentoring practices that support the retention of new teachers of color. Mentor professional
learning and training must provide opportunities for mentors to gain the knowledge and skills
necessary to implement these practices alongside the practices that are known to support all new
teachers to the profession.
48
Chapter Three: Methodology
Teacher education and preparation programs are largely designed for White educators and
can reinforce White dominant racist ideology (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016; Sleeter, 2017). White
Mentors often do not have the skills or willingness to engage in conversations about race and
racism in education (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). Additionally, White mentors may lack knowledge
about the additional challenges faced by new teachers of color, and may not leverage practices
that support new teachers through these challenges. Without the willingness, knowledge, or
skills, induction program mentors are not likely to engage in practices that help retain new
teachers of color.
Induction program standards in California do not include language or direction
concerning mentor practices that support new teachers of color (CTC, 2017). Program standards
require that mentor preparation activities are research based and connected to the California
Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP), however, local induction programs are in charge
of determining content, frequency, format, and design of mentor training and preparation.
Although there is abundant research on the design, impact, and effectiveness of Induction
and mentorship on teacher retention and quality (Caven et al., 2021; Coca et al., 2007;
Glazerman et al., 2006, 2010; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011; Kang & Berliner, 2012; Moir, 2009;
Reeves et al., 2022; Ronfeldt & McQueen, 2017; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004; Wong, 2016; G.
Zhang & Zeller, 2016; and others), there is a gap in the research on how mentor professional
learning explicitly addresses supporting new teachers of color, and how this professional learning
is realized in actual mentor practice. This chapter will introduce the research questions and goals
of research, describe the research methodology, discuss the credibility and trustworthiness of the
researcher and research design as well as disclose researcher positionality.
49
Purpose and Research Questions
The first goal of the study was to explore how professional learning for mentors prepared
them to support new teachers of color by examining the content and structure of a local mentor
training program and its alignment with what was known about the specific needs of new
teachers of color and how to support them. The second goal was to understand how mentors in
this program characterized support for new teachers of color; this included articulating the
practices mentors used to support new teachers and new teachers of color, and the extent to
which this reflected their professional learning and preparation.
The local program refers to a recently created induction program within Summit Grove
School District. Summit Grove’s teacher induction program was built as an extension of an
existing instructional coaching program. The instructional coaching program focuses on
supporting teachers of all experience levels in working toward professional growth goals. In
Summit Grove, instructional coaches assume the mantle of induction mentorship when they are
assigned by their school site administrators to support a teacher with a preliminary credential. As
a group, they have varied levels of experience working with new teachers, and based on the
district’s certificated demographics, likely have limited experience working with new teachers of
color. By examining the preparation program content for induction mentorship, perspectives on
the effectiveness of this preparation, and characterization of mentoring practices, the study aims
to uncover the alignment between preparation and practice. The research findings have the
potential to inform both local program considerations as well as recommendations to improve
mentor preparation to address potential challenges of White mentors supporting new teachers of
color.
50
This information from this study is critical in creating induction programs with mentor
preparation guidelines that (a) create a shared understanding of the way in which institutional
and structural racism inform education practices and impact students and teachers of color and
(b) target the needs of new teachers of color within the context of mentoring practices. The
research questions that were addressed in the study were as follows:
1. What are the post preparation-program perceptions of White, secondary education
induction mentors in a medium-size CA school district in regard to their level of
preparation for supporting new teachers of color?
2. Following participation in a mentor preparation program, how do White induction
mentors in a medium-size CA school district characterize the practices they would use
to support new teachers of color in the secondary education classroom?
Overview of Methodology
The study employed a qualitative research approach through local program document
analysis and induction mentor interviews. Qualitative research approaches are deemed
appropriate when seeking to understand a phenomenon from the research subject’s perspective
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). In this instance, the research attempted to understand what induction
support for new teachers of color looked like through the perspective of induction mentors who
had undergone mentor preparation. Additionally, the research took an inductive approach by
attempting to make connections between mentor preparation and practice in supporting new
teachers of color in the absence of theoretical framing in the research (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
First, in addressing Research Question 1, the research approach sought to describe the local
context with the current state of mentor preparation through document analysis. Although the
local context might not be generalizable to other contexts, this approach acknowledged that
51
human behaviors are not separate from their environment and allowed for a detailed account of
local practices (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Second, in addressing Research Question 2, the
research approach explored how mentors described their practices through interviews. Interview
responses were also used in addressing RQ1, as responses surfaced connections between mentor
preparation and mentor self-described practice for further consideration in supporting new
teachers of color. The data sources used to inform each research question are outlined in Table 6.
Table 6
Data Sources
Research questions Interviews Document analysis
RQ1 X X
RQ 2 X
52
Document Analysis
Document analysis was used to investigate the first research question, “What are the post
preparation-program perceptions of White, secondary education induction mentors in a mediumsize CA school district in regard to their level of preparation for supporting new teachers of
color?” This analysis included artifacts that contained information regarding the content and
format of professional learning for mentors from the fall of 2021 through the spring of 2023.
Instrumentation
The specific documents that were collected included presentation slides, assigned
readings, videos, planning templates, and support materials from live in-person training sessions
for instructional coaching and mentoring workshops. There were a total of nine workshops from
2021–2022, and nine workshops from 2022–2023, comprising a total of 73 separate documents.
The document analysis did not include asynchronous presentations and recordings available to
mentors because there was no way to ensure that mentors had engaged with this content outside
of the workshops. The document analysis helped answer to what degree mentors had been
exposed to or prepared to leverage mentoring practices that support new teachers of color.
Data Collection Procedures
Documents were obtained by securing approval from the institution acting as the program
study site, with identifying characteristics of the institution and participants removed. The
authenticity of documents was verified using creation and revision dates to ascertain that the
documents were indeed created for the intended purpose, as well as viewing the Google
document share history to verify that documents were visible and shared with mentors on the
published date of training. Digital documents, such as presentation slides and agendas, were
53
retrieved as PDF files before analysis to ensure no further alteration could be made to the source
material.
Data Analysis
Using Bowen’s (2009) guidelines, documents were first skimmed to sort for relevant
material associated with mentor new teacher support and mentor support of new teachers of
color; documents not deemed to have content related to mentoring practices or preparation were
removed from the analysis. After the initial review, all 73 documents were included in the
analysis. Documents were converted into readable text files into the software Atlas.ti for coding.
The entire data analysis process is outlined in Table 7, beginning with the document
analysis process in phase one. In the first step of the document analysis process, a priori coding
was used to identify themes present in the conceptual framework, which are outlined in Table 3,
Table 4, and Table 5. During the process of a priori coding, broader categories were broken down
into more discrete groups after consulting the literature to better capture the nuance of the
practices. In the second step of Phase 1, open coding was used to identify mentor preparation
inputs and structures that did not align with a priori groups. These groups were categorized into
themes to indicate that the practices were not captured in the a priori code descriptions. These
practices were also re-evaluated to determine if the documents with novel preparation codes
were not actually aligned with an a priori category. Upon completion of the interview coding
process (Phase 2), all documents were re-coded to identify the presence of mentor preparation
themes discussed in interviews that may have been overlooked in the initial document coding
practice. Upon completion of coding documents and interviews, the frequency of code
occurrences across all documents, as well as the number of documents with particular codes
were calculated.
54
Table 7
Phases of Research Analysis
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Phase A priori coding Open coding Thematic categorization
I. Document
analysis
Themes from the
conceptual
framework
Mentoring practices in
professional
learning documents
for mentors
Supportive for all new
teachers.
Supportive for new
teachers of color.
Uncertain benefit
II. Interviews Themes from the
conceptual
framework
Practices described by
mentors in
interviews that they
describe as
supporting new
teachers
Professional learning
mentioned and
described by
mentors
Supportive for all new
teachers.
Supportive for new
teachers of color.
Uncertain benefit
Impact; preparation
perceived as positive
or improvable.
III. Alignment
analysis
Compare themes in preparation to those in participant interviews. Process
outlined in Table 9.
Note. Supportive for all new teachers; practices supportive for all new teachers, including new
teachers of color, based on existing research. Supportive for new teachers of color; practices
supportive for new teachers of color based on research and theoretical framework. Uncertain;
questionable whether the practice is beneficial as described, and may even be harmful, either
because the theoretical framework indicates critical examination of the practice or the practice
was not described in a way that indicates it was implemented with appropriate intention.
The open coding process enabled identification of mentor preparation content and mentor
characterized practices beyond the conceptual and theoretical frameworks (Merriam & Tisdell,
55
2016). In the third step of document analysis, thematic categorization was used to group codes
from the first two steps into four broad themes as outlined in Table 7: (a) practices identified as
supportive for all new teachers based on the literature review and frameworks (see Table 2), (b)
practices identified as specifically supportive for new teachers of color based on research and the
literature review and framework (see Table 4), and (c) practices where the benefit was uncertain.
Practices were classified as uncertain when it was questionable whether they were beneficial as
described. This uncertainty arose either because the theoretical framework called for critical
examination of the practice or because the description did not convey that it was implemented
with appropriate intention. As patterns emerged, sub-categories for each of the four thematic
groups were generated.
Interviews
Participants
The participants in this study were Summit Grove School District secondary school
induction mentors with at least 1 year of mentoring either in the 2021–2022 or 2022–2023 school
year (or both) and had participated in mentoring and instructional coaching professional learning
between 2021–2022, or 2022–2023, or both, as outlined in Table 8. Mentors needed to have
participated in the workshops that underwent document analysis to ensure that participant
responses captured descriptions of the professional learning experiences occurring within the
same time frame as the workshops undergoing document analysis. Additionally, mentors needed
to have been actively mentoring during the time of the professional learning in order to reflect
upon the connections between mentoring practices and professional learning. Mentors prior to
the 2021–2022 school year might have been able to reflect on mentoring, but would not have
been able to reflect on connections to professional learning included in the document analysis.
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By defining the mentor criteria in this manner, participants had familiarity with the phenomenon
under investigation, enabling them to provide detailed and reflective responses (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). Finally, mentors had to self-identify as racially White, or identify as more than
one race but with White as one of their primary racial identity markers. This was not intended to
exclude the perspectives of mentors who self-identified as non-White; instead, it was meant to
focus the exploration on understanding the needs of a majority White mentor group in serving an
increasingly diverse teacher workforce. Mentors who identified as White, or identified as White
being a significant identity marker, were more likely to have experienced education, education
preparation, and education systems from a White dominant perspective.
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Table 8
Participant Selection Timeline Criteria
Practicing mentor Mentor professional learning participant
2021–2022 2022–2023
2021–2022 Y N
N Y
Y Y
N N
2022–2023 Y N
N Y
Y Y
N N
Note. To participate in the interviews, mentors need to have participated in 2021–2022 or 2022–
2023 mentoring workshops and must have been a practicing mentor in 2021–2022, 2022–2023,
or both years. A “Y” indicates that they mentored a teacher that year.
Mentors were invited to participate in the study via email, group announcements, and
personal outreach efforts. During these outreach efforts, they were apprised of the purpose of the
study, the implications for research, the possible application of research to their practice as
mentors, and both the assurances of confidentiality with potential risks to participation. Out of 16
eligible mentors who met this criteria, 11 consented and participated in the study.
Instrumentation
Interview questions were organized by research questions, aligned to key concepts within
the conceptual framework, and prompted descriptive detail based on the mentor’s experience
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(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Transition questions were used between clusters of questions
organized by key concept in order to prime the respondent for the next topic (Krueger & Casey,
2015). At the start and throughout the interview, brief definitions were provided to clarify
concepts and prompt aligned responses (Krueger & Casey, 2015; Patton, 2002). Interview
questions and their alignment to research questions are articulated in Table A1. Connections
between research questions and elements of the conceptual framework are located in Table A2.
In investigating the first research question (What are the post preparation-program
perceptions of White, secondary education induction mentors in a medium-size CA school
district in regard to their level of preparation for supporting new teachers of color?), interview
questions asked mentors to reflect on their experience with professional learning for mentoring,
and how it may or may not have impacted their practice in supporting new teachers. In
addressing the second research question (Following participation in a mentor preparation
program, how do White induction mentors in a medium-size CA school district characterize the
practices they would use to support new teachers of color in the secondary education classroom?)
questions prompted mentors to reflect on practices that support all new teachers; this is important
because these supports apply to all teachers, and can negatively impact a teacher of color when
not in place. The second part of this section asked mentors to reflect on practices and supports
specific to new teachers of color, and connected to the four domains of mentoring practices for
new teachers of color in the conceptual framework. As many mentors had limited experiences
directly supporting new teachers of color, questions and prompts were hypothetical, enabling
them to predict a possible practice based on their mentor knowledge and skill base. Prompting
reflection on new teachers of color had the potential to surface additional thoughts around
preparation. Taking this into consideration, the final interview section asked for mentors to
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reflect on their preparation with respect to supporting new teachers of color, connecting back to
the conceptual framework element focused on practices that support new teachers of color.
Data Collection Procedures
Mentor interviews were conducted to investigate both the first and second research
questions. A semi-structured interview process was used in order to ensure all participants had
the opportunity to answer similar questions but allowed for flexibility in the flow of the
conversation (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Additionally, this structure allowed for follow up on
participant questions for greater clarity and insight (Seidman, 2013). Interviews took place at a
private and convenient location for the mentor at their school site, or a central location as
requested by the participant. Interviews were conducted over a 3-month period of time with
eleven individuals. The shortest interview was 52 minutes in length, with the longest interview
lasting one hour and 35 minutes. Interviews took place at a time convenient for the interviewee,
with three taking place outside of the school day, and the remaining eight conducted during
preparation or release periods, with some overlap during lunch and brunch. Two interviews were
conducted in multiple parts due to the need for additional time to complete the interview and at
the request of the participant.
Interviews were recorded using an AI transcription software, Otter.ai, with a personal
(non-work related) account. Otter.ai recordings and transcripts were reviewed for accuracy, and
identifying information (names, school site names, class names) was removed from the
transcripts before importing into the software Atlas.ti for coding. Handwritten notes were taken
during the interview to capture additional context with respect to the environment, non-verbal
communication, and insights or questions to return to during and after the interview. After the
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first two interviews were transcribed, minor adjustments were made to the interview questions to
improve question comprehensibility. The content and order of the questions remained the same.
Data Analysis
Interview responses were analyzed using the phases and steps outlined in Table 7. Before
coding based on content, interview transcripts were tagged by mentor demographic
characteristics and assigned a reference number to ease retrieval and analysis and maintain
confidentiality (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Content analysis of interview transcripts identified
mentor described practices and mentor characterization of their professional learning. In the first
step of the second phase, a priori coding was used to identify themes present in the conceptual
framework (as outlined in Table 2, Table 3, and Table 4). The first three interviews were coded
using a priori codes to identify mentor practice and preparation to support all teachers, and
mentor practice and preparation to support teachers of color. Similar to the document coding
process, the a priori code groups were either disproportionately high or low in frequency. After
consulting the literature, a priori code groups for mentor practice were refined to provide a more
comprehensive picture of mentor described practices. The first three interviews were re-coded
with the revised a priori code groups, and subsequent interviews were coded with the revised a
priori groups.
In the second step of Phase 2, open coding was used to label concepts, categories, and
dimensions of all mentor described mentoring practices. As stated in the document analysis, open
coding enables identification of mentors’ characterization of their practice and preparation
without limits potentially imposed by the conceptual or theoretical frameworks (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). While conducting a priori coding, emergent themes and response patterns were
tagged with comments for further consideration during open coding. Open coding included
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identifying additional mentor described practices and preparation for all teachers and teachers of
color. After six interviews were coded in this manner, a code map was created to identify
emerging themes, duplicative codes, and re-assess if the new codes belonged to a priori code
groups. Sections with duplicative codes were only re-coded after verifying that the existing code
captured the same theme. After open coding was complete, code frequency was analyzed to
isolate codes with unusually low (three or fewer) or high frequency (30 or more). An AI-assisted
text search was performed to capture potentially missed coding areas for codes of low frequency.
Passages with high frequency codes were re-read to determine if the code was capturing more
than one theme, or if sections had been misidentified.
In the third step of the interview analysis phase, codes were categorized into the same
themes constructed from the document analysis: (a) what practices are supportive for all new
teachers based on research and conceptual framework (see Table 2), (b) what practices are
specifically supportive for new teachers of color based on research and the conceptual
framework (see Table 4), and (c) what practices have uncertain benefit (as described in the
document analysis and Table 7). Thematic categorization was also applied to mentor descriptions
of preparation. This analysis looked at categorized preparation themes into those that were
perceived positively by participants, those that were perceived as areas for improvement in
preparation, and those with mixed perceptions.
The final phase of analysis took place after coding and categorization of documents and
transcripts were complete. Categories and themes from interviews were compared to categories
and themes from the document analysis to conceptualize how professional learning does (or does
not) support development of mentor practice. Table 9 outlines the analysis framework leveraged
to understand the alignment (or lack thereof) between mentor professional learning and practice.
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Table 9
Alignment Analysis Matrix and Implications
Location Support themes based on existing literature and research
Supportive for all
new teachers
Supportive for new
teachers of color
Uncertain
Present in preparation
and in mentor
described practice.
Best outcome for positive practices Implication:
practices that
cause harm should
not be in mentor
professional
learning or
practices.
Inappropriately
implemented
practices require
further training.
Present in preparation
and not described
in mentor practice.
Implication: work to be done with mentor
understanding and implementation.
Not present in
preparation, but
described in
mentor practice
Implication: work to be done with mentor
professional learning.
Not present in
preparation and not
described in
mentor practice
Implication: practices that are supportive of
new teachers and new teachers of color
should be present in mentor professional
learning and practice.
–
Note. Supportive for all new teachers; practices supportive for all new teachers, including new
teachers of color, based on existing research. Supportive for new teachers of color; practices
supportive for new teachers of color based on research and theoretical framework. Uncertain;
questionable whether the practice is beneficial as described, and may even be harmful, either
because the theoretical framework indicates critical examination of the practice or the practice
was not described in a way that indicates it was implemented with appropriate intention. The –
represents what cannot be elucidated from the findings based on the design of the study.
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Credibility and Trustworthiness
Credibility refers to the degree to which the research findings are accurate or credible,
whereas trustworthiness refers to the degree to which we can trust the researcher and process to
capture data and provide a dependable interpretation of results (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Because reality is subjective, and the researcher is the primary instrument of data collection in
qualitative research, both the collection and interpretation are subject to the researcher’s biases,
experiences, and relationship to the participants and phenomenon under study. Likewise, the
researcher as instrument can influence the participants in the data collection process (Glesne,
2011). Credibility and trustworthiness are strengthened when the researcher makes clear how
their experiences and positionality influence data collection and interpretation (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). Credibility and trustworthiness can be further established through processes that
seek alternative explanations, explore data from additional sources and triangulation, and engage
in respondent validation.
As a qualitative researcher, I need to establish credibility and trustworthiness by
confronting my bias selectivity (Bowen, 2009). As I am examining a program within my district,
I am likely to select documents or interview candidates that will affirm program decisions that I
have been a part of. This bias could result in manipulation of the data, overlooking outlier data or
responses, or focusing on data that confirms my views of the program. Additionally, I need to be
aware of participant bias or reactivity as well as biases I have regarding existing relationships
with program mentors (Maxwell, 2013). As a program manager, I have a professional investment
in maintaining a positive, collegial relationship with program mentors. Although pre-existing
relationships may make interviews flow more smoothly, I may hesitate to ask probing or followup questions that uncover specifics in order to preserve the relationship. Reciprocally, mentors
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may hesitate to provide authentic responses because they may have concerns about how they will
be regarded or treated in the future as a result of their responses.
There are challenges in the choice of document analysis as a component of this study.
This design choice requires pulling training program materials for mentors over a period of 18
months. As the program manager, I am a part of the curation and development of all program
materials. Although analyzing materials in which I had influence over creation is inherently
subjective and prone to bias, these were materials designed and implemented before I began the
process of identifying the problem study area. Furthermore, the analysis will be informed by a
conceptual framework articulated through a literature review with a CRT theoretical framing.
Leveraging an understanding of the concepts embedded in mentor training for an 18-month
period of time contextualizes and situates interview responses in relationship to their training and
preparation.
Another critical design choice was interviewing mentors with any number of years of
mentoring experience, although based on hiring qualifications, all had a minimum of 5 years of
teaching experience. This was a limitation based on the total number of mentors I had within the
program. I omitted any mentors brand-new to mentoring as they had not had exposure to
professional learning from the previous year. I hoped that by broadening the net of potential
mentors I had to interview, I would also gain more diverse perspectives on mentorship.
Because bias cannot be eliminated, researchers must be transparent about how their
position informs or potentially informs the selection of data in a way that reinforces researcher
conceptions, as well as the selection of data that stands out, and explanations for the exclusion of
other data (Maxwell, 2013, p. 124). Disciplining my subjectivity required active effort
throughout the study. During interviews, I took audio recordings while taking notes to capture
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reflective questions and reactions to participant responses. Taking these notes did not simply
inform data collection and interpretation, but were used as part of routine reflection to uncover
patterns in my reactions or questions that built self-awareness about biases or assumptions I may
have been holding during the interviews. I also engaged in respondent validation with two
participants to get feedback on the interpretation of findings from interviews; this was not
practical for all participants in terms of time, but I conducted respondent validation early in the
research analysis process before broader interpretations of results were generated (Maxwell,
2013).
Ethics
As a district-level administrator, there is likely a perception of positional power where it
is perceived that I influence mentor placement and retention. Because of this, mentors might
have participated out of a sense of obligation, a sense that this is one of their program duties or
responsibilities, or out of fear that non-participation would be reported to their supervisors. This
is related to Merriam and Tisdell (2016) discussion of relational ethics, in which the researcher
must consider their relationship to the participant and the impact of that relationship not just on
the results of the study, but on the participants themselves.
As Merriam and Tisdell discuss, the process of interviewing can have unforeseen
consequences as interviewees “may feel their privacy has been invaded, they may be
embarrassed by certain questions, and they may tell things they never intended to reveal (2016,
p. 262).” Although participants were provided consent documents, had the opportunity to ask
questions before data collection, and were informed of their explicit right to withdraw from the
study at any time, there is the risk that they experienced discomfort or trauma during the
interviews. During the interview process, I reiterated to participants that they did not have to
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answer all questions and could withdraw from the study at any time. Mentors who have not spent
time understanding the implications of White identity and privilege, they may have experienced
discomfort when interviewed about mentoring practices for new teachers of color. Furthermore,
there was the risk of inducing shame, embarrassment, or humiliation if the questions were asked
in a way that revealed deficits, or upon reflecting on their answers to questions they felt that they
lacked in mentoring knowledge or skill.
Dissemination of results could impact research study participants in a variety of ways. It
could induce shame, embarrassment, or humiliation if questions are asked in a way that reveals
deficits in either knowledge or application of mentor practices that support new teachers of color.
If the results point to particular program recommendations to better support new teachers of
color in the profession, the recommendations may be at odds with participants’ beliefs about
supporting new teachers, and they may feel compelled to leave mentoring or stay in mentoring
and resist the recommended changes. The sharing of findings may also reveal to administrators,
who hire and place mentors at their school site, limitations in skill or knowledge mentors have in
supporting new teachers of color, which in turn may impact decisions to retain mentors. Even
though every effort has been made to protect mentor identities, because it is a small program
there is the risk of individuals piecing together details that reveal identities. Additionally, the
impact of findings and recommendations on teacher induction programs may not be beneficial to
all teachers of color without further understanding the ways different groups of teachers
experience marginalization, discrimination, and racism in their respective locations.
I also need to acknowledge that treating all teachers of color as a monolithic group is
problematic in that it assumes a commonality in experience. It is important to be clear about this
limitation and check assumptions when offering analysis and interpretations for these
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participants’ responses (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Additionally, as a researcher, I need to be
mindful of how this study may be a manifestation of interest convergence (Bell, 1980), and
operates within a dominant framework (Harding, 2015). In other words, the sense of urgency
school districts have to recruit and retain a diverse workforce may be a response to ongoing
issues of teacher shortages, rather than primarily a means to improve student outcomes
Researcher Positionality
As a leader of professional learning and teacher induction in my organization, I am
conscious that my experiences in education and my understanding of the purpose of education
are rooted in the positionality of an educated, White, middle-class female in a suburban
environment. The education system that I serve has been designed to safeguard the values and
beliefs of “Anglo-American Protestant culture” of which I have been and continue to be a
beneficiary (Spring, 2016, p. 15). In my work, I engage predominantly with White leaders and
educators, where my epistemology and positionality will be reinforced both unconsciously and
consciously. To serve racially and culturally diverse communities, I must actively examine my
beliefs on “race, class, privilege, meritocracy, religion, sexuality, sexism and power” (Love,
2019, p. 131). In addition to examining conscious beliefs, I need to be aware of my “epistemic
blindness” or ways in which my current positionality impacts my ability to see other ways of
knowing (de Oliveira Andeotti, 2016). In the context of this research problem, it requires me to
be critically aware of how my own experiences in teacher induction and preparation, both
positive and negative, as a White educator influence my beliefs about effective teaching,
mentoring, and professional expectations for novice teachers.
Limitations and Delimitations
The study will be limited in scope to address a particular Northern California mid-sized
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suburban high school district. This limits the generalizability of findings, as they may not apply
to districts with geographic or demographic differences, or to induction programs that represent a
consortium of school districts and represent the PK–12 continuum of teacher support practices.
Additionally, the study only examines the experiences of White mentors, or mentors who
identify in part as racially White, with more than 5 years of classroom teaching experience.
Although this design choice is intended to create some distance between the mentor’s personal
experiences with induction and their experience in providing induction supports, it does not
surface the perceptions and experiences of mentors who are earlier in their teaching career. The
study design also only focused on White mentor experiences. This design choice was intentional
in that most mentors within the current program are White and there is a limited pool of mentors
of color to invite as participants; this choice was both to protect the identity of mentors of color
and to analyze the potential impact White mentors have on a teaching force that is gradually
increasing in diversity. However, the study does not include the valuable insights and
perspectives mentors of color would bring to the discovery process.
Treating all teachers of color as a monolithic group is problematic in that it assumes a
commonality in experience. This design choice was made because the racial and ethnic make-up
of a particular induction cohort in any given year is highly variable. It is important to be clear
about this limitation and check assumptions when offering analysis and interpretations of these
participant’s responses (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). The impact of findings and recommendations
on teacher induction programs may not be beneficial to all teachers of color without further
understanding the ways different groups of teachers experience marginalization, discrimination,
and racism in their respective locations.
The study intentionally focused on mentoring descriptions and did not include a process
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to gather information from the experiences of new teachers being mentored. Although this
insight would have been valuable in understanding what new teachers of color need through
induction, this design choice was made to protect the identity and experiences of teachers who
had not achieved permanent status in the district, and who were dependent upon the program for
a recommendation for a clear credential. This means that the results only contain the perspectives
of mentors and my interpretations of document analysis. New teachers of color first-hand
accounts of how they experienced mentoring would have been powerful data to include in the
analysis, and the omission of that data was a decision made to safeguard the jobs of newly hired
teachers of color. What the study lacks from the first-hand accounts of new teachers of color
within the program was augmented by what is known from existing research literature.
There are many factors beyond new teacher support and induction mentorship that
influence teacher retention, such as organizational factors, compensation, and professional
learning (Ingersoll & May, 2011). By focusing this study narrowly on teacher induction
mentorship, it risks de-emphasizing other variables that impact new teachers of color’s decisions
to stay in the teaching profession. This study was taken from the perspective that teacher
induction mentorship is an important variable embedded within other contexts that influence
teachers’ decisions to stay in the teaching profession.
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Chapter Four: Findings
Teacher preparation and certification programs, including teacher induction, are
positioned to uphold the status quo and perpetuate White dominant racist ideologies. Mentors,
often from predominantly White middle-class backgrounds, may lack the skills to effectively
address racism in educational contexts for novice teachers of color. This deficiency in
mentorship could lead to inadequate support for new teachers of color, potentially impacting
their retention rates and in some cases cause harm.
This qualitative research study explored how professional learning for mentors in a
specific induction program prepared them to support new teachers of color. Additionally, it
aimed to understand how mentors characterize their mentorship support for new teachers of
color. This section will first examine the content of preparation documents alongside mentor
perceptions of their training. Then it will examine how mentors characterize support for new
teachers of color, and to what extent this is aligned with the content of their preparation.
The research questions guiding this investigation were:
1. What are the post preparation-program perceptions of White, secondary education
induction mentors in a medium-sized CA school district in regard to their level of
preparation for supporting new teachers of color?
2. Following participation in a mentor preparation program, how do White induction
mentors in a medium-sized CA school district characterize the practices they would
use to support new teachers of color in the secondary education classroom?
In this chapter, data are organized by four overarching themes, each comprised of subthemes that capture a nuanced understanding of participant perspectives. The four overarching
themes are as follows: mentor preparation that supports teachers all new teachers, mentor
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preparation that supports new teachers of color, mentor practices that support all teachers, and
mentor practices that support new teachers of color.
Critical race theory is the theoretical framework used to guide this study. CRT provides a
structure that enables us to examine the entrenchment of White dominant ideology within
education systems and institutional structures, perpetuating racism and upholding White
privilege (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). This framework is used to help uncover how these
ideologies can be addressed through induction mentorship as a component of teacher
preparation.
Participants
The participants in this study were all mentors of new teachers who self-identified as
racially White, or as bi-racial with White as one of their racial identity markers. All participants
were current secondary school educators who supported at least one induction teacher in either
the 2021–2022 or 2022–2023 school years (or both). Table 10 provides years of teaching
experience for each mentor, their self-described racial identity markers, other identity markers
they wished to share, and the length of time spent for each interview.
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Table 10
Research Participant Characteristics
Pseudonym Years of teaching
experience
Self-described
racial identity markers
Interview length
Madi 26 White 64 min.
Jena 24 White/Latina 55 min.
Blythe 21 White 74 min.
Joy 31 White 52 min.
Terri 27 White 57 min.
Carla 20 White 69 min.
Rueben 8 White 53 min.
Trisha 14 White/Latina 56 min
Phillip 31 White 75 min.
Kate 12 White 46 min.
Nadine 19 White 63 min.
Findings for Research Question 1
The findings section for the first research question (What are the post preparationprogram perceptions of White, secondary education induction mentors in a medium-size CA
school district in regard to their level of preparation for supporting new teachers of color?) come
from both mentoring professional learning documents and participant interviews. Examining
participant responses and the content of mentor preparation highlights the relationship between
mentors’ perceptions of their preparation and the content of the training material documents.
Participant responses were prompted by Interview Questions 6–8, and the final scenario-based
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question (see Table A1). These questions were as follows: What do you think are the most
important parts of quality professional learning for mentors? How has professional learning
impacted your mentoring practice, if at all? What else do you think I should know about
mentoring, mentoring professional development, or supporting new teachers of color?
Participants were also prompted to view a table of training topics and reflect on their level of
preparation on those topics and asked to respond to a final scenario based question. This section
will discuss themes that emerged regarding mentor perceptions of their preparation by examining
perceptions of mentor preparation to support all new teachers and of preparation to support new
teachers of color. Table 11 provides a summary of the themes for the first research question.
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Table 11
Summary of Themes for Mentor Perceptions of Preparation
Theme Sub-theme Number of
documents
Participants:
positive
perceptions
Participants:
area for
growth
Preparation that
supports all
new teachers
Mentor self-reflection 28 5 4
Effective relationships 13 10 3
Mentoring strategies:
Knowledge of teacher
development
29 4 5
Stance and questioning 30 6 3
Observation tool 13 3 3
Difficult conversations 9 0 7
Preparation that
supports new
teachers of
color
Valuing teachers as learners 10 2 5
Mentor racial identity
development
12 0 3
Understanding racism in
education context
10 0 6
Culturally responsive
mentoring
0 0 6
Mentor Preparation to Support All New Teachers
Mentor preparation to support all new teachers refers to the professional learning
designed to prepare mentors to enact practices that support all new teachers and is not limited to
practices that support teachers of color. Preparation content refers to the inputs, theories, and
mentoring strategies mentors were exposed to and engaged with during professional learning.
Three major sub-themes emerged in this area: mentor self-reflection, creating effective
relationships, and selecting appropriate mentoring strategies. Each sub-theme addresses findings
in the following three areas: (a) areas perceived as positive areas of preparation, (b) areas of
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perceived improvement in preparation, and (c) the presence of the themes within preparation
documents.
Mentor Preparation on Reflection
Mentor reflection is needed for effective mentorship, enabling mentors to continually
refine their practice, support mentees’ growth, and contribute to improved teaching and learning.
Mentor reflection was discussed in nine interviews with 28 documents containing evidence of
mentor reflection content. Madi captured the importance of mentor reflection in the following:
Reflecting on both mentor’s own teaching, and mentoring practices, I just don’t know
how you don’t [emphasis added] do that. I don’t know that you need to prompt and say,
“Think about your own teaching. Now think about your mentoring.” … I would like to
talk to the person who’s not doing that automatically.
Positive Perceptions of Mentor Reflection
Mentor reflection as a positive professional learning practice was evident in five
interviews. In Jena’s interview, she identified reflection as a structured aspect of her preparation
in her statement, “As a mentor, I’m being pushed in those tasks assignments to reflect on my
own growth.” Carla noted the integration of reflective practices within the program in her
statement, “One of the things that we do is set goals for our growth and we reflect on those
throughout the year as part of the induction process.” Nadine noted the emphasis on reflection in
her statement, “I got a lot of preparation on reflection. I think reflection is one of the main games
here.” Participant comments indicate that mentor reflection is embedded in program materials
and engaged with frequently as part of their preparation.
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Improvable Preparation: Mentor Reflection
Mentor reflection surfaced as an area for improvement in four interviews. Rueben
identified the need for heightened awareness of unconscious biases and assumptions in his
statement, “There’s more for me to think about, particularly as a White, middle-aged male,
around the unconscious assumptions I make around what somebody might need or how they
might get there based on different lived experiences.” Joy expressed the personal challenge of
prioritizing reflection amid time constraints, stating, “I often felt like I was going to reflect when
I had time to reflect, and I didn’t have time to reflect, so I didn’t do enough reflecting.” Similarly,
Phillip shared his perspective, questioning, “How could you not be reflective in this role and
reflect on your practice? However, it was easy to make it a low priority,” underscoring the danger
of relegating reflection to a low priority amidst competing demands. Terri acknowledged a
notable difference in the extent of reflection between mentoring practices and personal teaching
practices, remarking, “I think there was more reflection done on mentoring practices than on our
own teaching.” These participant comments reflect on time constraints and prioritizing reflection
as a mentor concern.
Documents: Mentor Reflection
Out of the 73 documents, 28 contained activities or evidence of practices that support
mentor reflection. In the presentation slides for Mentor Orientation in 2021 and 2022, mentors
were asked to engage in self-assessment and self-reflection based on New Teacher Center
Mentoring Standards to establish goals for their mentor practice (New Teacher Center, 2018). In
another Mentor Orientation document mentors scheduled formal check-ins with the program
manager, which provided mentors with dedicated time to reflect on their progress and mentoring
practice.
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Mentor Preparation on Creating Effective Relationships
Establishing effective relationships between mentors and mentees is crucial for mentor
preparation. Effective relationships encompass understanding the significance of building
trusting connections with new teachers and developing the skills and dispositions necessary for
nurturing these relationships. Establishing effective relationships was discussed in all 11
participant interviews, and noted in 13 documents. Phillip captures the importance of effective
relationships in his comment, “You need to … listen really well to get to know the person, find
ways to build trust. … You can’t really do anything as a coach if they don’t trust you,”
emphasizing trust building as a key to effective mentoring.
Positive Perceptions of Creating Effective Relationships
When reflecting upon their perceptions of this aspect of their preparation, 10 participants
noted that establishing effective relationships was an area where they felt well-prepared to
support new teachers. Carla captured this sentiment in her comment:
I think all of our conversations about getting a teacher on board and building that
relationship and how to make space for that, and meeting a teacher where they’re at,
that’s definitely an area where I feel like we’ve spent some time and that’s a real strength.
Trisha expanded on the importance of building a trusting relationship in her comment:
Learning how to foster this meaningful relationship that feels kind of sacred … like it’s
between us. I’m here to help you … to realize that this can be a very kind of beautiful
relationship with another teacher where you can be really open and honest.
Participant reflections on effective relationship preparation emphasized the importance of trust,
honesty, and intention to meet teachers where they are in their development.
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Improvable Preparation: Creating Effective Relationships
Three participants noted that effective relationship building was an area in which they
needed more preparation. Terri commented, “Building effective relationships which are nonevaluative, trusting and emotionally supportive. That is the most important, perhaps the
[emphasis added] most important, but also the hardest to teach.” Terri’s comment echoed other
participants’ concerns centered on maintaining an effective relationship while providing growthoriented feedback.
Documents: Creating Effective Relationships
Mentors’ perceptions of training for establishing effective relationships were supported
by activities and inputs in 13 of the 73 reviewed preparation documents. In presentation slides
for Instructional Coaching Kickoff 2021–2022, mentors were prompted to prepare for their initial
meeting with teachers by selecting questions to ask candidates and role-playing the conversation
with other mentors and coaches. In presentation slides from a November 2022 workshop,
mentors read an excerpt from Jim Knight’s Instructional Coaching, which emphasized the
importance of building an emotional connection as a part of effective partnership communication
(2007). These examples reflect opportunities for mentors to engage in effective relationship
strategies within program preparation documents.
Mentor Preparation on Mentoring Strategies
Teaching mentors specific mentoring strategies is crucial for effective mentorship and
professional development. By teaching mentors strategies for observation and evidence sharing,
mentors are empowered to engage in reflective practices and facilitate meaningful learning
experiences for their mentees. Discussions of mentoring strategies were present in all 11
interviews and mentioned 85 times. The document analysis noted mentoring strategies in 56 of
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the 73 documents. The most frequently referenced mentoring strategies included: mentoring
stance and questioning, observation tools, using knowledge of teacher development, and
engaging in difficult conversations.
Positive Perceptions of Mentoring Strategies
Observation tools are necessary for mentors to assess teacher development and guide
conversations that prompt teacher reflection and growth. Three participants expressed confidence
in their ability to select and apply observation tools. Nadine stated, “I feel very well prepared in
selecting observation tools. I have a slew of them to choose from.” Similarly, Trisha shared her
experience of exposure to various observation methods: “I think I’ve seen probably six different
ways to do an observation. And that definitely expanded my observation style and skill set.”
These responses reflected a sense of readiness among mentors to utilize observation tools in their
mentoring practice.
Knowledge of teacher development is important for mentors to make decisions about the
types of support they offer and the strategies they use to support growth. The importance of this
is captured in the following comment from Jena:
I get this other picture … of this teacher as a learner. Then you go back to the profile of
this person, and this is why that they are acting in this way and doing this. So now I know
what’s behind it and all that is really helpful … to figure out the best ways to work
effectively with that person.
Four participants expressed confidence in their readiness concerning knowledge of
teacher development. Blythe articulated this in her comment, “We’ve been provided many
different mentoring strategies based on knowledge of teacher development, how you approach
something, what lens you’re going to look through.” Carla acknowledged feeling prepared to
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select strategies based on teacher development, but also shared, “We’re just getting to know our
teachers … sometimes it’s not always apparent what strategies work.” These responses reflect a
sense of preparation and an understanding that knowledge of teacher development also requires
an assessment of teacher needs.
Six mentors highlighted the positive impact of preparation in mentoring stance and
questioning strategies. The mentor’s stance involves changing questioning strategies and
behaviors to align with the specific requirements and growth stages of the teacher. Terri
articulated the importance of stance and questioning strategies in her interview stating, “You can
have a great observation tool and collect wonderful data. But if you don’t know how to present it
to the teacher … it’s not going to go well.”
Rueben reflected on the value of professional preparation on coaching stances: “One of
the most helpful, simple things was for me was, what does my coaching stance need to be in this
moment.” Nadine echoed this sentiment while reflecting on the importance of coaching stances:
Be mindful about what you say, when you say it, and how you say it … we’re not just
hanging out chit-chatting about teaching. The real good coaching is from a lot of those
stems that we have in the coaching conversations.
Joy recognized training in the different stances provided flexibility in approach. She
stated, “I think that has helped a few times, to start with a little bit different mindset walking into
something, or realizing that I’m always doing the same thing, and that probably isn’t the best.”
These interview participants’ reflections emphasized intention (or mindset), coaching stems, and
questioning strategies as positive aspects of their preparation.
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Improvable Preparation: Mentoring Strategies
Five participants identified applying knowledge of teacher development as an area
requiring enhancement in mentor preparation. Trisha captured this sentiment in her statement,
“Selecting and applying appropriate mentoring strategies based on knowledge of teacher
development. I wish I had a bigger tool kit for that.” Additionally, Rueben reflected on a
tendency to overlook the developmental stages of educators and stated, “I should have been
better prepared for what Year 1 and what Year 2 teachers [need]—like what’s in their ZPD— and
not trying to push them into that 4- to 5-year box,” suggesting a need for better preparation to
support teachers in their formative years.
Three mentors noted the need for further development in mentoring stance and
questioning. Kate discussed the challenges associated with providing feedback effectively. She
shared, “That’s been my hardest thing is how to provide feedback without them feeling … like
I’m judging or being negative.” Phillip noted that training and preparation are required to
become proficient in the stances. He commented, “The training specifically that has fostered …
the practice of listening to the person [with] whom you’re working, and to trust that things will
unfold okay. I mean, it’s not automatic … you have to prepare.”
Three participants acknowledged areas for growth in their preparation and utilization of
observation tools. Both Jena and Carla reflected on the need to deliberate more on the selection
of observation tools based on their relevance and utility in specific contexts. Carla stated, “We
have looked at lots of different observation tools, but I don’t know that I’ve spent a lot of time
thinking about which one would be most useful.” With a similar perspective, Madi emphasized
the importance of the application of observation tools, citing the need for efficiency. She shared,
“I could use more of the purpose, application, and practice of the different kinds of observation
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tools … I wonder if I had a better sense of the purpose … we’d get a lot more bang for our
buck.”
In mentoring support for new teachers, working through difficult conversations to
facilitate shifts in teaching practice is crucial for teacher development. Difficult conversations
were discussed by every participant. Although all acknowledged that this was an area where they
received preparation, seven mentioned that this was an area of continued practice and growth.
Nadine’s comment captured this need in her statement, “I feel like I could be practicing
providing them feedback in difficult conversations more. But I do remember being trained
multiple … times and given multiple ideas on what to do and opportunities to practice.” Other
participants discussed the importance of roleplay activities to practice this skill. Jena reflected,
“Initiating and facilitating difficult conversations to shift teachers—we do that all the time. I feel
like the role-plays do this.” Participant insight into improvable areas of mentor preparation
included applying knowledge of teacher development in selecting of observation tools and
appropriate stances. Additionally, responses reflect a desire for additional practice in facilitating
difficult conversations.
Documents: Mentor Strategies
Knowledge of teacher development and its application to mentoring occurred 44 times
across 29 documents in the document analysis. From the presentation materials in Mentor
Colloquium #2 of 2021–2022, the “Five Stages of Growth” from Mentoring Matters (Lipton et
al., 2017), supported understanding of the new teacher developmental continuum.
The development of mentor stance appeared 42 times in 30 different documents. From
the January 2023 Mentor Colloquium presentation slides, mentors engaged in reading and
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dialogue from Mentoring Matters (Lipton et al., 2017), focused on “Transitioning from Novice
to Expert” to provide question stems based on teacher development.
Observation tools were referenced in 13 documents. In the 2021 and 2022 Mentor
Orientations presentation slides, mentors were introduced to California Standards for the
Teaching Profession (CSTP) focused observation forms and provided links to observation
templates based on CSTP elements. Mentors were prompted to review the purpose of CSTP
focused observations and discuss mentor observation practices, as evidenced in the April 2022
Mentor Colloquium presentation slides.
Practice and preparation for mentoring difficult conversations occurred in 9 documents.
For example, in the Instructional Coaching Kickoff 2021–2022 presentation slides, participants
were prompted to plan for an equity conversation based on equity issues that surfaced in the
previous year’s mentee reflection documents.
Preparation content was focused predominantly on mentoring stance in 30 documents and
knowledge of teacher development in 29 documents. Observation tools and difficult conversation
references were less frequent, in 13 and nine documents respectively. The document analysis
underscores the presence of observation tools, knowledge of teacher development, mentoring
stances to support development, and preparation for mentoring difficult conversations within the
mentor preparation program documents.
Mentor Preparation for New Teachers of Color
The themes in the preceding section reflect mentor preparation to support all new
teachers. This section will explore four sub-themes identified in participant interviews and
preparation documents that focus on supporting new teachers of color: (a) valuing teachers as
learners, (b) mentor racial identity development, (c) understanding racism in the education
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context, and (d) culturally responsive mentoring. Findings in each theme are categorized by
mentors’ positive perceptions of preparation, areas of perceived improvement in preparation, and
the presence of the themes within preparation documents.
Preparation: Valuing Teachers as Learners
Valuing teachers as learners entails mentors establishing rapport with teachers of color,
acknowledging and validating their lived experiences as valuable resources for teaching, and
guiding them in their ongoing identity development and reflection processes. This theme was
identified in six participant interviews and 10 mentor preparation documents.
Positive Perceptions of Valuing Teachers as Learners
Two participants referred to “valuing teachers as learners” as an area of positive mentor
preparation. Trisha discussed using a mentoring tool on core values from a preparation session
when she was supporting a teacher of color. She shared:
We sort of hit a wall, the teacher and I, where they kept saying, “I want them [the
students] to respect me. They don’t respect me.” and I was, “Let’s dive into what our
beliefs are like. What’s the most important to you?”… It was so revealing and it helped
me understand where she was coming from and why certain things really upset her and
other things didn’t. And it was a really powerful tool to start new conversations and to see
things from other perspectives.
Jena reflected on her progress in implementing identity conversations as a part of her
coaching practice over the span of a year. She shared how at first it was uncomfortable in her
statement, “Oh my gosh, this feels really invasive … I don’t know how to bring it up so early in
the year.” Expanding on her progress, she further reflected:
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You kept building it in and we kept going back. … This is the first year I would say that
it’s like, a normal part of my cycle one with all my people … but it took all those
different touch points and opportunities and everything to really kind of help it become
sort of a normal part of the conversation.
Both Trisha and Jena’s insights demonstrate the implementation of specific mentoring tools to
better understand the identities and perspectives of the teachers they support.
Improvable Preparation: Valuing Teachers As Learners
Five participants reflected that this topic was an area for further exploration and mentor
preparation. Carla described working with a new teacher of color who was feeling isolated at the
school site: “She didn’t have an affinity group … and that made her feel isolated. … But
understanding as a mentor, what might that be like and how to support her with that. I don’t
know that.”
Terri also indicated a desire for more preparation and education on teacher identity,
questioning when and how to have those conversations. She reflected:
When we first started doing these identity talks, we were … unsure how comfortable is
our mentee going to be. So having more conversations about when is it appropriate,
knowing when to do that and knowing how to do that. Some new teachers might want to
talk about their race, and some are like, “I’m just drowning here. I need to how do I do
this certain thing.” That is where they’re at.
Carla and Terri expressed the need for additional preparation to improve their ability to
support and connect with teachers from diverse racial backgrounds. Carla specifically voiced
uncertainty about her capability to assist a newly appointed teacher of color who doesn’t have
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peers of similar racial identity, while Terri struggled with determining the appropriate timing and
methodology for engaging in conversations about this topic.
Other participants expressed a desire to learn directly from the experiences of racially
diverse teachers. Kate shared, “Hearing voices from teachers of color, about their experience,
and how it felt to go through the evaluation process and any perspectives that way would be
really helpful.” Rueben articulated this as listening to “narratives besides my own around teacher
development. … Especially when we have so many White mentors, who have potentially had
such privileged experiences … I think we might be missing quite a bit in terms of like just other
possible developmental arcs.” Both Rueben and Kate showed interest in gaining insight directly
from the experience of racially diverse teachers to enhance mentor preparation.
Documents: Valuing Teachers As Learners
Ten documents contained references to the theme of valuing teachers as learners. Within
the October 2021 Instructional Coaching Workshop presentation materials, mentors engaged in a
reading titled “What You Need to Know about Identity,” from Coaching for Equity (Aguilar,
2020). In the April 2023 Instructional Coaching workshop materials, mentors were provided a
separate reading from the same text titled, “Path to Racial Healing” (Aguilar, 2020). Both
readings contained resources and background information to prepare mentors for engaging in
discussions about racial identity, as well as the importance of considering identity in coaching
work.
A planning activity in the October 2021 Instructional Coaching workshop materials
guided mentors through the steps to initiate identity conversations. The February 2022
Instructional Coaching workshop presentation slides contained discussion prompts to reflect on
their experiences facilitating identity conversations with mentees. Topics explored in these
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workshops included the significance of understanding identity in coaching work, experiences of
conducting identity conversations, and potential barriers to engaging in such dialogue.
Preparation: Mentor Racial Identity Development
Mentor racial identity development is the process by which mentors reflect on their own
racial identities and the ways in which their identities may impact their mentoring practices.
Although 10 participants shared varying levels of racial self-awareness in their mentoring
practice, there were no participant interviews that referred to mentor racial identity development
as a positive aspect of their mentor preparation. Responses for mentor racial identity
development came from the following interview questions: What, if any, experiences have you
had working with new teachers of color, either through coaching or other roles? Is there anything
else you think I should know about how mentoring might address the challenges a new teacher of
color faces? What are things you felt well prepared to do, and things you feel are an area of
growth in mentor preparation?
Improvable Preparation: Mentor Racial Identity Development
Three participants reflected upon or referred to mentor racial identity development as an
area of uncertainty needing additional preparation. This uncertainty is captured in Carla’s
statement:
What is it like to be a new teacher of color and potentially have a White mentor? … And
what are some pitfalls that the White mentor should be aware of, or acknowledge, or I
don’t know, like be open to?
Terri questioned, “How would mentoring a teacher of color [be] if you are not a mentor of color?
How might that change your questioning and your feedback strategies, if at all?”
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Documents: Mentor Racial Identity Development
Inputs and activities for mentor identity development were found in twelve documents. In
the 2021–2022 Instructional Coaching Kickoff presentation slides, mentors were asked to review
the District’s racial equity mission and vision, explicitly connecting it to the changes in coaching
work to align with the mission and vision and related board policy. This signaled a commitment
to promoting equity and inclusivity within educational spaces and emphasized the role of
mentors in advancing antiracist practices through their coaching relationships. In the 2022–2023
Instructional Coaching Kickoff presentation slides, mentors were prompted to engage in an
identity marker exploration activity, followed by a roleplay where mentors practiced having an
identity-focused conversation with their peers. This activity prompted mentors to explore and
reflect on their identity markers and to reflect on how individual identities shape coaching
practices and interactions with others.
Preparation: Understanding Racism in Education
When mentors have a foundational understanding of the ways racism manifests in the
school context, they can assist new teachers in navigating these spaces and establishing systems
of support to counteract the impacts of racism on both educators and students (Achinstein, 2006,
2012). Reflections on this theme appeared in response to the following interview questions:
What do you think might be some of the reasons we struggle to retain new teachers of color?
How might a mentor use their knowledge of how a school site works to help new teachers
navigate challenges related to race or racism? What mentoring practices do you think might be
culturally responsive? In reflecting on your professional learning, what do you think should be
included to help coaches and mentors support new teachers of color, if anything? “In addition to
what you have already shared, is there anything else you think I should know about how
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mentoring might address some of the challenges new teachers of color
face?
Six out of eleven participant interviews reflected on the concept of understanding racism
within the educational context. Notably, no interviews indicated that this topic was perceived as a
positive aspect of mentor preparation.
Improvable Preparation: Understanding Racism in Education
All participants who referred to mentor preparation to understand racism in the school
context identified this as an area of improvement. Joy suggested that she and other mentors may
benefit from “having a good theoretical knowledge of microaggressions and how that affects
people and the theory behind it.” Similarly, Terri stated that supporting new teachers of color
with racial dynamics requires “educating oneself on what that might look like, feel like. What are
the possible microaggressions, what are the possible—what is the possible harm?” Nadine
reflected on her experiences supporting a new teacher of color in navigating invisible or
unspoken rules at the school site that do not pertain to teaching. Nadine reflected, “The mentor
would have to know first off about all those things. Or at least be able to ask them questions to
help them figure out how to navigate the ‘job’ part of the job.” These comments share a
recognition among participants of the need for mentor preparation to understand and address
racism within the school context.
Documents: Understanding Racism in Education Context
There were a total of 15 occurrences across 10 documents that referenced racism in the
education context. “The Social Construction of Identity” from Coaching for Equity provided
background and context for understanding the significance of race and racial inequality in social
institutions, and was included in the Instructional Coaching Kickoff 2022–2023 presentation
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materials (Aguilar, 2020). In the Mentor Colloquium of May 2022, presentation materials
included a review of the characteristics of White Supremacy Culture, and an activity identifying
intersections with mentoring work. These activities and readings in the workshop documents
reflect the theme of building a mentor’s understanding of racism in systems contexts.
Preparation: Culturally Responsive Mentoring
Culturally responsive mentoring involves mentors developing an awareness of their own
cultural identities and understanding the historical and systemic privilege dynamics related to
racial identity, which shape beliefs about race and racism. Culturally responsive mentoring also
includes recognizing the experiences of teachers of color and creating spaces for dialogue that
affirm culturally responsive practices, bridge cultural gaps, and promote equitable learning
environments (Achinstein et al., 2010). Interview comments regarding preparation for culturally
responsive mentoring came from the following interview questions: Some researchers call for
culturally responsive mentorship, especially for new teachers of color. What does this mean to
you? What mentoring practices do you think might be culturally responsive?
Culturally responsive mentoring related to mentor preparation was mentioned in six
participant interviews. Notably, there was no mention of culturally responsive mentoring as a
positive area of preparation, nor were there any documents associated with this theme. All of
these participants perceived culturally responsive mentoring as an area requiring improvement in
mentor preparation. Trisha suggested the following shift in mentor preparation:
The focus has largely been on supporting students of color. And I think all we would need
is a little tweak of a scenario that’s for the teacher of color in that situation. … Using that
lens of looking out to specifically support them and practicing those conversations.
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Trisha’s suggestion reframed current work on supporting students of color to supporting teachers
of color.
Madi discussed role-playing as a way to approach preparation for culturally responsive
mentoring. She proposed, “Maybe if we have to role-play or first think out loud about and then
practice, like situations where these people that we’re working with are so seemingly different
than we are.” Alternatively, Joy recommended centering the voices of our teachers of color in her
comment:
Hearing from the teachers themselves. Panels of those teachers of color. What help do
you need, to hear from their mouths? Because I’m coming in on assumptions and I don’t
know what they want. We can look at the literature all we want, but is that really what the
teachers … need from their mentor?
These suggestions included hearing from teachers of color, mentor practice through roleplay, and shifting scenarios to focus on teachers of color. These suggestions also reflect the
absence of culturally responsive mentor preparation in the documents. Although there were
documents in the domains of racial identity development, understanding racism in the education
context, and knowing teachers as learners, there was no evidence that these had been connected
to a concept of culturally responsive mentorship.
Summary of Findings for Research Question 1
The post preparation program perceptions of White, secondary education induction
mentors in a medium-sized California school district regarding their preparedness for supporting
new teachers of color reveal several key insights. Regarding preparation content to support all
new teachers, including new teachers of color, mentors expressed feeling well-prepared in certain
areas. They exhibited confidence in establishing relationships, supported by instructional
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materials that included readings and role-play exercises. Additionally, mentors expressed feeling
equipped to engage in mentor reflection, and acknowledged time constraints hindered full
engagement. Document analysis highlighted reflection through self-assessment to mentoring
standards and embedded reflection practices. Mentors acknowledged being well exposed to
different strategies, and their response reflected a desire for more practice, particularly in
applying knowledge of teacher development and navigating difficult conversations. Document
analysis of content to support development mentoring strategies was well represented, with 122
instances across 56 documents.
Challenges emerged regarding mentors’ perceptions of their training to support new
teachers of color. Mentors reported feeling unprepared to engage in practices tailored to support
teachers of color and expressed uncertainty about initiating conversations on racial identity with
mentees. Some mentors also expressed uncertainty about how their own racial identity impacted
mentoring practice and desired more preparation in this area. Furthermore, mentors identified
needing more training on recognizing and addressing manifestations of racism at the school site
for new teachers of color. Notably, mentors reported no exposure to culturally responsive
mentoring preparation, nor was this element present in any of the analyzed documents.
Findings for Research Question 2
This section will examine participant interview responses in relation to Research
Question 2: Following participation in a mentor preparation program, how do White induction
mentors in a medium-size CA school district characterize the practices they would use to support
new teachers of color in the secondary education classroom? During the interview process,
mentors were asked to characterize practices that support all new teachers and then asked
questions to characterize how they might support new teachers of color in identity development,
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validating their experiences, and navigating racism within the school site context. All participants
were presented with a scenario (see Table A1) in which they discussed how they might support a
new teacher of color through a challenge that involved navigating ideological conflict and
politics within the school site.
In this section, the first theme focuses on mentoring practices that support all new
teachers, and includes the sub-themes of emotional support, developing teacher competency,
navigating the school site context, and mentor stance and disposition. The second theme focuses
on mentor described practices for supporting new teachers of color and includes the following:
mentor racial identity development, validating teachers’ experiences and knowing them as
learners, navigating racism at the school site, and culturally responsive mentoring practices as
shown in Table 12.
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Table 12
Summary of Themes for Mentor Characterized New Teacher Support Practices
Theme Sub-theme Participants Occurrences Description of theme
Practices
that
support
all new
teachers
Emotional support 11 47 Mentors as a non-judgmental, reliable processing partner.
Teacher competency 11 80 Assessment of development and facilitating professional growth.
Navigating school site
context
11 147 Provision of support beyond classroom.
Stance and disposition 11 40 Attitude and intentional support to foster development.
Practices
that
support
new
teachers
of color
Racial identity
development
11 115 Acknowledgement of racial difference; examination of biases
Validating teachers lived
experiences
11 91 Acknowledgement and validation of experiences; asset approach
Navigating racism at the
school site
Recognize challenges 8 84 Recognition of challenges related to race and/or racial identity.
Negotiating 9 31 Negotiation as a tool to safeguard professional advancement.
Networking 8 38 Leveraging institutional knowledge to create support network.
Advocating 10 50 Practicing advocacy; empowering teachers to prioritize
professional growth and well-being.
Culturally responsive
mentoring
11 74 Valuing mentee experiences; uplifting new teachers of color;
collaborative support
Note. Occurrence refers to the number of instances the theme or sub-theme was identified across all 11 participant interviews.
Participants refer to the number of participants in which themes occurred.
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Mentor Practices That Support All Teachers
Emotional Support
Emotional support is characterized by mentor practices that extend empathy,
understanding, or encouragement by listening to mentee concerns without judgment. Mentor
practices that described emotional support were noted in 47 occurrences across all 11 interviews.
Responses related to emotional support were prompted by the following interview questions:
What do you think are the most important ways a mentor can support a brand new teacher?
Teachers of color can experience microaggressions and barriers related to race at their school
sites. How might a mentor use knowledge of their school site to help new teachers navigate these
challenges? In addition to what you have already shared, is there anything else you think I should
know about how mentoring might address some of the challenges new teachers of color face?
Blythe characterized emotional support as reliable and non-judgmental in her statement,
“Just knowing you’re there, you’re reliable, you’re not going to judge them. You’re not going to
try and change who they aren’t necessarily in a classroom, but maybe asking some questions and
… supplying some ideas that they can try.” Jenna stressed the importance of safety and support
without judgment. In Jena’s words this meant “being a trusted confidant, right, like a new teacher
is facing so much that they do need someone that they feel that they can trust and be honest
with.” Nadine echoed these sentiments in her comment that mentoring is “a place where there’s
no judgment, it doesn’t affect their like job in that moment … I’m there to help.”
Philip emphasized the significance of inviting conversations about sensitive topics. After
asking his mentee permission to discuss a topic on race that came up during an observation,
Phillip observed, “It felt really good to broach the topic … and I sense that the connection
deepened with us. And I was glad to have shared my part. Invite him to be aware that there are
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emotions involved with this … that can influence our engagement as teachers.” Participants
highlighted the importance of being a reliable processing partner, offering personal connections,
and providing non-judgmental support.
Developing Teacher Competency
Mentors play a crucial role in assessing a teacher’s performance, monitoring their
progress, providing feedback, and encouraging self-reflection to help them become more
competent in their teaching. During interviews, mentors frequently discussed practices related to
enhancing teacher competency. Questions such as, “What do you believe are the most important
ways a mentor can assist a new teacher?” and “Is there anything else you think is important for
me to know about how mentoring can support new teachers of color?” prompted mentors to
share insights. The topic of competency development emerged consistently, with mentors
mentioning it more than 80 times across all interviews. They elaborated on strategies such as
providing feedback on practice, creating opportunities to learn from experienced teachers, and
considering the teacher’s developmental journey.
Mentors discussed the importance of being able to provide feedback after observations or
other inquiry activities. Terri described this as “the ability to provide effective feedback to be
supportive, but not ‘Pollyanna’ and not hide problems that are there, but to really be able to hold
up a friendly mirror.” Kate provided a specific example with a student work analysis used to
inform instruction. She shared, “We created like a checkpoint, a little like a formative assessment
tool, and then we’re able to take the data from that [to] see which pieces the students were
missing, and then figure out how to intervene.”
Mentors also talked about creating opportunities to learn from more experienced teachers.
Joy described this as the opportunity to “observe other classrooms, talk about what other teachers
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are doing so they get more experience. When teachers are so busy and so stuck in a classroom, I
think they still need to get out and see things.”
Mentors also considered the developmental levels of their teachers in their practice, as
well as using their understanding of the complexity and skills different teaching strategies
require. Madi stated, “Sometimes it’s suggestions, but sometimes it’s like just like putting the
bumper rails on to try and contain a little bit for them what they’re attempting.” Carla
emphasized, “Making sure there’s some basics covered before they choose a greater goal. …
Let’s look at these five basic things that you need when you’re managing a classroom or teaching
… don’t pick writing yet until you have these basics.” These mentor practices consider the
difference between what the teacher wants to accomplish and their developmental readiness.
Navigating the School Site Context
Navigating the school site context refers to how new teachers understand and engage
with aspects of their role beyond the classroom. Mentoring practices supporting this were
mentioned 147 times across all interviews. Responses were primarily elicited from the following
interview questions: What do you think are the most important ways a mentor can support a
brand new teacher? What do you think might be some of the reasons we struggle to retain new
teachers of color in the teaching profession? How might a mentor use knowledge of their school
site to help new teachers navigate race-related challenges? This discussion differs from a later
sub-theme on addressing racism (navigating racism in the school site context) as it focuses on
general support for all new teachers. Mentors characterized these practices as helping teachers
navigate working with their departments or professional learning communities (PLCs), talking
with administrators, supporting a sense of belonging, and what Nadine referred to as “the nonteaching” part of the job.
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Mentors play an important role in helping teachers navigate aspects of the job outside of
the classroom. Rueben characterized this as “checking in like, ‘Hey, I’m going to make copies.
Do you want to come?’ … Making space to acknowledge all the things that they have to learn
that are not even related to teaching.” Blythe emphasized assisting teachers by addressing
practical concerns. She shared, “They don’t know who to go to, or they don’t know that they can
ask for help … I think helping them navigate some of those things it’s taken you forever to find
out is important.”
All participants discussed practices that support new teachers in navigating department or
professional learning community (PLC) dynamics. Jena characterized this as “having
conversations with the teacher about the importance of working in a team and being able to find
a way to satisfy one’s own desire to be creative.” Terri described her approach as “giving them
the language to have professional conversations, like practice with how to talk to the department
head.”
Nine participants discussed navigating leadership dynamics. Kate identified the
importance of “being a bridge” between teachers and administrators. She described this in her
comment, “Who to email if you have something wrong with your sink. Or I can talk to the
principal and say, ‘Hey, I really think you should check in with such and such.’” Trisha
acknowledged the importance of her status in bringing concerns to administrators. She shared,
“I’m not as afraid to push because I’m tenured and I have experience with teaching. And so I
can say I understand your point of view … to the admin, and say it’s important that this happens
quickly, and it’s important that she gets the tools for her
classroom.”
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Seven participants discussed the importance of supporting a sense of belonging and
connection to the school site. Madi explained, “I see myself in that sense as a mentor to also to
be a veteran on campus. Like I feel it’s our responsibility to make people feel welcome.”
Similarly, Rueben stated the importance of “cultivating relationships with other colleagues at the
site, to districts, places where they feel like they have relationships where they can go to.”
Mentor Stance and Disposition
Mentors make decisions about the position they will take in directing a new teacher’s
learning and growth, often referred to as a mentoring or coaching stance (Lipton et al., 2017;
Massey et al., 2019). Stance as a practice indicates the mentor is proactively thinking about the
direction to take in guiding teacher development. Responses connected to this sub-theme were
noted in 40 instances across all interview questions. Within the participant responses, mentor
practices concerning new teacher stances included: approaching with curiosity, encouraging
creativity, and creating non-judgment/non-evaluative mentoring spaces.
A stance of curiosity about the learner was evident in seven participant narratives. Madi
described a stance of openness and acceptance. She emphasized, “What feels natural is to keep
asking questions and be open to her. And maybe if there’s something that doesn’t resonate, with
me asking, ‘Oh, tell me more about that. I know nothing about that.’” Blythe prioritized the
teacher’s comfort and well-being. She articulated, “I would probably start with questioning. How
are you feeling on campus? … Do you feel seen or heard on campus?” Trisha stressed the
significance of active listening in her statement “I just listen and listen and listen and stay
curious.”
Non-judgmental and non-evaluative stances in which the mentor creates a safe-to-fail
environment were evident in six participant narratives. Joy exemplified this in her comment,
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“They believe that you are the mentor and not the evaluator.” Terri shared, “Showing up in a
non-evaluative and supportive way,” stressing the mentor’s responsibility to offer guidance
without imposing judgment. Nadine echoed this with “encouragement to keep going, space to
figure things out, and a place where there’s no judgment …They’re not getting evaluated. I’m
there to help.”
Nine of the participant’s narratives demonstrated a heightened awareness of their own
beliefs and assumptions while engaging in mentoring work. Trisha reflected on the importance of
being conscious of her own beliefs. She shared, “I listen and just make sure I’m hearing things
… I have to do this very consciously not inject my thoughts and opinions.” Carla demonstrated a
commitment to self-awareness in her statement, “To hold myself accountable for supporting
teachers in ways that help them make change to their practice, or hold myself accountable for
being aware of equity issues.” Terri highlighted the importance of mentors being cognizant of
their mindsets in their mentoring practice. She stressed that mentors “ are very clear on what it
looks like and sounds like to be a coach. I think it’s important to understand that … you’re
bringing a lot of yourself into that coaching position.”
The disposition of caring about a teacher’s success was evident among eight participants.
This disposition is exemplified in the manner through which mentors articulate their concerns for
new teachers and offer support. Nadine reflected, “It’s really easy to have this dream of teaching
and a couple of things shut you down. So I want to help balance that out.” For Trisha, it was
important “for them to see that there’s someone on campus who cares about their success, who
cares about how they’re doing.” Kate focused on supporting new teachers navigating multiple
responsibilities. She stressed, “You’re overwhelmed with responsibilities and requirements. So,
for me, it’s being the person who can help ground people and help sort them through that
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process.” Blythe echoed Kate’s sentiments in her comment, “I think just helping with those
things so they feel like they are comfortable in their classroom and are not getting eaten up every
day.”
Mentor Practices That Support New Teachers of Color
Practices: Mentoring Racial Identity Development and Awareness
Mentor racial identity development leads to mentoring practices that improve awareness
of how racial and social position can influence mentoring behaviors (Achinstein, 2012; Utt &
Tochluk, 2020; Vargas et al., 2021). When mentors attend to their racial identity development,
they are better positioned to foster supportive mentoring relationships with new teachers of color
and address systemic inequities in education. Across all 11 interviews, mentors demonstrated the
different ways in which they considered racial identity or racial awareness during their mentoring
practices. Responses where mentors reflected on their identity surfaced from the following
interview questions: How might a mentor use knowledge of their school site to help new teachers
of color navigate challenges? How might a mentor support a new teacher of color in their own
identity development? How might mentoring address some of the challenges new teachers of
color face? What do you think should be included in mentor training to support new teachers of
color?
Mentors emphasized the importance of facilitating conversations with sensitivity and
empathy, acknowledging that mentors may not share the same racial identity as their mentees.
Trisha underscored the importance of acknowledging and respecting the diverse experiences of
teachers of color stating, “Because my experiences around race identity markers is not going to
be the same as theirs, I’ve had to be really mindful of making room for their experience and not
trying to push my own.” Jena demonstrated a similar approach in her comment, “Being able to
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have conversations and ask certain questions that help move them along in their own thinking
and also don’t make them feel uncomfortable about doing that with somebody who doesn’t share
that aspect of their identity.”
Madi contemplated providing mentorship to a new teacher of color whom she knew was
facing challenges at the school site, even though the teacher had not disclosed those experiences.
She reflected:
I brought it with me into the room and just wondered, how exhausting. And then there’s a
like an older White lady also mentoring you. … When it comes to supporting a teacher of
color, I just was more sensitive in my own head.
These reflections underscore the mentor’s recognition of their own identity as an important
consideration when supporting new teachers of color.
Mentors also displayed varying levels of confidence concerning their ability to navigate
their identities in supporting new teachers of color as White mentors. Joy grappled with the
subtleties of racial microaggressions and their implications for mentoring relationships stating, “I
could probably recognize an obvious microaggression. But what does it look like if I’m just
sitting beside somebody and they heard something, and … I’m not aware of what it might sound
like or feel like?”
In working with a new teacher of color who was feeling isolated at the school site, Carla
acknowledged her own limitations stating, “As much as I tried to learn and empathize, I don’t
know that I would have recognized that that was something that she struggled with.”
Terri also reflected on the potential impact of racial identity on mentoring new teachers of
color. She questioned, “How might that change your questioning and your feedback strategies?
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… I still use my questioning strategies and my feedback for all and I approach new teachers
similarly. So is that—is that what you should do?”
Reuben shared a specific incident that caused him to reflect deeply on his identity and
assumptions as a mentor. He directed a new teacher of color to observe a White veteran teacher
and was later approached by a colleague (a mentor of color) who asked him to reconsider the
appropriateness of that strategy.
They said that though the strategies that that person used could be helpful, that was not
the right person to send that teacher in to observe. … For me to expect that that new
teacher … was going to go in and emulate that person was a really unfair situation to put
them in. And I’ve held on to that ever since because I think that in a lot of what helped
me learn, there’s assumptions, there’s biases, that may be different for other people.
Participants emphasized the importance of empathetic conversations, acknowledging
differences in racial identity between mentors and mentees. Mentors reflected on their own racial
identity and recognized its importance in supporting new teachers of color, including examining
their assumptions and biases. Mentors also expressed varying levels of confidence in navigating
their identities as White mentors.
Practices: Validating Teacher’s Experiences and Knowing Them as Learners
Validating the lived experiences of teachers of color is characterized by mentor awareness
of the ways racism can impact teachers of color, how they create safe places for teachers of color
for their experiences to be heard, and ways in which they validate the expertise of teachers based
on their lived histories and cultural experiences. All 11 interviews had responses on validating
teachers and knowing them as learners as prompted by the following interview questions: How
might a mentor support a new teacher of color in their own identity development? How might a
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mentor support a new teacher of color in bringing in their own experiences and knowledge?
Additionally, responses for this theme came from the final scenario question prompt (see Table
A1): How might you support them through this ongoing challenge with their department?
All participants articulated an understanding of ways racism might impact a new teacher
of color and their experiences at the school site. Eight participants specifically discussed
isolation as a potential area of impact, and five participants discussed exhaustion as it relates to
being a teacher of color.
When discussing feelings of isolation, Blythe shared, “If the main culture around me is
White … it could very much be about culture and not feeling seen … or feeling like you’re
alone on a campus or that your approach to something might be different.” Jena also spoke
about isolation and ideological conflict. She reflected:
Some of our teachers of color do in some ways feel a sense of isolation … sometimes
there’s a little bit of like underlying conflict with ideas, not necessarily people. but like
ways of thinking in a department, ways of thinking in a school site, and [that] has been
oppressed.
Exhaustion from dealing with challenges of race and racism was also discussed in
participant interviews. Trisha recounted a time she supported a teacher of color in navigating a
racial incident. She noted, “I recognize that teachers also are exhausted from constantly
correcting people’s microaggressions. So I do run into that pushback as well, like ‘yes, but it’s
always me all the time making those
corrections.’”
Kate described working with a new teacher of color who was experiencing both
exhaustion and isolation, attempting to reach out to colleagues of racial affinity for support. She
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recalled, “You know, she was reaching for people to be there for her and support her, and this
[other] teacher felt like ‘I can’t take that on. And I’m not wanting to get involved in this
experience.’” Participants acknowledged the ways racism might affect new teachers of color,
highlighting mentee experiences with isolation and exhaustion.
Mentors described practices aimed at fostering safe spaces for expressing and valuing the
unique perspectives and assets that teachers of color bring to their teaching practice. Examples of
mentors actively validating the knowledge and experiences of teachers of color surfaced in all 11
interviews. Joy emphasized the importance of expressing authentic interest as a starting point,
stating, “Conversations to just to learn more about the teacher … that might make them feel like
‘she is interested, she does want to know a little bit more about me,’ and maybe then willing to
open up.”
Trisha highlighted creating opportunities for new teachers to share experiences and feel
valued. She shared, “Part of it was being able to look at core values and asking my teachers to
tell me their story. What is your life story? … What’s your teaching story?”
Nadine emphasized that mentors are there to “help them grow their practice. I’m not
making them do my practice. And encouraging them to be authentic and do their thing and bring
themselves in.” These comments from participants reflect mentors’ efforts at creating safe spaces
for sharing through authentic interest, sharing of experience, and encouragement in bringing their
authentic selves into teaching.
Mentors described spaces where teachers of color can seek support without fear of
judgment. Jena stressed the importance of validating teachers’ concerns and refraining from
dismissing their experiences. She shared, “Acknowledging the issues and naming them when
you’re having these discussions with teachers … acknowledging that this is happening and
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acknowledging the reality of it.” Similarly, Blythe expressed the importance of validating teacher
emotions stating, “I want to validate if they’re feeling some way … for whatever reason that
that’s a valid feeling … I’m not gonna say ‘Oh, it’ll just get better. Just keep working through it.’
I mean, that’s not helpful to anybody.”
Terri adopted a proactive approach, emphasizing the need to create an environment where
new teachers of color feel comfortable sharing challenges. She remarked, “Just laying it out there
that this might come up … somehow making it okay for them to bring it up … at least being
approachable so that the teacher can feel like they can talk to you.” These comments illustrate
how mentors create a non-judgmental environment by acknowledging experiences, validating
emotions, and taking a proactive approach to discussing issues faced by teachers of color.
Practices: Navigating Racism in the Education Context
A comprehensive understanding of racism within the educational landscape is necessary
for mentors to effectively support new teachers of color. This knowledge helps mentors navigate
organizational and political dynamics within educational institutions, advocate for systemic
change, and see their role in extending support beyond classroom boundaries (Achinstein, 2006).
Participant responses on how mentors support new teachers of color through issues of racism at
the school site are grouped into the following categories: recognition of challenges, negotiation,
networking, and advocacy. Responses for this theme came predominantly from scenario-based
question 18 (see Table A1), which outlined a departmental challenge for a new teacher of color.
Three other interview questions also prompted theme related responses: What, if any,
experiences have you had working with new teachers of color, either through coaching or other
roles? What do you think might be some of the reasons we struggle to retain new teachers of
color in the teaching profession? According to studies on teacher retention, teachers of color can
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experience microaggressions and barriers related to race at their school sites. How might a
mentor use knowledge of their school site to help new teachers navigate these challenges?
Recognizing Challenges. Participant awareness of challenges that new teachers of color
experience was present in 10 interviews. Eight participants characterized challenges of being
misunderstood and eight characterized challenges as being dismissed or unheard. Three
participants grappled with whether the challenge was related to race or another factor.
Being misunderstood is characterized by mentor descriptions of incidents where new
teachers of color felt their actions and intentions were misinterpreted by others based on their
identities. For example, Nadine observed that unfamiliarity with school norms around email
expectations can lead to perceptions of disrespect or lack of professionalism. She shared,
“Fantastic teachers, valid in the classroom, good strategies, but were bogged down because they
weren’t able to or they didn’t … know how important it was to [administrators].” Trisha shared
an instance where a new teacher of color faced a misunderstanding for not following protocol in
resource requests. She reflected:
I want to … help them be able to work through this, but I also understand that their
experience is they have had situations where it was because of some aspect of their
identity that they were hitting a wall and not able to get what they’re asking for … I think
the biggest thing is that they don’t feel supported or even sometimes respected by the
people who are in power.
Some mentors described instances where teachers of color felt their ideas or concerns
were dismissed or went unheard. As Jena described:
That has been a frustration point for some of them … not necessarily feeling like they can
speak up or want to speak up because they don’t want to be the only person of color and
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the new person, right, speaking to a particular issue … and I think for some of them has
been a very, very frustrating experience.
Carla provided a specific example regarding a teacher navigating incidents of harm for
both themselves and their students (the specific identity and details have been removed to
maintain confidentiality). Carla shared:
I have a teacher who is newer to our school … and students who [share that teacher’s
identity] have come to that teacher for support and in expressing concerns of things that
have happened, or how maybe they’re being treated or how other kids are saying things
about them. And when that teacher has gone to administrators, [those] concerns have not
been like taken as seriously.
Some mentor accounts grappled with the nuance of race and other identity factors. Terri
suggested that race might not have been a factor in the situation, stating, “We do not believe it
had anything to do with his race. We think it had to do with the way he was dressed.” Jena
considered the possibility that the lack of support experienced by teachers of color could stem
from factors beyond race, stating, “So it may even be a gender thing and not necessarily a race
thing, but I’m going to just put it out there that … some of the teachers of color I’ve worked with
have felt not very supported.” Nadine reflected on cases where race may not be the sole
determinant, expressing, “Two cases neither teacher would identify as White and, I don’t know,
also could be age. I don’t know if ‘times they are a changing’ kind of thing.”
These participant insights reflect recognition of the challenges faced by new teachers of
color. Mentors were able to describe instances where teachers felt their actions or concerns were
misinterpreted due to their identities, as well as situations where teachers’ ideas were dismissed
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or unheard. Additionally, some mentors grappled with whether challenges were solely related to
race or other factors such as gender or age.
Negotiating. In supporting new teachers of color facing challenges within the school site,
mentors often employ negotiation as a strategic approach to compromise and fostering
constructive dialogue. This negotiation process embodies the mentor’s commitment to
safeguarding the new teacher’s professional advancement while acknowledging the significance
of an effective curriculum. Negotiation mentor practices were present in nine participant
interviews.
In negotiating challenges, mentors like Jena emphasized finding a balance between
departmental expectations and the new teacher’s authenticity. Jena shared, “So where can we
merge the two … satisfy the department’s desire to be on the same page and then where do you
absolutely feel it’s necessary to bring in your own.” Similarly, Terri noted the importance of
maintaining authenticity while meeting standards, stating, “I would probably continue to support
them to be that teacher they want to be … I don’t think every teacher needs to do exactly the
same thing.” Joy’s insights highlight the mentor’s role in advocating for flexibility within the
curriculum framework by “trying to look at what they want to bring in and how can we make
that aligned with the unit plan.”
Phillip described the tension new teachers often feel when working with an established
curriculum and recognized the value of a “guaranteed and viable curriculum” between teachers.
In his approach, he stated, “I would encourage patience and perseverance. I think it’s important
that you keep bringing these issues up, and maybe coach in terms of how it can be broached.”
Madi highlighted the need to navigate institutional dynamics while preserving authenticity. She
shared, “In this game we’re playing here’s the things you need to do and you need to show to win
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this game of tenure.” Madi and Phillip acknowledged that the new teacher needs to feel validated
and must also be aware of the larger political landscape and potential consequences. These
responses reflect how mentors characterize negotiation as a strategic tool to foster compromise
and constructive dialogue, thereby safeguarding the new teacher’s professional advancement.
Networking. In supporting new teachers of color facing challenges within the school site,
mentors discussed networking strategies aimed at facilitating connections, fostering supportive
relationships, and providing institutional knowledge. Participant narratives that discussed
networking were present in eight interviews.
Kate emphasized the value of community support systems in her suggestion that this
might include “trying to create affinity groups across the district where people have a space
outside of their mentor to go to if they need some support.” In a similar response, Carla stated, “I
know that for me that was really meaningful to have camaraderie and connections with other
new teachers, to feel I had shared experiences. So maybe even another subgroup of that, like new
teachers of color and having connections made.” Terri echoed Carla’s sentiments with, “If there
are other teachers of color on campus, making sure that they meet because … then we have a
support system here being part of a larger support system at the school site.”
Mentors can support new teachers of color by leveraging their institutional knowledge
and relationships. Carla emphasized the importance of leveraging her network of coaches and
their relationships with administrators. She shared, “Many teachers have wondered ‘What’s my
probationary status?’As coaches, we will ask at our coach-admin meeting what the status is and
find out information that then we can pass on.” Madi discussed how she might leverage her
relationships and understanding of school dynamics. She reflected, “I think also behind the
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scenes if I really believed in this teacher I might be planting positive things in the ears of the
PLC members.”
In supporting new teachers of color navigating challenges within the school site, mentors
discussed networking strategies to facilitate connections, foster supportive relationships, and
provide institutional knowledge. Mentors highlighted the value of creating community and
support systems, promoting connections among new teachers of color, and leveraging
institutional networks to provide valuable information and support.
Advocacy. Mentors play a pivotal role in advocacy, employing direct actions to navigate
departmental dynamics, professional learning communities (PLCs), and administrative
challenges. Participant narratives that mention advocacy practices were present in 10 interviews.
Advocacy and negotiation were not mutually exclusive; mentors often qualified their approach to
either depending on the particular circumstances or desire of the mentee.
Rueben articulated a comprehensive approach to advocacy, which encompassed
broadening the new teacher’s experiences and addressing systemic challenges. He described this
approach stating:
That might be me working with them, that might be—give them a feeling of
empowerment. That might be me as the instructional coach asking if we could talk to an
administrator. … Is this happening in other places and do we have larger work to do as a
community?
Kate spoke specifically about advocating with an administrator on behalf of new teachers
experiencing challenges. She explained, “Talking to administration … this is how people are
perceiving them, but this is what I’ve seen and helping kind of bridge, like, ‘Why don’t you go in
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and see? Here’s what they’re doing.’” Blythe described her approach to advocating with a
teacher’s department, stating:
I would probably approach the department person … and talk to them … And if the
department chair did not listen I would go to admin. But I’m an older White teacher, and
I feel entitled to do that. And I think it’s the right thing to do. This isn’t something that
I’m going to go talk to my mentee and say, “Oh, here’s how we should massage it. Here’s
what—" No, no, no, what I would tell this teacher is what you are doing is appropriate
and correct to you.
Blythe seeks to engage departmental stakeholders in a constructive dialogue aimed at
understanding the teacher’s perspective first and leveraging her status at the school site to speak
with an administrator to advocate for the teacher.
Nadine suggested empowering teachers to prioritize their professional growth and wellbeing within the context of the PLC. Nadine stated, “I would remind them that PLCs are helpful.
But if they’re not working for you, you have every legal and personal right and responsibility to
do your thing.” Trisha provided a specific example of supporting a new teacher of color in
prioritizing their well-being. She recounted, “We went rogue … she was so bogged down before,
and then once I was like, ‘It’s okay, let’s just break away and give it a try. And then you can go
back to your PLC and share how great it went.’ … And she was like, ‘Okay, that’s the
perspective we’ll take.’And she just came to life as a teacher.” Nadine and Trisha’s narratives
underscore the mentor’s role in empowering the new teacher to take risks and challenge existing
norms within the school environment.
Nine participants discussed ways they might help gather evidence to support their
practice and share it with administrators or department members. In Madi’s words, she “would
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probably encourage them to focus on some measurable assessment data … to reassure the
teacher that they’re moving in the right direction.” This sentiment is echoed in Terri’s statement,
“Is this teacher meeting those standards with the students? And so we need to … collect data on
that because that would support their practice.” Carla focused on collecting evidence from
students: “Include feedback from students to have … some evidence on how this is impactful on
students. And maybe try to showcase some of the successes.”
Nadine described taking more direct action: “It doesn’t sound like that’s the kind of PLC
that’s going to listen to this new teacher as they explain it. So I would try to make it more
visible.” Participant responses reflect the mentor’s characterization of advocacy in navigating
departmental dynamics, professional learning communities (PLCs), and administrative
challenges. Mentors like Rueben, Kate, and Blythe outlined strategies such as broadening
experiences, advocating with administrators, and engaging department stakeholders to support
new teachers. Additionally, mentors like Nadine and Trisha emphasized empowering teachers to
prioritize their professional growth and well-being, while others discussed gathering evidence to
support practice and sharing it with administrators or department members.
Practices: Culturally Responsive Mentorship
Culturally responsive mentoring practices manifest through mentor identity development,
a nuanced understanding of racism within educational contexts, and deliberate efforts to uplift
the experiences of teachers of color. These mentoring practices are characterized by critical selfreflection and awareness of the impact of culture and identity on education experiences.
All participants described culturally responsive mentoring as prompted by the following
interview questions: What does culturally responsive mentorship mean to you? What mentoring
practices do you think might be culturally responsive? Mentors were able to provide examples of
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culturally responsive mentorship without using the phrase when answering the final scenario
prompt (see Table A1), and also in response to the following interview questions: How might a
mentor support a new teacher of color in bringing in their own experiences and knowledge? How
might a mentor use knowledge of their school site to help new teachers navigate these challenges
(racism, microaggressions)? How might a mentor support a new teacher of color in their own
identity development?
All participants conceptualized culturally responsive mentoring as a practice that requires
understanding culture or centering culture in conversations. Jena emphasized the necessity of
understanding its principles in her assertion, “First it’s having a base of knowledge … of what
culturally responsive teaching and mentorship is.” Terri also named the importance of a
knowledge base, and offered, “It’s being knowledgeable about the different cultures that your
mentee is a part of.” Blythe emphasized the importance of engaging with mentees to consider
cultural factors in teaching practices: “When you talk with your mentee about what they’re
teaching and why they’re teaching it … that could possibly center on culture in some way.”
Both Nadine and Trisha extended their understanding of culturally responsive teaching to
mentoring, focusing on creating space for mentee’s cultural experiences. Trisha stated:
When I was first learning about culturally responsive teaching … I misunderstood that it
was on the teacher to know everything about cultures and to change the way they did
things to fit what they knew about cultures, but that’s really impossible and also
presumptuous. And then I learned it was about making space for children to share about
their cultures and … bring what they have to offer into the classroom. And I think then
that must be the same with mentoring.
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Some mentor responses focused on the relationship as the key to culturally responsive
mentorship. Rueben described it as “culturally responsive coaching includes … kind of like
reciprocal relationship between the coach and the mentee where the learning is shared.” In
reflecting on culturally responsive mentorship with a particular teacher, Phillip shared “It was
about our relationship, and trust, and hearing people where they’re at … embracing the idea that
other people are gonna have different perspectives.” Similarly, Joy reflected, “I struggle with
that all the time. And I don’t think I’ve ever applied it other than being real with people in
establishing a relationship.”
When asked about culturally responsive mentor practices, eight participants described
different ways they might empower or support a new teacher of color. Nadine asserted that
strong coaching and mentoring practices are inherently culturally responsive. She shared, “I
think like a lot of them, if not all of them, are culturally responsive. They’re always reflective.
They’re always letting the teacher speak and listening and responding to that.”
Kate emphasized the importance of self-awareness and reflection in culturally responsive
mentoring: “Being aware of our own perspectives and our own biases … can be super important
to be able to be responsive to different people.”
Rueben and Blythe both emphasized how important it was to empower new teachers of
color rather than solve their problems for them. In Rueben’s words, “I don’t want to do it for
them. I think the question is how can I put them in a position of strength to help combat what
they’ve experienced?” Similarly, Blythe stated, “Not like you can give them an answer of how
to do something, that’s not it at all. Just being able to maybe validate that must be difficult to
feel that way that in your PLC. … What can we do to make sure your voice is heard, or that your
idea is brought forward?”
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Phillip acknowledged the importance of celebrating incremental changes in established
departments in his statement, “Just point out one or two of your top seven things … if you want
to get just that one in there in the curriculum this year, that’d be huge. You’d be changing the
department.”
Participant responses characterized culturally responsive mentoring as centered on
understanding culture, creating space for cultural experiences, and fostering collaborative
relationships. Mentors emphasized the importance of self-awareness, reflection, and empowering
new teachers of color rather than solving their problems for them. Mentor responses indicate that
they characterize culturally responsive mentoring practices as acknowledging cultural diversity,
building trusting relationships, and supporting the professional growth of teachers of color.
Summary of Findings for Research Question 2
The perceptions of White, secondary education induction mentors in a medium-sized
California school district regarding their practices for supporting new teachers of color were
captured in themes that demonstrate practices to support teachers all new teachers and practices
that support teachers of color. Participants’ themes to support all new teachers included providing
emotional support, developing teacher competency, navigating the school site context, and
specific mentoring stances. They prioritized emotional support by creating non-judgmental
spaces where new teachers could express concerns and receive validation in a trusting
environment. Mentors also focused on developing teacher competency by providing constructive
feedback, facilitating learning opportunities, and tailoring support based on developmental
needs. They navigated the school site context by assisting teachers in understanding non-teaching
logistics, department dynamics, engaging with administrators, and fostering a sense of belonging
within the school community. Additionally, mentors adopted specific stances characterized by
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curiosity and non-judgment, while demonstrating heightened self-awareness and a commitment
to the success and well-being of their mentees.
The characterization of practices by White mentors to support new teachers of color was
illuminated through four predominant themes: mentor racial identity development, validating
teachers as learners, navigating racism in education, and culturally responsive mentorship. In
mentor racial identity development and awareness, mentors emphasized the importance of
acknowledging and reflecting on their own racial identity to better support new teachers of color.
They recognized that sensitivity, empathy, and understanding were vital in facilitating
conversations and navigating challenges related to racial identity. Participants also demonstrated
varying levels of confidence in navigating their identities as White mentors, grappling with
nuances such as racial microaggressions and the impact of their assumptions on mentees.
In validating teachers’ experiences and knowing them as learners, mentors highlighted
the significance of creating safe spaces where teachers of color could share their experiences
without fear of judgment. Their reflections indicated acknowledgment and validation of the
challenges faced by teachers of color, such as isolation and exhaustion. Mentors also described
practices aimed at fostering supportive relationships and valuing the expertise of teachers of
color based on their lived histories and cultural experiences.
Mentors described strategies for navigating racism in the education context, including
recognizing challenges, negotiation, networking, and advocacy. Participant insights reflected
recognition of the challenges faced by new teachers of color, including instances where teachers’
actions or concerns were misinterpreted due to their identities, and situations where their ideas
were dismissed or unheard. Furthermore, some mentors grappled with determining if these
challenges solely stemmed from race or were influenced by other factors like gender or age.
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Mentors’ responses reflected different ways they characterized support for new teachers of color
by negotiating compromises, fostering supportive networks, and/or advocating for systemic
changes within educational settings.
Concerning culturally responsive mentoring, mentor reflections stressed the significance
of fostering self-awareness, reflection, and empowerment among new teachers of color, rather
than solely resolving their issues. Their responses suggest that they perceived culturally
responsive mentoring as a matter of recognizing cultural diversity, establishing trusting
relationships, and promoting the professional development of teachers of color.
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Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations
Supporting new teachers of color in their first few years of teaching through induction
mentorship has the potential to improve teacher retention for teachers of color, leading to a more
diverse teacher workforce which in turn positively impacts student outcomes (Carver-Thomas,
2018; Cherng & Halpin, 2016; Dee, 2004). This study set out to explore how mentors describe
their practices that support new teachers of color, and how they characterize their preparation
within the Summit Grove induction program to provide this support. The research questions that
guided this study were as follows:
1. What are the post preparation-program perceptions of White, secondary education
induction mentors in a medium-size CA school district in regard to their level of
preparation for supporting new teachers of color?
2. Following participation in a mentor preparation program, how do White induction
mentors in a medium-size CA school district characterize the practices they would use
to support new teachers of color in the secondary education classroom?
In dialogue with participants during the interview process, discussions of preparation
were often interwoven with discussions of practice. Because the two research questions are
linked in that preparation for mentoring should inform practice, this chapter has been organized
into two major themes: mentor characterization of preparation and support for all new teachers,
and mentor characterization of preparation and support specific to new teachers of color. It is
vital to note that these two themes are not mutually exclusive. New teachers of color benefit
from the general support essential for all new teachers, without which they might struggle in
their initial years. However, a new teacher of color also grapples with challenges related to race
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and racism that are absent for their White colleagues. These challenges potentially impact the
development of their teaching practice and decisions to stay within the teaching profession.
In this chapter, the discussion begins with mentoring support for all teachers and then
moves into mentoring support specific to new teachers of color. To facilitate a comprehensive
understanding, these overarching themes are further delineated into sub-themes. Within each
sub-theme, the discussion reviews mentoring practices as articulated by the mentors followed by
an examination of mentors’ perceptions of their preparedness in relation to these practices.
Mentor descriptions of their preparation are characterized into three broad categories: areas
identified as strengths, areas recognized as needing improvement, and areas eliciting mixed
perceptions among the mentors.
After examining the two major themes in mentor preparation and practice, the discussion
moves into an exploration of alignment between the content of mentor preparation as found in
the document analysis and the practices described by mentors. By integrating insights from
qualitative mentor interviews with the analysis of documents related to mentor preparation, a
more nuanced understanding of the intersection between preparation and practice highlights
strengths and gaps in the program that inform recommendations for practice. The discussion
culminates in offering strategic recommendations for enhancing mentor training programs and
suggests directions for future research.
Mentoring Supports for All Teachers
Mentoring supports for all teachers include the practices that enable a mentor to
effectively guide a new teacher in developing the practices and habits that lead to short and long
term improvements in their instruction. During the participant interviews, four key sub-themes
emerged that delineate the practices mentors employ to support all new teachers. These sub-
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themes are organized into the following categories: (a) creating effective relationships, (b)
developing teacher competency, (c) mentor reflection and stance, and (d) providing support
beyond the classroom. Each sub-theme is detailed in Table 13 which also includes, where
relevant, mentors’ perceptions of their preparedness in these specific areas as provided by their
training programs. Organizing the data in this manner showcases the breadth and depth of mentor
practices and their alignment with program preparation.
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Table 13
Mentor Practices and Preparation to Support All New Teachers
Sub-themes Described practices Preparation Perception of
preparation
Effective relationships Trust and emotional
support
Building trust; atmosphere
of non-judgement
Area of strength
Non-judgmental
environment
Establishing relationships Area of strength
Developing teacher
competency
Reflective questions Questioning strategies Area of strength
Feedback Feedback; non-evaluative Mixed opinions
Tools to inform
practice
Tools to inform practice;
observations
Mixed opinions
Knowledge of teacher
development
Applying knowledge of
teacher development
Mixed opinions
Facilitating difficult
conversations
Facilitating difficult
conversations
Area for growth
Mentor reflection and
disposition
Self-reflection Mentor reflection Area of strength
Mentor disposition
Selection of stance
Mentor stance Area of strength
Navigating the school
site
Connect to personnel/
resources
—
Adult communication —
Sense of belonging —
Note. For the section on navigating the school site, an em dash (—) denotes that the theme was
not present in preparation materials through the document analysis.
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Creating Effective Relationships
Mentor Practices for Creating Effective Relationships
The findings of this study indicate that mentors articulated numerous practices within the
domain of creating effective relationships. Mentors described emotional support through
practices that demonstrated a focus on empathy, understanding, and encouragement toward new
teachers (Clark & Byrnes, 2012; Hargreaves & Fullan, 2000; McDonald & Flint, 2015). Mentors
emphasized the significance of providing reliable and non-judgmental support, offering a safe
space for new teachers to express concerns and seek guidance without fear of being judged
negatively (Aspfors & Fransson, 2015; Lipton et al., 2017). They highlighted the importance of
being a confidant and fostering a sense of trust and honesty in the mentoring relationship. This is
key as mentoring is found to be most effective when new teachers can authentically bring their
challenges forward without fear of being judged or evaluated (Henning et al., 2015; Lejonberg et
al., 2015). Without a foundation of trust, mentors may find it challenging to provide effective
feedback and foster the reflective process critical for professional development (McDonald &
Flint, 2015). Additionally, teachers with very directive mentors may develop less competency
than teachers with mentors focused on supportive and collaborative relationships (Richter et al.,
2013).
Mentor Preparation for Creating Effective Relationships
The findings of the study illuminate a key aspect of mentor preparation: participants felt
well-equipped to initiate and nurture effective relationships with new teachers, recognizing this
as a pivotal strength in their training. The document analysis revealed an abundance of readings,
tools, and practical opportunities designed to bolster mentors’ competence in forging meaningful
connections with their mentees. Effective relationships form the foundation of mentorship
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interactions, enabling mentors to engage in meaningful dialogue that promotes reflection on
teaching practices to foster development (Aspfors & Fransson, 2015; Gardiner & Weisling,
2018). Mentors must work to establish trust, as mentees may hesitate to voice genuine concerns
without proactive mentor support (Achinstein & Athanases, 2006; Henning et al., 2015; Hong &
Matsko, 2019; Lipton et al., 2017). Even though the majority of mentors felt confident in their
relationship-building skills, a subset highlighted a nuanced challenge: the delicate balance
between fostering positive rapport and delivering constructive feedback essential for the
mentees’ professional growth. According to Gardiner and Weisling (2018) and Henning et al.
(2015), mentors occasionally struggle to provide feedback that stimulates reflective practice,
particularly when there is concern about the feedback being perceived as evaluative rather than
supportive. This dynamic emphasizes the complex interplay between relationship-building and
the critical task of developing reflective practitioners within mentoring relationships. Although
some mentors noted the challenges inherent in providing feedback, no study participants
expressed this as an area needing improvement in program preparation.
Developing Teacher Competency
Mentor Practices for Developing Teacher Competency
As previously noted, establishing a foundation of trust is crucial for new teachers to be
receptive and open to the feedback necessary for mentors to effectively assess a teacher’s
competence and guide their development of practice (Lipton et al., 2017; Moir, 2009). However,
when mentoring is limited to emotional support it fails to provide critical feedback for teacher
growth (Clark & Byrnes, 2012; Henning et al., 2015; McDonald & Flint, 2015). Mentors require
knowledge of teacher development and the ability to capture evidence of teaching practice in
order to provide feedback that leads to improved teacher competency (Gardiner & Weisling,
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2018; Moir, 2009; Odell & Ferraro, 1992; Stanulis & Ames, 2009). The mentor described
practices that foster teacher competency included the use of reflective questioning strategies,
providing constructive feedback, and tools to inform and guide teacher development based on
their assessed level of competence.
Participant responses indicated that they leveraged question stems and coaching phrases
from their preparation to prompt reflection and inquiry when they presented evidence to teachers.
They also used these stems to provide constructive feedback that balanced providing support
while initiating conversations to shift practice. Mentors shared specific tools they used to inform
and guide practice such as analyzing student work, co-developing formative assessment tools to
pinpoint areas needing intervention, and conducting classroom observations to discuss the impact
of instructional practice. Such activities are essential for helping inexperienced teachers
transform into effective classroom instructors (Achinstein & Athanases, 2006; Clark & Byrnes,
2012; Henning et al., 2015; Hong & Matsko, 2019; Lipton et al., 2017; Odell & Ferraro, 1992).
Participants also described tools used to create opportunities for new teachers to learn from
experienced colleagues, such as co-observing experienced teachers and creating opportunities for
supportive collaboration. This practice is supported by Clark and Byrnes (2012) finding that
mentees report positive experiences with mentoring and induction programs when they have
opportunities to observe and learn from experienced teachers.
Mentors also described examples of how they tailor support to the developmental levels
of their teachers. They emphasized the importance of covering foundational skills before tackling
more advanced goals, ensuring that teachers are adequately prepared for the challenges they face.
This is in alignment with existing research that notes effective mentors are able to assess
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teacher’s competency and select mentoring strategies based on their developmental needs (Clark
& Byrnes, 2012; Lipton et al., 2017).
Mentor Preparation for Developing Teacher Competency
In characterizing program training related to the development of teacher competency,
mentors provided insights in the following areas: the selection and use of questioning strategies,
their ability to leverage knowledge of teacher development in their practice, the selection and use
of tools to guide and inform practice such as observation, and their ability to facilitate difficult
conversations to shift instruction.
Questioning Strategies. The study findings underscore that the majority of mentors
recognized their ability to utilize deliberate questioning strategies as a crucial and positive
component of their preparation, highlighting their readiness to implement methods specifically
tailored to support new teachers. These mentors reported being well-equipped with a variety of
questioning techniques, coaching stems, and mentor stances. The stance that mentors adopt plays
a pivotal role in shaping the nature of the questions they pose to novices, influencing how these
inquiries facilitate reflection. Proficient use of questioning strategies is crucial as it catalyzes
deeper reflection on feedback, practice, and professional growth, thereby enriching the
mentorship experience for novice teachers (Henning et al., 2015; Kent et al., 2012; Parker et al.,
2021).
Participants noted having abundant opportunities to refine these skills in their training
program through role-play scenarios and consultancy protocols. References to stance and
questioning strategies were prevalent in nearly half of the documents analyzed, congruent with
mentor perceptions of preparedness. This alignment between mentor-described practice and the
frequent references to questioning strategies and mentor stances in the documentation analyzed
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affirms the alignment between perceived preparedness and training content. However, a small
group of participants who saw room for improvement in this area pointed out the difficulties in
delivering constructive feedback that avoids the perception of judgment. This issue echoes the
challenges identified in cultivating effective mentor-mentee relationships.
Knowledge of Teacher Development. Mentors play a crucial role in nurturing the
growth of new teachers by leveraging their deep understanding of teacher development stages to
select and apply effective support strategies. Clark and Byrnes (2012) highlight the necessity for
mentors to be proficient in recognizing the developmental stages of teachers to appropriately
tailor mentoring support. While some mentors in the study felt well-prepared in this aspect,
others identified it as an area needing enhancement. Those seeking improvement called for more
nuanced strategies to differentiate support between novice and experienced teachers, along with a
need for additional tools to assist new teachers effectively.
This divergence suggests that while mentors have a conceptual grasp of teacher
development, they may lack the procedural knowledge essential for choosing and implementing
suitable strategies based on a teacher’s developmental stage. Those who viewed their preparation
positively cited exposure to diverse strategies and inputs as beneficial for supporting teacher
development. Lipton et al. (2017) stress the importance of mentors having a deep understanding
of teacher development theories to inform their support practices effectively, while Odell (1992)
underscores the role of mentors in providing differentiated support based on individual teacher
needs and preferences. Moreover, Hong and Matsko (2019) highlight the significance of mentors
using their knowledge of teacher development to create tailored support plans.
Knowledge of teacher development was well represented in the documents,
encompassing theoretical inputs, recommendations for questioning strategies and stances, as well
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as guidance for the collaborative development of learning goals and growth plans with new
teachers. However, the contrast between the focus on teacher development in the documentation
and the mixed perceptions of mentor preparedness highlights a potential gap that warrants further
exploration. This discrepancy may be linked to the finding that mentors require an enhanced
understanding of the application and purpose of observation tools.
Tools to Inform and Guide Practice. Mentoring tools, such as those used to conduct
classroom observations or collect other evidence of teacher practice, play an indispensable role
in mentor practices, facilitating the professional development of both mentors and mentees (Kent
et al., 2012; Koballa et al., 2010; Stanulis & Brondyk, 2013). Some participants noted their
familiarity with an extensive range of observation tools, appreciating the diverse options
available to facilitate teacher development. Others recognized exposure to additional tools, such
as student work analysis protocols, that enabled them to have deeply informed conversations
with new teachers about their practice. However, some expressed a desire for more detailed
guidance on selecting tools that align with the specific needs of teachers. It is noteworthy that
while the document analysis identified multiple references to various mentoring tools and their
intended purposes, these references often lacked depth, and there were insufficient opportunities
for mentors to practice applying these tools in real contexts. Gardiner and Weisling (2018) stress
the necessity for mentors to possess a diverse array of data collection tools to adequately support
their mentees. They argue that simply having access to these tools is insufficient; mentors must
also receive thorough training in their selection and application. Proper training equips mentors
with the essential skills to collect pertinent data in a focused manner, thereby enriching the
quality and impact of their mentorship.
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Facilitating Difficult Conversations. The ability of mentors to effectively facilitate
difficult conversations is pivotal to the success of mentorship programs. Drawing on insights
from Ginkel et al. (2021) and Parker et al. (2021), mentors play an essential role in guiding new
teachers through complex dialogues that catalyze reflection and drive transformation in
instructional practices. However, the study revealed a significant challenge: mentors often felt
inadequately prepared to engage in these challenging discussions. Although several participants
acknowledged training in this area, they also expressed a need for further practice. This need for
further skill development is underscored by an analysis of training materials, where references to
difficult conversations appear in only nine documents. This frequency is lower when compared
to document instances referring to teacher development or tools like those used in observation,
indicating a potential gap in mentor preparation for managing these interactions. The challenges
associated with facilitating difficult conversations have been documented in the existing
literature, as mentors frequently contend with the delicate task of providing critical feedback
without evoking feelings of judgment (Gardiner & Weisling, 2018; Henning et al., 2015).
Mentor Reflection, Disposition, and Stance
Mentor Practices of Reflection and Selection of Stance
Mentors’ reflection cultivates self-awareness and intention around their disposition,
which significantly influences their ability to effectively support new teachers. The study
findings show that mentors engaged in self-reflection and adopted specific dispositions, or
stances, to guide new teachers’ learning and growth. These include a heightened self-awareness,
the intentional creation of confidential spaces, adopting a non-evaluative stance, maintaining
curiosity and openness to new ideas, and focusing on teacher well-being. These elements shape
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not only the mentors’ approach but also significantly affect the developmental trajectory of new
teachers.
Most participants demonstrated a profound self-awareness, actively reflecting on their
own beliefs, biases, and mindsets. This practice was characterized by mentor reflection on how
the assumptions they might hold about teaching and teachers could impact the stance they adopt
as a mentor. Self-reflection is not only a practice but also a precursor to recognizing how one’s
identity and personal experiences shape beliefs about teaching and learning (Achinstein, 2012;
Byars-Winston et al., 2023). Mentors who practice self-reflection are more likely to foster a
mentoring relationship that promotes an in-depth understanding and exploration of teaching as a
reflective practice (Parker et al., 2021). Mentors who engage in regular self-reflection tend to
adopt less evaluative and less directive approaches. This is critical because an overly evaluative
or directive mentor stance can stifle a teacher’s reflection on their practice and impede their
growth (Lejonberg et al., 2015; Parker et al., 2021).
In their responses, participants also demonstrated a commitment to non-evaluative
mentoring by creating safe-to-fail environments emphasizing the mentor’s role as a supporter
rather than an evaluator. These stances reflect the practice that effective mentoring should be free
of judgment and evaluation to foster effective learning (Aspfors & Fransson, 2015; Gardiner &
Weisling, 2018; Henning et al., 2015; Hong & Matsko, 2019; Lipton et al., 2017). Additionally,
most mentors described their approach to working with new teachers as being open to new ideas,
expressing curiosity about their experiences, and listening carefully to what new teachers have to
share. Adopting this disposition or stance in mentoring is important as mentors are found to be
more effective when they are open to new ideas and make time to listen to the needs and
concerns of new teachers (Parker et al., 2021).
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By focusing on the success and well-being of new teachers, mentors underscore the
importance of holistic support. Examples of mentor described practices in this area included
making space for new teachers to express their feelings, celebrating their accomplishments, and
focusing on what the new teacher needs as support in the moment. This approach recognizes that
teaching effectiveness is intricately connected to personal well-being, positioning mentors as
crucial in fostering both aspects. The study findings illustrate mentors’ commitment to the
success of new teachers, as seen in their genuine concern for the teachers’ well-being (Lipton et
al., 2017). Moreover, mentors actively facilitate opportunities for teachers to discover creativity
and inspiration within their roles. A disposition of caring, paired with strategies for building
trusting relationships, equips teachers to successfully navigate periods of self-doubt and
professional challenges (Clark & Byrnes, 2012). Additionally, nurturing creativity can lead to
both greater job satisfaction and success in teaching (Pishghadam et al., 2012; Tan & Majid,
2011).
Mentor Preparation to Reflect on Mentoring
Self-reflection enables mentors to critically assess and refine their stance, ensuring it
aligns with the needs of their mentees and the goals of the induction mentorship. By reflecting on
their assumptions, beliefs, and biases, mentors can adjust their approach to be more empathetic,
supportive, and effective. This reflective practice is not only foundational in establishing a nonjudgmental and supportive environment but also crucial in enabling mentors to provide
constructive feedback and encouragement.
All mentors acknowledged the value of reflection on their practice and noted multiple
embedded structures and opportunities to engage in reflection within the program. This is
supported by the prevalence of mentor reflection prompts in mentor training documents. While
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all mentors valued the reflection component and noted its prevalence in their preparation, some
identified a personal need to prioritize reflection more consistently in their practices. This
suggests that the challenge lies not in the preparation itself, but in the application of reflection
practices by the mentors. Research supports the pivotal role of mentor reflection in fostering
effective mentor-mentee relationships and supporting the growth of new teachers. Parker et al.
(2021) advocate for mentors to engage in reflection on their mentor practices to effectively
scaffold mentees’ reflection on teaching practices. Furthermore, Lopez-Real and Kwan (2005)
point out that mentors who actively reflect on their teaching approaches are better equipped to
articulate educational concepts and provide targeted feedback to mentees. Mentor reflection is
deemed essential for effective mentorship, enabling mentors to continually refine their practices,
support mentees’ growth, and contribute to the overall improvement of teaching and learning
outcomes.
Navigating the School Site
Mentor Practices to Support Navigating the School Site
Mentors play a transformative role that extends beyond the confines of classroom
instruction, effectively navigating the broader school site context to bolster new teachers’
success. Practices described in the findings encompass a broad toolkit of supportive measures
that facilitate new teachers’ integration into the complex dynamics of school sites. In order to
effectively provide this support mentors must conceptualize their role as one that goes beyond
the technical aspects of teaching and extends outside of the classroom (Achinstein, 2006;
Hargreaves & Fullan, 2000). This includes navigating procedural aspects of the job as well as the
adult relationships and dynamics at the school site.
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The findings reveal that mentors assisted new teachers in navigating various aspects of
their role beyond classroom instruction, or as Nadine stated, “the non-teaching part of the job.”
Support characterized by mentors in this area focused on helping teachers with tasks not directly
related to teaching such as finding basic resources, knowing school procedures, understanding
department or professional learning community (PLC) dynamics, interacting with administrators,
and fostering a sense of belonging within the school site.
Mentors aided new teachers by addressing practical concerns, such as navigating school
procedures and finding resources within the school, linking them with supportive personnel, and
connecting them with access to key resources, all factors that impact teachers’ decisions to stay
in the profession (Coca et al., 2007; Podolsky et al., 2016; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004). Study
participants offered a diverse array of examples illustrating this type of support, from making
copies and locating parent contact information to composing parent emails, understanding the
correct procedure for maintenance requests, and making referrals for academic support services.
Mentors also described examples of facilitating discussions on the importance of
teamwork and creativity within department or PLC settings, providing guidance on professional
communication with other adults and advocating for teachers when necessary by leveraging their
professional relationships at the school site (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2000). This was illustrated by
mentor strategies such as offering teachers potential questions or frameworks to initiate difficult
conversations with their department and providing historical context on certain initiatives to help
them gain a broader perspective. Furthermore, mentors served as intermediaries between
teachers and administrators, helping new teachers understand leadership dynamics and
effectively communicate their needs to school leadership. This speaks to the importance of
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mentors in having positive relationships with administrators to ensure that the teachers’ growth
goals are met as well as to clarify administrator expectations (Gardiner & Weisling, 2018).
Mentors also prioritized creating a welcoming environment and fostering connections
among teachers, contributing to a sense of belonging within the school community. Mentors
described stopping by classrooms to say hello, sitting with mentees during faculty meetings,
hosting new teacher lunches, and inviting them to social events. Mentor practices that support
teachers’sense of belonging at the school site can improve teacher retention through job
satisfaction and fostering collegial collaboration (Coca et al., 2007; Ginsberg & Budd, 2017;
McDonald & Flint, 2015).
Mentor Preparation for Navigating the School Site
Although all interviewees frequently discussed their practices of supporting new teachers
beyond the classroom, it is notable that this theme was absent from the program preparation
materials. This gap indicates a significant potential deficiency in the mentor preparation
program. By not providing specific preparation in this area, mentors may be left without the
necessary resources and guidance to effectively and systematically implement these crucial
support strategies.
Mentoring Supports for New Teachers of Color
New teachers of color often face unique challenges that require specialized support
beyond the general development needs of all educators. These challenges necessitate that
mentors understand their own racial identity and recognize how racism operates within
educational contexts. Through this awareness, mentors can more effectively support new
teachers of color, navigating their interactions to create a supportive environment that
acknowledges and addresses systemic barriers (Achinstein, 2012). Furthermore, understanding
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how racism manifests in education environments is essential for mentors to navigate these
pervasive issues with their mentees, enhancing the professional experiences for teachers of color
(Ginsberg & Budd, 2017; Caven et al., 2021).
Mentors must actively validate and honor the lived experiences of teachers of color,
appreciating the unique insights and strengths they bring to the education profession. Validation
is a cornerstone of culturally responsive mentorship, which aims to forge an inclusive and
affirming atmosphere for novice educators (Dingus, 2008; Achinstein, 2012). Culturally
responsive mentorship is characterized by the establishment of trusting relationships that foster
open discussions about race, utilize teachers’ cultural and linguistic assets, and empower them to
confront and overcome racial inequities within their school environments (Achinstein, 2012;
Kohli & Pizarro, 2016). Through these intentional practices, mentors not only bolster the
professional growth and retention of teachers of color but also enhance the learning experiences
of all students, cultivating a richer, more diverse educational environment. Each sub-theme for
mentoring supports for new teachers of color is outlined in Table 14. Table 14 includes, where
relevant, mentors’ perceptions of their preparedness in these specific areas as provided by their
training programs.
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Table 14
Mentor Practices and Preparation to Support New Teachers of Color
Sub-themes Practices Perceptions of
preparation
Mentor racial identity
development
Racial self-awareness Area for improvement
Impact of race on mentoring Area for improvement
Validating experiences
of teachers of color
Account for diverse experiences Mixed opinions
Recognize the impact of racism Mixed opinions
Safe space for shared experiences,
stories, challenges
Mixed opinions
Racism in education
context
Recognizing challenges Area for improvement
Negotiating Area for improvement
Networking Area for improvement
Advocating Area for improvement
Culturally responsive
mentoring
Empowering new teachers of color Area for improvement
Mindful of personal biases and
assumptions
Area for improvement
Embrace different perspectives Area for improvement
Mentor Racial Identity Development
Mentor Practices for Racial Identity Development
Mentors who are self-aware and self-reflective, and who care about the success of their
teachers, enhance their support for new teachers of color when they incorporate an understanding
of their own racial identity and its implications into their mentoring work. Mentors aware of the
specific obstacles teachers of color encounter operate from a stance of openness, curiosity, and
non-judgment, deliberately connecting them with professional growth opportunities (Kohli &
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Pizarro, 2016; Achinstein et al., 2010). Drawing upon critical race theory and connecting to the
conceptual framework, this requires an ability to challenge dominant perspectives. In doing so,
mentors engage in critically examining assumptions made about individuals and communities of
color (Solórzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001).
Educators need opportunities to reflect upon their social and racial identities and
“examine the ways being educated in a racist society affects their own knowledge and their
beliefs about themselves and culturally diverse others” (King, 1991, p. 143). Without this
reflection, mentors cannot effectively challenge the status quo, understand the experiences of
teachers of color, or support them in navigating their identities and challenges within racialized
institutions such as education (Achinstein, 2012; Kohli, 2014; Utt & Tochluk, 2020).
All mentors demonstrated a degree of racial self-awareness and recognized the
importance of considering racial identity in their mentoring work. Participant responses included
reflections on the potential impact of being a White mentor for a teacher of color and described
approaches that focused on understanding, empathy, and sensitivity. However, they expressed
uncertainty regarding their ability to recognize the challenges or microaggressions experienced
by new teachers of color. These admissions underscore the ongoing necessity for mentors to
receive education in cultural humility, or an awareness of the impact of racial and ethnic identity
on power and privilege and its impact on mentoring dynamics (Anderson & Sánchez, 2022).
Mentor preparation incorporating these elements can enhance mentors’ confidence in assisting
mentees in navigating challenges of race and racism which in turn improves mentees’
perceptions of mentoring support (Byars-Winston et al., 2023).
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Mentor Preparation to Guide Racial Identity Development
While almost all participants demonstrated varying levels of racial self-awareness in their
mentoring practice, none viewed mentor racial identity development as a positive aspect of their
preparation. This was expressed as uncertainty about mentoring teachers of color and supporting
them through the potential challenges, coupled with concerns about how being a White mentor
might influence their mentoring strategies or stance. Without reflection and self-awareness,
mentors are unable to effectively challenge the status quo or support educators of color in
understanding and navigating their identities within the educational setting (Achinstein, 2012).
Documents referencing mentor racial identity development included activities that
connected mentor learning to the district’s racial equity mission, readings that emphasized the
importance of understanding racial identity, exploring identity markers, and practicing identityfocused conversations with peers during coaching sessions. However, compared to the
abundance of documents supporting areas such as effective relationship development and general
mentoring strategies, this is an area with significantly less attention. The lack of recognition of
mentor racial identity development as a positive aspect of preparation, along with fewer
instances of this area in mentor preparation documents, underscores the need for enhanced focus,
training, and awareness in this area. This discrepancy not only highlights the necessity for an
intensified emphasis on racial identity in mentorship but also signals a broader requirement for
further training and heightened awareness within Summit Grove’s mentor preparation program.
Validating Teacher’s Experiences and Knowing Them As Learners
Mentor Practices for Valuing Teacher’s Experiences
For teachers of color, trusting relationships and tools to support teacher development
must be augmented by mentor practices that value and account for their perspectives and
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experiences. A White mentor who is not critically self-aware of their racial identity and own
experiences may cause harm through assumptions or biases. As noted by McCoy et al. (2015),
research on student mentoring in higher education emphasizes the potential pitfalls of colorblind
mentoring, where mentors fail to acknowledge or consider race in their practice (Bonilla-Silva,
2015). This approach can inadvertently perpetuate assumptions that students of color should
abandon their cultural backgrounds to assimilate into the dominant culture, overlook the role of
social and educational inequities in contributing to knowledge gaps among students, and make
unwarranted assumptions about their aspirations for academic advancement. Within critical race
theory (CRT) and in connection to the conceptual framework, valuing experiential knowledge
involves centering and valuing the experiential knowledge of individuals of color concerning
their experiences with racism and oppression (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002, 2001).
Validating teachers’ experiences and understanding them as learners involves several
considerations. Adult learners require assurance that their experiences are considered when
planning or preparing for their learning (Knowles et al., 2020). This principle extends to teachers
of color, whose cultural, linguistic, and educational backgrounds may differ from their mentors
(Achinstein, 2012). In this context, emotional support takes on a nuanced role; building trust and
providing emotional support includes creating conditions for teachers of color to feel validated in
their experiences and heard when they express race-related challenges (Han & Onchwari, 2018).
Accordingly, mentors should create a supportive environment where the stories of teachers of
color are shared and validated (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002, 2001), and work with their mentees to
draw these experiences into their teaching (Burciaga & Kohli, 2018). Mentors must understand
that new teachers of color have developed navigational and resistance capital through navigating
educational spaces and institutions that were not designed for them (Burciaga & Kohli, 2018;
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Yosso, 2005), and come into teaching often with the desire to create positive educational
experiences for students who have been historically underserved by education (Burciaga &
Kohli, 2018; Kohli & Pizarro, 2016).
Mentor interview responses described how they perceived the impact of racism on new
teachers of color and their approaches to validating experience. Eight participants provided
poignant examples of how they recognized isolation and exhaustion among new teachers of
color. These mentors attributed such isolation to the loneliness of being one of the few, or
perhaps the only, members of their identity group on the campus. They noted the lack of a
supportive system and the absence of backing for their ideas among colleagues, which
compounded these feelings of solitude. Examples of exhaustion included narratives where
teachers felt invisible and unheard, despite their persistent efforts to voice concerns, or their
continual need to counteract microaggressions from others. Teachers of color without colleagues
who share their racial or cultural background frequently feel a greater sense of isolation than
other new teachers (Bristol, 2020; Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). Furthermore, the accumulation of
these racial microaggressions and stressors can lead to significant psychological stress,
manifesting as pervasive fatigue or exhaustion (Smith & Franklin, 2011), severely impacting
their mental health and overall stamina in the profession.
All participants clearly articulated strategies aimed at validating and enriching the
experiences of new teachers of color. These strategies encompassed the creation of safe spaces,
carefully designed to welcome and honor the diverse perspectives and narratives of educators of
color. Many mentors employed techniques such as sharing personal interests, delving into core
values, and cultivating a non-judgmental atmosphere, which allowed teachers of color to openly
discuss their unique challenges and experiences. When mentors genuinely appreciate and
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embrace cultural and racial diversity, they lay the foundation for an inclusive environment that
deeply respects the varied experiences of all educators (Kent et al., 2013). By placing the lived
experiences of people of color at the heart of mentorship, these relationships become powerful
conduits for affirming and valuing diverse perspectives within the education profession and
instructional practice (Vargas et al., 2021).
Mentor Preparation to Value Teacher Experience
Participant interviews illuminated a range of perceptions regarding the adequacy of
preparation for supporting new teachers of color, particularly in recognizing and valuing these
teachers’ unique experiences and understanding them as learners. Among the mentors who
reported positive experiences with their training, many emphasized their utilization of specific
tools provided in their preparation materials to gain insight into the identities and perspectives of
the teachers they mentored. They described a methodical integration of these practices into their
coaching sessions, initially honing their skills with trusted colleagues before applying them in
interactions with new teachers. This deliberate approach allowed for thoughtful discussions on
race and racism, where mentors not only explored their own identities but also actively supported
new teachers in doing the same, creating a dynamic and reflective mentoring environment
(Achinstein, 2012; Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). Mentor preparation documents mirrored this theme,
with workshops providing resources and activities designed to introduce mentors to discussions
on race and racial identity, enhancing their capability to engage with these critical issues.
Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that these vital practices occurred less frequently in the training
documents compared to more general mentoring strategies that addressed the broader needs of
new teachers.
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Participants who recognized a need for further training described the complexities of
supporting teachers of color, candidly acknowledging the feelings of isolation and frustration
experienced by their mentees. They also critically examined their effectiveness as White mentors
in providing empathetic and culturally competent support. These mentors articulated a need for
enhanced training to establish stronger connections with teachers from diverse racial
backgrounds and to navigate discussions about identity with greater sensitivity and
understanding. They advocated for integrating the perspectives of new teachers of color to
inform and refine their mentoring approaches. This recognition highlights the pivotal role of
understanding diverse experiences and calls attention to the transformative power of individual
stories and counter-narratives in challenging dominant narratives (McCoy et al., 2015; Solórzano
& Yosso, 2002).
Racism in the Education Context
Mentor Practices for Addressing Racism in the Education Context
Drawing upon CRT, the normalization and integration of racism within institutional
structures, such as education systems, perpetuate a status quo that favors White dominant
ideology and safeguards White privilege (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). Within education, this
dynamic is manifested through discourses of meritocracy, color neutrality, low teacher
expectations for students of color, and practices such as academic tracking (Solórzano & Yosso,
2002). As illustrated in the conceptual framework in Figure 1, mentors need to recognize how
institutional racism is embedded within teacher preparation programs (Sleeter, 1992), as their
role involves providing training that is directly linked to these institutional contexts.
When mentors expand their role to encompass support that moves beyond the confines of
the classroom, and they understand the racial contexts of education within the school site, they
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are uniquely positioned to deliver intentional, impactful support to teachers of color. Within this
study, most participants were able to articulate challenges and describe supportive practices for
new teachers of color. Participants’ descriptions of practices supporting new teachers of color at
the school site fell into four main categories: (a) recognizing challenges, (b) negotiating, (c)
networking, and (d) advocacy.
Recognizing Challenges. Participants in the study identified two significant challenges
encountered by new teachers of color. First, they observed that the actions of these teachers were
often misinterpreted by colleagues. For example, behaviors such as delayed email responses or
uncertainties about requesting specific resources were sometimes mistakenly perceived as
disrespectful or unprofessional. However, mentors recognized that these misinterpretations were
primarily due to the new teachers’ lack of familiarity with the school’s established protocols or
unspoken rules. This disconnect in understanding institutional norms presents substantial
challenges for new teachers of color, complicating their integration into the school environment
(Achinstein, 2006, 2012).
Mentors also highlighted another significant challenge: new teachers of color often feel
marginalized and ignored when they raise their concerns. These teachers are particularly
vulnerable, not only due to their racial background but also because of their probationary or
temporary employment status. This vulnerability makes them hesitant to draw attention to
themselves, and they frequently report experiencing differential treatment rooted in racial bias
(Kohli, 2009; Kohli & Pizarro, 2016). In predominantly White educational settings, their
contributions are often met with skepticism, effectively silencing their voices.
Mentor comments also indicated uncertainty about the role of race in some of the
challenges they observed. They speculated if challenges could also be attributed to age, gender,
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or other aspects of the teacher’s identity. This recognition underscores the intricate nature of
racialized experiences within educational environments, whether they are rooted in racial bias or
potentially intersect with other forms of discrimination (Collins, 2015).
Negotiating. Mentors elaborated on a range of strategic approaches they employ to
support new teachers of color in navigating departmental challenges through negotiation and
compromise. Within the findings, some mentors characterized this as providing the mentee with
language or questions they might use to foster constructive dialogue with colleagues regarding
the inclusion of materials that held significance for them. Other mentors characterized this as
finding flexibility within department guidelines or compromising with department members to
balance the new teacher’s desires and department expectations. These strategies highlight the
mentors’ commitment to affirming the unique practices of new teachers of color, mindful of the
pressures these educators face to adapt to prevailing norms and education standards (Ginsberg &
Budd, 2017). Additionally, mentors demonstrated a pragmatic approach by recognizing the
importance of validating the new teachers’ experiences while acknowledging the broader
political context and potential repercussions, such as gaining permanent employee status
(Achinstein, 2006).
Networking. The findings revealed that a majority of participants employed networking
strategies to assist new teachers of color in overcoming challenges. Networking, in this context,
involves leveraging a supportive infrastructure of relationships and resources within the school
site context. Participants detailed how they leveraged their networks with instructional coaches
and other school personnel to gain access to necessary resources. Additionally, they actively
questioned administrators and initiated discussions with colleagues, aiming to shift perceptions
and interpretations regarding the performance of teachers of color. Achinstein (2006) defines this
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strategic maneuvering as “the capacity to negotiate problematic situations, primarily through
communication, developing strong relationships with key players, becoming respected at the site,
and marshaling resources” (p. 127).
Additionally, mentors described the potential to foster support networks by connecting
new teachers of color with peers on campus and identifying affinity spaces where these educators
could meet others with similar experiences. These networking initiatives are invaluable as they
equip new teachers of color with platforms for engaging in supportive dialogues and exchanging
strategies with peers who have navigated similar systemic obstacles within the school site
context (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017; Pour-Khorshid, 2018). This strategy not only enhances
professional growth but also cultivates a sense of community and belonging among educators of
color, enriching their teaching experience and reinforcing their professional identities.
Advocating. Some mentors provided examples that demonstrated ways in which they
advocated directly for new teachers of color. Advocacy, in this context, involves mentors taking
proactive measures to address and reform both the systemic and interpersonal challenges that
emerge due to the racial dynamics within the school site. Unlike negotiation and networking,
which focus on finding compromises and connecting new teachers with resources, advocacy
centers on actively addressing harm and disrupting harmful discourses to ensure that new
teachers receive the support necessary for their well-being and professional development.
Participant examples of advocacy illustrated how they have engaged, or might engage, directly
with departmental dynamics, professional learning communities (PLCs), and administrative
challenges to support their mentees. Some mentors described the potential to participate in PLC
meetings to facilitate productive discussions and prevent new teachers from being marginalized
or silenced. Another example provided was a mentor who escalated concerns directly to the
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principal, bypassing an assistant principal to correct a negative narrative about a mentee. These
actions underscore the mentor’s commitment to actively challenging and changing the conditions
that affect new teachers of color.
Connecting to the conceptual framework, mentor practices that support teachers in
navigating the school site context are transformed into support for new teachers of color when
applied through the lens of critical race theory. When racism is seen as “ordinary and not
aberrational,” mentors are positioned to identify and validate teachers of color’s experiences with
racism and microaggressions (Delgado & Stefancic, 2023, p. 7). Deitch et al. (2003) describe
these experiences as subtle, covert encounters of discrimination and stereotyping that occur
regularly, are challenging to attribute directly to race, and cumulatively impact the well-being of
an individual of color.
Mentor Preparation to Understand Racism in Education Context
Several participants in the study reflected on their understanding of racism within the
educational context. However, none of the interviews indicated that their mentor preparation in
this area was perceived positively. All participants who discussed their preparation to understand
racism in education identified it as an area needing significant improvement. Their reflections
emphasized the critical importance of mentors possessing theoretical knowledge of
microaggressions, comprehending racial dynamics, and navigating the invisible or unspoken
rules at school sites that impact teaching (Achinstein, 2006, 2012).
The documents with references to understanding racism in the education context focused
on understanding the role of race and racial inequality in education and other institutions, as well
as exploring White supremacy culture and intersections in coaching work. As with other
documents focusing on supporting new teachers of color, there were fewer instances of mentor
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preparation content focusing on this topic as compared with documents that support new teacher
support in the areas of support for all teachers. This supports mentor’s perceptions of a need to
improve their preparation in this area, as mentors can play a crucial role in supporting new
teachers of color by understanding the historical roots of racism within education systems and
how inequities based on race are perpetuated in schools (Achinstein, 2006, 2012; Sleeter, 1992,
2017).
Culturally Responsive Mentorship
Mentor Practices for Culturally Responsive Mentorship
When mentor preparation expands upon foundational practices for new teachers to
include preparation on racial identity development, validating teachers’ experiences, and
understanding racism in the education context, mentors become equipped to offer culturally
responsive mentoring to more fully support teachers of color. In connection to the conceptual
framework and CRT, this requires a commitment to social justice by transforming the
experiences of both students and educators of color through the disruption of deficit narratives
and practices that marginalize and oppress communities of color (Burciaga & Kohli, 2018;
Solórzano & Bernal, 2001; Yosso, 2005).
Within the context of culturally responsive mentoring, findings from mentor interviews
can be categorized into two main areas: how mentors conceptualized culturally responsive
mentoring and the specific practices they identified as culturally responsive. Mentors’
conceptions of culturally responsive mentoring included centering culture in conversations,
extending the concept of culturally responsive teaching to mentoring, and prioritizing
relationship-building. As noted by one participant, attaining exhaustive knowledge about a
culture poses challenges and risks oversimplification (Howard, 2003). Mentors should center
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culture and cultural diversity in their conversations while considering the diverse backgrounds
and perspectives of their mentees (Kent et al., 2013; Pfund et al., 2022). Participants also
conceptualized culturally responsive mentoring as being rooted in strong relationships with
teachers to build collaborative partnerships and embrace different perspectives. Centering the
experiences of teachers of color in the mentoring relationship is necessary to provide validation
and affirm their practices (Achinstein, 2012; Vargas et al., 2021).
When describing culturally responsive mentoring practices, most mentors characterized
this as support and empowerment of new teachers of color while being mindful of personal
assumptions and biases. Culturally responsive mentoring includes creating the conditions for
teachers of color to empower them in self-advocacy, as well as celebrating their assets and
accomplishments (Achinstein, 2006, 2012; Han & Onchwari, 2018). It requires that mentors
understand the challenges new teachers of color face, the ability to critically reflect on their own
biases (Howard, 2003), and the ability to provide more than emotional support (Henning et al.,
2015).
Mentor Preparation to Inform Culturally Responsive Mentorship
Expanding on Khalifa et al. (2016) framework for culturally responsive school
leadership, culturally responsive mentoring refers to a mentor’s ability to understand how
cultural backgrounds influence perceptions of race and racism, as well as recognizing the
historical and systemic dynamics of privilege related to race and language identity. While there
were documents addressing other aspects of mentor preparation to support teachers of color, such
as racial identity development and understanding racism in education, the concept of culturally
responsive mentorship was not evident in the analyzed documents, indicating a significant gap in
mentor preparation. Despite the lack of preparation materials, mentors were able to provide
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different conceptualizations of culturally responsive mentoring and provide suggestions for
mentor preparation. Suggestions included shifting scenarios to focus on teachers of color,
incorporating role-playing exercises, and centering the voices of teachers of color in mentor
practice.
Alignment of Preparation to Practice
In combining the findings for both research questions, it is worth comparing mentor
preparation content and mentor-described practices to identify gaps that inform program design
for mentor training and illuminate areas for additional research consideration. In this section, the
following alignment categories between mentor preparation and practice will be examined: (a)
the practice is both present in mentor preparation and described in mentor interviews, (b) the
practice is present in mentor preparation but is not described in interviews, (c) the practice is not
present in mentor preparation but is described by mentors in their interviews, and (d) practices
are neither in preparation nor described in interviews. Each category will be broken down into
three areas of consideration: (a) practices that support all teachers, (b) practices that support
teachers of color, and (c) practices where the benefit is uncertain. Practices that support all new
teachers refer to those considered beneficial to all as noted in the literature review and described
in the findings. Practices that support new teachers of color refer to those noted in the research
and findings as of specific benefit to new teachers of color. Uncertain practices are placed in this
category when it is questionable whether the practice is beneficial as described, either because
the theoretical framework indicates critical examination of the practice, or the practice was not
described in a way that indicates it was implemented with supportive intention. Table 15
provides a summary of these alignment parameters and findings.
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Table 15
Findings for Alignment of Preparation Content to Mentor Described Practices
Location Supportive mentoring practices based on existing research
Supportive for all new
teachers
Supportive for new
teachers of color
Uncertain
Present in
preparation
and described
practice
Developing teacher
competency
Mentor reflection
Creating effective
relationships
Heightened awareness of
racism
Considering racial
identity in coaching
Valuing experiences
Learning from
experienced
teachers
Limiting mentorship
to emotional
support
Present in
preparation
and not in
described
practice
Teaching standards
Planning conversations
Mentoring the mentor
None, but all areas
indicated a need for
additional preparation
Program logistics
candidate feedback
Not present in
preparation,
but described
in practice
Support beyond the
classroom
Fostering sense of
belonging
Concern for mentees
success
Navigate racism and
provide support at the
school site
Networks of support
Advocating with key
personnel
Negotiation
Protecting the job
External learning
Relegating support to
affinity groups
Curiosity that becomes
a burden.
Not present in
preparation
and not
described in
practice
Application of
observation tools
Supporting across
subject areas
Supporting new versus
experienced
teachers
Understanding
microaggressions
Hearing from teachers of
color
Potential harms from
mentor
Culturally responsive
practices
Unknowable
Note. Supportive for all teachers indicates that the practice is supportive for new teachers and for
new teachers of color, based on existing literature. Supportive for new teachers of color indicates
that the practice is specifically supportive for new teachers of color, based on existing literature.
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Uncertain indicates that the benefit of the practice is uncertain and requires further investigation,
based on research that informs the theoretical and conceptual frameworks.
Practice Present in Mentor Preparation and Described in Mentor Interviews
Practices That Support All New Teachers
Practices mentors described in support of all teachers that were present in the preparation
documents included: (a) strategies to develop teacher competency, (b) mentor reflection, and (c)
the creation of effective mentoring relationships. These categories were well represented in both
the preparation documents and interviews.
Within mentoring strategies for developing teacher competence, mentors reported feeling
well-prepared to select appropriate stances that informed questioning strategies, and least
prepared to facilitate difficult conversations. Mentors requested more support in the areas of
providing critical but non-evaluative feedback, as well as additional practice in facilitating
difficult conversations. Ginkel et al. (2016) and Parker et al. (2021) highlight the crucial role of
mentors in facilitating difficult conversations with new teachers to shift practice, though
Gardiner and Weisling (2018) and Henning et al. (2015) note the challenges mentors face in
delivering feedback that fosters reflection without causing feelings of judgment.
Mentor reflection and creating effective relationships were a perceived area of strength in
mentor preparation. Aspfors and Fransson (2015) and Gardiner and Weisling (2018) note that
effective relationships are the foundation upon which mentors can engage teachers in reflection
on practice for growth. Parker et al. (2021) and Lopez-Real and Kwan (2005) both emphasize the
importance of mentors reflecting on their teaching practices to improve their guidance and
feedback for new teachers.
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Practices That Support New Teachers of Color
Practices that mentors described in support of new teachers of color included the
following: (a) mentors’ heightened awareness of the role of racism in conversations and
challenges faced by new teachers of color, (b) mentors considering their racial identity in their
coaching work, and (c) practices to support teachers in fostering authentic identities. Participant
reflections and comments indicated these were emerging practices, and identified these as areas
needing additional preparation and support. There were fewer preparation documents addressing
these topics than there were those addressing practices to support all new teachers.
Mentors need heightened awareness of the role of racism in their mentoring
conversations to more effectively support the growth and reflection of teachers, particularly those
of color. As Lejonberg et al. (2015) and Parker et al. (2021) suggest, an evaluative and directive
mentoring approach can limit teacher reflection, which is crucial for recognizing how personal
identities and experiences shape educational beliefs (Achinstein, 2012; Byars-Winston et al.,
2023). Additionally, educators of color often face silencing when addressing issues of race and
equity (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016), and they may hesitate to connect with peers due to fear of being
labeled as troublemakers (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). Understanding the impact of racial
hierarchies on their own perceptions and the potential perpetuation of these biases in teaching
practices is vital (Kohli, 2014). Therefore, mentors must facilitate opportunities for all teachers,
especially those of color, to build self-awareness and engage in dialogues about internalized
racism, acknowledging that being a person of color does not automatically exempt one from
adopting perspectives that privilege White culture (Kohli, 2014).
Mentor racial identity development is crucial for effectively supporting new teachers of
color by fostering mentors’ awareness of how their racial and social positions influence their
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mentoring behaviors. With enhanced self-awareness, mentors can adopt a non-judgmental, open
approach, connecting teachers of color with tailored professional growth opportunities and
challenging systemic biases that affect their mentees (Achinstein, 2012; Achinstein et al., 2010;
Kohli & Pizarro, 2016; King, 1991; Solórzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001; Utt & Tochluk, 2020;
Vargas et al., 2021).
Mentors need to foster authentic identity development in their mentees of color by
centering and valuing their unique experiential knowledge of racism and oppression, recognizing
that this knowledge is legitimate and essential for engaging in social justice work (McGee &
Stovall, 2015; Solórzano & Yosso, 2001). This involves understanding the individual and
contextual nature of the racial experiences of their mentees, which vary significantly even among
those sharing similar identities (Delgado & Stefancic, 2023; Yosso, 2005). Additionally, mentors
must challenge educational norms that marginalize the diverse experiences and practices that
teachers of color bring to their classrooms, which are often overlooked or undervalued if they
conflict with dominant White norms and narratives in education settings (Burciaga & Kohli,
2018; Ginsberg & Budd, 2017).
Practices With Uncertain Benefits
There were no practices that were harmful as described by participants that were also
present in the mentor preparation documents. However, some practices have the potential to be
unhelpful or harmful if not applied using a critical lens. Practices that fit this category include:
(a) creating opportunities for mentees to learn from experienced teachers and (b) limiting
mentorship to emotional support. One mentor described a particular incident in which they sent a
new teacher of color to observe an experienced teacher who may not have been an appropriate
match. Although having teachers observe experienced teachers is generally considered a
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beneficial practice (Clark & Byrnes, 2012), experienced teachers may hold particular or outdated
views of teaching that are not beneficial to the development of new teachers (Hargreaves &
Fullan, 2000). Likewise, all mentors described providing emotional support which is considered
a beneficial practice (Aspfors & Fransson, 2015; Gardiner & Weisling, 2018; Henning et al.,
2015; Hong & Matsko, 2019). However, there is the possibility that mentors who feel uncertain
about navigating racial dynamics may limit discourse to emotional support (Ginsberg & Budd,
2017; Henning et al., 2015), and may not provide other resources or assistance in navigating
challenges (Achinstein, 2006, 2012).
Practice Present in Mentor Preparation, Not Described in Mentor Interviews
Practices That Support All New Teachers
Practices covered in mentor preparation considered supportive for all new teachers but
not present in participant interviews included: (a) application of teacher standards to assess
practice, (b) planning for mentoring conversations, and (c) mentoring the mentor. These themes
came up consistently in the documents but were seldom, if at all, mentioned in participant
interviews. Application of the CSTP along with their continuum of practice rubrics is a required
component of California teacher induction programs (CTC, 2017). These are standards and
rubrics used to assess and monitor a teacher’s developing competency and to support a clear
credential recommendation (Moir, 2009; CTC, 2017). Kent et al. (2012), Koballa et al. (2010),
and Stanulis and Brondyk (2013) highlight the importance of observation tools in enhancing the
professional development of both mentors and mentees and emphasize that mentors must not
only select appropriate tools but also understand teaching standards to assess competency
effectively. Their omission in interview responses indicates a need for further integration in
mentor training programs.
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Planning for mentoring conversations is the practice of reflecting on a candidate’s growth
and making decisions about how to progress with coaching and support (McDonald & Flint,
2015; Pfund et al., 2006). Mentor training in this area is intended to support their ability to plan
the development of their mentees and provide critical feedback (McDonald & Flint, 2015; Pfund
et al., 2022). Without planning for their coaching interactions, it is unclear how mentors are
guiding teacher development, representing another area for additional exploration. Finally,
mentors at Summit Grove are provided direct support from the program manager on their
mentoring through feedback, and informal and formal check-ins. Mentors need their own
mentors to sustain motivation and navigate challenges (Stock & Duncan, 2010). Mentors may be
deriving this support more informally through their site mentoring network, and there is an
opportunity to revisit this program structure to determine other models of effective support.
Practices That Support New Teachers of Color
There were no practices covered in mentor preparation that were not discussed by
participants in the area of support for new teachers of color. However, all practices described
regarding the support of new teachers of color were generally regarded as areas for additional
training and support. These included having racial identity conversations with mentees and
understanding racism in the education context. It is important to note that in the document
analysis, this content (although present) was not explicitly linked to the purpose of supporting
new teachers of color. This represents an area for further consideration in the program
recommendations.
Practices With Uncertain Benefits
There are two practices identified in the documents not mentioned by participants where
benefits remain uncertain: (a) program logistics and (b) candidate feedback. Program logistics,
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such as timelines and requirements, are noted extensively within the preparation documents but
seldom mentioned by participants. Although it is assumed that attention to logistics is beneficial,
there is the possibility that time spent reviewing logistics leaves less time to cover other areas of
preparation. Alternatively, it is possible that mentors are not reviewing logistics with their
mentees and view it as a low priority in their mentoring work. In either case, this is an area that
warrants further investigation.
Candidate and mentor feedback is routinely utilized for program enhancement and
anonymously distributed to mentors. Various studies note the significance of mentors providing
feedback to candidates (Kent et al., 2013; Koballa et al., 2010; Lopez-Real & Kwan, 2005; Moir,
2009; Stanulis & Brondyk, 2013, and others). However, little research exists on how mentors
integrate feedback from their mentees into their practice. The extent to which mentors solicit
feedback from mentees to inform their practice was not explored in this study. Additionally,
mentee feedback collected by the program is anonymous and may be only of indirect value to
mentors. Non-anonymous feedback from candidates that might be more instructive to practice
could potentially be used in ways that perpetuate existing cultural hierarchies (Kohli & Pizarro,
2016). Additionally, there is the potential for feedback from mentees to lack criticality due to the
mentee’s desire to maintain positive relationships with their mentors (Hudson, 2013).
Practice Is Not Present in Mentor Preparation but Described in Mentor Interviews
Practices That Support All New Teachers
Mentors employed various practices to support new teachers that extended beyond the
parameters of their mentor preparation program. They extend support beyond the classroom,
aiding new teachers in grasping site logistics and protocols, while also advocating for necessary
resources from administrators (Coca et al., 2007; Podolsky et al., 2016; Smith & Ingersoll,
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2004). Additionally, mentors worked to foster a sense of belonging among new teachers within
the school community, described by practices such as regular check-ins and facilitating
connections with colleagues (Coca et al., 2007; Ginsberg & Budd, 2017; McDonald & Flint,
2015). Moreover, mentors demonstrated genuine concern for the success of their mentees,
expressing supportive stances and actively caring about their professional growth. Despite the
effectiveness of these practices, they are not documented within the preparation program
materials. Integrating these into mentor preparation could serve to align mentors with these
beneficial practices, provide a framework for deliberate implementation, and potentially validate
and reinforce their importance within the mentoring process.
Practices That Support New Teachers of Color
Practices supporting new teachers of color, as articulated by participants but absent from
the preparation documents, encompassed a range of strategies. Mentors described the ways they
assisted new teachers of color in navigating the school site and how they provided support to
help them overcome challenges. This included establishing networks of support, which has been
shown to reduce attrition rates among minority teachers (Achinstein, 2012). Furthermore,
mentors helped new teachers of color negotiate interactions with colleagues and validate and
affirm their experiences within the educational context (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). They also
described advocating with department chairs and administrators on behalf of new teachers of
color, leveraging their relationships, knowledge of the school site, and status to change
perceptions and provide support (Achinstein, 2006; SC Center for the Recruitment and Retention
of Diverse Educators, 2021). Despite the importance of these practices, they are often undertaken
without specific frameworks or guidance. There are opportunities for improvement if these
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practices were implemented with greater intention and support, potentially leading to more
effective mentorship experiences for new teachers of color.
Practices With Uncertain Benefits
Although no mentor articulated practices that could infer harm, the following practices
utilized incorrectly may have uncertain benefits for new teachers of color: (a) negotiation
through compromise, (b) protecting the job, (c) applying past experience or external learning, (d)
relegating responsibility of support to affinity groups, and (e) curiosity that becomes a burden.
Negotiation through compromise, particularly when a mentor negotiates on behalf of a new
teacher of color or encourages them to make a compromise, may reinforce assimilationist
attitudes and behaviors of conformity (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016). Similarly, guidance from mentors
intended to help new teachers protect their jobs may encourage assimilationist behaviors,
potentially compromising the authenticity and autonomy of the new teacher’s professional
identity.
Some mentors discussed applying learning from previous experiences or external
professional development. Every mentor brings their personal and professional experiences with
them into the mentoring position, but the question of concern is to what degree are they critically
examining the appropriateness of these experiences for new teachers of color. A lack of critical
reflection on mentoring beliefs may perpetuate practices that are not constructive for supporting
new teachers (Lejonberg et al., 2015).
Another potential concern arises when mentors discuss connecting new teachers of color
with affinity groups. While connecting new teachers of color with others who share similar
experiences can be beneficial for dialogue and support (Pour-Khorshid, 2018), mentors who rely
solely on affinity groups as the support mechanism for new teachers of color deprive them of the
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mentor’s valuable professional capital within the broader school community (Achinstein, 2012;
Fullan et al., 2015).
Mentors’ curiosity to learn about other teachers’ perspectives can be beneficial, but it may
become burdensome for new teachers of color if it results in them being expected to educate their
mentors on race and racism (Matias, 2013). While these mentoring practices are not intended to
cause harm, their potential impact on the experiences of new teachers of color remains uncertain
and warrants further consideration within preparation programs. As with the above examples of
mentor practices outside of preparation, there is an opportunity to intentionally include this
content to better align mentor practices and ensure they are implemented with impact in mind.
Practice Is Neither a Part of Preparation nor Is It Described in Interviews
Practices absent from both mentor preparation documents and interview descriptions
were identified through the literature review and mentor requests for additional training. Many
mentors expressed a desire for more information regarding the application of specific
observation tools based on teacher development, strategies for coaching across subject areas, and
insights into the nuances of coaching new versus experienced teachers. These areas are needed
for effective mentorship but are either absent or inadequately situated in preparation materials.
When examining the documents for preparation, it is clear that mentors have exposure to
a variety of observation tools but not opportunities to practice their application or connect the
application of these tools to their knowledge of teacher development. To provide effective
mentoring, mentors require both knowledge of and proper training to utilize such tools (Gardiner
& Weisling, 2018; McDonald & Flint, 2015).
Mentors highlighted the lack of tools and strategies to support new teachers in different
content areas as a significant gap in their preparation. In the Summit Grove program, mentors are
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matched based on school site context and whether they hold general education or education
specialist credentials, but not necessarily within the same content area. Mentors need to be
trained in pedagogical knowledge within the content area that they are mentoring to provide
effective support (Achinstein & Davis, 2014). Additionally, it is important to note that mentors at
Summit Grove are usually mentors of new teachers while providing instructional coaching for
experienced teachers. As noted by Lipton and Wellman (2017), support for new teachers should
be based on knowledge of their development which is distinctly different from strategies to
support teachers with many years of experience in shifting their practice.
Concerning the support of new teachers of color, mentors specifically requested training
on understanding microaggressions, hearing directly from teachers of color about their
experiences in education, and opportunities to develop awareness of the potential harms they
might inadvertently cause a new teacher of color. Additionally, mentors expressed a need for
more information on culturally responsive mentoring. These requests underscore the importance
of addressing cultural competence and equity within mentor preparation programs to ensure
mentors are equipped to support the diverse needs of all teachers effectively (Achinstein et al.,
2010; Kent et al., 2013; Pfund et al., 2022; Vargas et al., 2021).
Alignment between mentor preparation and practice is crucial for effectively supporting
new teachers, especially those of color. The analysis highlighted a disparity between the training
mentors received and their practical application of these teachings, especially in practices aimed
at supporting new teachers of color and in areas where the benefits were unclear. While some
beneficial practices were represented in both training materials and mentor described practices,
such as developing teacher competency and fostering supportive relationships, those addressing
racism and mentor racial identity were lacking in the preparation program materials.
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Additionally, there were practices identified by mentors, like navigating school logistics and
advocating within educational environments, that were not covered in training but are pivotal for
teacher retention. This discrepancy highlights the need for mentor training programs to include
content that addresses practical, on-the-ground needs as well as the challenges faced by new
teachers of color. Addressing these gaps by incorporating more comprehensive, culturally
responsive training and support could enhance mentor effectiveness and contribute to a more
inclusive and supportive educational environment.
Recommendations for Practice
The recommendations for practice outlined in this section address critical gaps in mentor
preparation that impede the provision of holistic support for new teachers of color. The existing
literature provides comprehensive guidance on the essential components for effective mentoring
to support the development of all new teachers. Additionally, the conceptual and theoretical
frameworks emphasize the specific considerations necessary for supporting new teachers of
color. Furthermore, the comparison between teacher preparation and actual practice, as outlined
in Table 15, reveals the extent to which the current preparatory program successfully translates
into mentoring practice. It also highlights mentoring practices that are absent from program
preparatory documents. The first set of recommendations arises from mentor-described practices
not reflected in preparation materials. The second set of recommendations derives from practices
universally supportive of teachers but not described in mentor practice. Lastly, the third set of
recommendations focuses on practices deemed beneficial for new teachers of color that are not
currently part of mentor practices. The connections between these recommendations, study
findings, and existing research are synthesized and summarized in Table 16.
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Table 16
Recommendation Connections to Key Findings and Literature
Recommendation Relationship to key findings Literature support
Recommendation 1: Include
training on mentor practices
that extend support outside of
the classroom
Mentors described practices that provide support
outside of the classroom, but not explicitly
addressed in preparation.
Achinstein (2006); Borman and Dowling
(2008); Coca et al. (2007); Hargreaves
and Fullan (2000)
Outside of classroom support connects mentees with
key resources and personnel and improves
retention.
Ingersoll and May (2011); Liu (2014);
Podolsky et al. (2016)
Recommendation 2: Create
strong foundational practices
of mentorship
Mentors described exposure to foundational mentor
practices, but expressed desire for practice and
application.
Clark and Byrnes (2012); Kent et al.
(2012); Koballa et al. (2010); Stanulis
and Brondyk (2013)
Mentors did not describe the use of teaching
standards in their practice despite prevalence in
program preparation documents.
Achinstein and Athanases, (2006); Aspfors
and Fransson (2015); Moir (2009)
Recommendation 3: Include
supports for teachers of color
in four foundational practices:
Mentor racial identity
development.
Mentors uncertainty in the role their racial identity
impacts mentoring.
Few program documents addressed supports for new
teachers of color.
Achinstein (2012); Aguilar (2020); ByarsWinston et al. (2023); Deitch et al.
(2003); Delgado and Stefancic (2023);
Howard (2008); Lejonberg et al.
(2015); Kohli and Pizarro (2016, 2022);
McCoy et al. (2015); Utt and
Tochluk (2020); Vargas et al. (2021)
Manifestation of racism at the
school site
Mentors uncertainty in understanding
microaggressions and other forms of racism.
Few program documents addressed supports for new
teachers of color.
Achinstein (2006); Deitch et al. (2003);
Dingus (2008); Ginsberg and Budd
(2017); Kent et al. (2013); PourKhorshid (2018); Sleeter (1992, 2017)
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Recommendation Relationship to key findings Literature support
Foster and value identity
development of new
teachers of color.
Mentors uncertainty in providing support to new
teachers of color.
Few program documents addressed validating and
affirming new teachers of color.
Delgado and Stefancic (2023); Han and
Onchwari (2018); Hong and Matsko
(2019); Lipton et al. (2017); Odell
(1992); McDonald and Flint (2015);
Solórzano and Yosso (2002, 2001);
Vargas et al. (2021); Yosso (2005)
Culturally responsive
mentorship
Mentors expressed desire to better understand
culturally responsive mentorship practices.
No program documents addressed culturally
responsive mentoring.
Anderson and Sanchez (2022); Achinstein
(2012); Byars-Winston et al. (2023);
Han and Onchwari (2018); Howard
(2003); Kent et al. (2015); Pfund et al.
(2022)
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Recommendation 1: Include Training on Mentor Practices That Extend Support Outside of
the Classroom
The findings of this study, aligned with both Research Questions 1 and 2, identified areas
where mentors described practices that support new teachers and new teachers of color, but were
not a formal part of their training or preparation. As outlined in Table 17, mentors discussed
providing support beyond the classroom by demonstrating concern for their mentee’s success,
supporting a sense of belonging at the school, and supporting new teachers of color with
networking, negotiation, and advocacy. In the interview findings, examples of support beyond
the classroom included helping new teachers identify who on campus they can go to with
questions about students, how to fill out specific forms for referrals or interventions, and what
protocols should be followed for maintenance requests. Mentors who cared about their mentee’s
success and sense of belonging exhibited concern for their well-being. They found ways to
encourage creativity and inspiration, deliberately introduced mentees to colleagues, stopped by
their classrooms for informal check-ins, and encouraged them to attend social events. Mentors
who practiced networking leveraged their personal and professional relationships to connect new
teachers with colleagues for additional support and resources, connected them with colleagues
with a shared affinity, and hosted new teacher lunches. Negotiation strategies included coaching
mentees on the language to use with their department chairs and administrators as well as
helping them identify areas they might compromise in their curricular decisions to maintain
alignment with existing department guidelines. Advocacy on the part of mentors was seen in
their decisions to speak directly to administrators or department chairs on behalf of their mentee
to build positive perceptions and provide additional context.
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Table 17
Practices Absent From Mentor Preparation
Location Supportive mentoring practices based on existing research
Supportive for all new teachers Supportive for new teachers of color
Not present in
preparation,
but described
in practice
Support beyond the classroom
Fostering sense of belonging
Concern for mentees success
Navigate racism and provide support
at the school site
Networks of support
Advocating with key personnel
Note. This table summarizes the findings outlined in Table 15 that inform the first
recommendation for practice.
Mentor preparation should address how mentors conceptualize the importance of
mentorship extending beyond classroom support (Achinstein, 2006; Hargreaves & Fullan, 2000).
Teacher retention is improved when mentors actively help new teachers develop positive
relationships with other adults at the school site, connect them with key resources, and help them
identify supportive personnel (Coca et al., 2007; Liu, 2014). When new teachers have stronger
collaborative relationships with their peers and effective networks of support at the school site,
they are more likely to stay in the profession (Borman & Dowling, 2008). Retention is also
impacted by new teacher’s perceptions of administrator communication, support, and recognition
(Borman & Dowling, 2008; Ingersoll & May, 2011; Podolsky et al., 2016). Mentors should be
supported in cultivating positive relationships with administrators to ensure administrator
expectations are clear for the mentee, and that expectations for the mentee are reasonable
(Gardiner & Weisling, 2018).
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Although mentors described providing support beyond the classroom throughout the
interviews, there is no formal mentor training at Summit Grove that addresses these dimensions
of their practice. Mentoring programs should include training that equips mentors to support new
teachers with school-wide issues and challenges (Achinstein, 2006; Achinstein & Athanases,
2006; Henning et al., 2015). Mentors report feeling more effective in providing this support
when they have been trained to do so (Aspfors & Fransson, 2015). Although mentors may
understand the challenges new teachers face, they still “need knowledge of how to advocate for
change and an ability to foster self-advocacy in new teachers” (Achinstein, 2006, p. 127).
Embedding these practices as content in training programs can enhance consistency among
mentors, validate these important practices, and potentially improve their effectiveness.
Recommendation 2: Create Strong Foundational Practices of Mentorship
Foundational practices in mentorship serve to support teachers in their growth based on
their development and school site context. The recommendations to ensure a robust foundation
for mentorship stem from the area of the alignment matrix indicating research based foundational
mentoring practices that were absent from mentor descriptions of their practice. As outlined in
Table 18, some of the practices were included in mentor preparation, while others were absent
from preparation and practice but indicated by participants as an area of need. Practices in
preparation that were not referenced by mentors in their interviews included the application of
teaching standards, deliberate planning for mentoring conversations, and the ways the mentors
participated in opportunities to receive mentoring and support in their mentorship role. Practices
neither present in the program nor mentor described practices included specific examples of the
application of observation tools, strategies for providing support in a different content area
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classroom, and exploring the differences between mentoring new teachers and coaching
experienced teachers.
Table 18
Foundational Mentoring Absent From Practice
Location Supportive mentoring practices based on existing research
Supportive for all new teachers
Present in
preparation
and not in
described
practice
Teaching standards
Planning conversations
Mentoring the mentor
Not present in
preparation
and not
described in
practice
Application of observation tools
Supporting across subject areas
Supporting new versus experienced teachers
Note. This table highlights the findings summarized in Table 15 that inform the second
recommendation for practice.
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Mentors need a strong understanding of teacher development and effective strategies to
support professional growth, including choosing the right observation tools and understanding
teaching standards to assess competency (Clark & Byrnes, 2012; Kent et al., 2012; Koballa et al.,
2010; Stanulis & Brondyk, 2013). In addition to having access to tools and strategies, they need
opportunities to practice selecting and applying such tools (Gardiner & Weisling, 2015; Moir,
2009). Teaching standards, specifically the CSTP in California, provide guidelines for effective
professional practice supported by a continuum of practice rubrics that describe what increasing
competency looks like in each standard domain (Moir, 2009; CTC, 2017).
In order to move teachers forward in their development, mentors need to initiate critical
and sometimes difficult conversations to help teachers improve their practice (Achinstein &
Athanases, 2006; Aspfors & Fransson, 2015; Gardiner & Weisling, 2018, Henning et al., 2015;
Hong & Matsko, 2019; Parker et al, 2021). To effectively navigate conversations that balance
maintaining a positive relationship with critical feedback, mentors need to plan for these
conversations in advance to identify evidence, entry points, and questioning strategies. Mentor
training in this area supports their ability to leverage advanced planning that supports the
development of their mentees (McDonald & Flint, 2015; Pfund et al., 2022).
Because mentoring often occurs in one-on-one conversations, it can be difficult for
mentors to receive feedback or support on their own mentoring strategies that improve their
practice. Some of this feedback support can be fostered through the development of a strong
mentoring community of practice, where mentors engage in dialogue and share problems of
practice (Gardiner & Weisling, 2018; Moir, 2009; Stanulis & Ames, 2009; Ulvik & Sunde,
2013). However, mentors also benefit from having mentors of their own to talk through
supporting difficult staff members, discussing effective use of data, and sustaining personal
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motivation (Stock & Duncan, 2010). Foundational mentoring practices are strengthened when
mentors receive feedback on their practices and have opportunities to dialogue in a supportive
community of practice.
Achinstein and Davis (2014) and Betlem (2018) found that mentors need a strong
command of content specific pedagogy to provide effective support. Matching mentors with
mentees is considered most effective when they are at the same school site, teach the same grade
level or subject (Achinstein & Athanases, 2006; Achinstein & Davis, 2014, DeAngelis et al.,
2013; Mitchell & Kwok, 2021; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004), and have similar teaching philosophies
(Mitchell & Kwok, 2021). Although subject and grade level matches are considered a strong
practice in mentorship programs (DeAngelis et al., 2013; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004), a subject
area match is not always plausible due to resource limitations and scheduling constraints.
Mentors at Summit Grove are first matched by school site and by subject area for education
specialists, with the content area being a secondary consideration. Because many mentors
support teachers outside of their content area, it would be important to consider the inclusion of
cross-content mentoring preparation in future program planning.
The development of foundational mentoring practices provides mentors with the
fundamental tools to observe teachers, provide feedback, and select mentoring strategies based
on knowledge of teacher developmental level and content area. Mentors are further prepared
when they have tools at their disposal to plan for mentoring conversations and are supported by
peers or a mentor of their own to receive feedback that improves their practice. Foundational
mentor practices can address the needs of teachers overall but should incorporate the specific
practices outlined in recommendation three to provide effective mentorship for new teachers of
color. When foundational practices are absent, teacher development is not supported regardless
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of racial or ethnic identity. When foundational practices are in place but do not include practices
that support new teachers of color, racially and ethnically diverse teachers receive only a portion
of the support they need to navigate challenges both within and outside the classroom.
Recommendation 3: Include Supports for Teachers of Color Into Foundational Practices
Foundational mentoring practices cannot operate separately from practices that are
necessary to specifically support new teachers of color. This recommendation is derived from the
literature review and what was absent from mentor described practice as well as mentor
preparation content. Table 19 highlights the key areas from Table 15 that inform this
recommendation and include mentor perceptions of a need for improved preparation to support
new teachers of color, as well as specific requests to better understand microaggressions,
potential harms a White mentor might cause, the opportunity to hear directly from teachers of
color about their experience, and how to integrate culturally responsive mentoring into their
practice.
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Table 19
Mentoring Practices Absent for New Teachers of Color
Location Supportive mentoring practices based on existing research
Supportive for new teachers of color
Present in preparation
and not in described
practice
None, but all areas indicated a need for additional preparation
Not present in
preparation and not
described in practice
Understanding microaggressions
Hearing from teachers of color
Potential harms from mentor
Culturally responsive practices
Note. This table highlights the findings summarized in Table 15 that inform the third
recommendation for practice.
In order to provide culturally responsive mentorship, foundational practices should be
expanded to include explicit practices that support new teachers of color. Figure 2 outlines a
potential framework for connecting foundational practices to those that support new teachers of
color and lead to culturally responsive mentorship. This framework is derived from the
conceptual and theoretical frameworks to outline explicit connections between foundational
mentoring practices that address the needs of all new teachers, and those that explicitly support
new teachers of color. Areas for program integration include attending to mentor racial identity
development, understanding how racism manifests within the school site, and fostering and
valuing the identity of new teachers of color. Combined with foundational mentoring practices,
these three areas work together to provide culturally responsive mentorship.
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Figure 2
Aligning Foundational Mentor Preparation and Practice With Preparation to Support New
Teachers of Color
Foundational mentoring practices Mentoring for new teachers of color
Content for mentor
development
Desired mentor
practices
Content for mentor
development
Desired mentor
practices
Effective
relationships
Trust and emotional
support
Validating teachers
experiences and
knowing them as
learners Culturally responsive
mentoring
Mentoring
strategies
Develop teacher
competency
Mentor
reflection
Mentor stance and
disposition
Mentor racial identity
development
Advocacy and
support in school site
systems
Navigating the school
site
context
Understanding racism
in education
Attend to Mentor Racial Identity Development
Mentors who attend to their racial identity development are better able to understand their
relationship to privilege and White dominant narratives, and how their racial and social position
can impact their mentorship (Achinstein, 2012; Kohli & Pizarro, 2016, 2022; Utt & Tochluk,
2020; Vargas et al., 2021). As a part of this identity development, mentors should receive cultural
awareness education (Byars-Winston et al., 2023), including recognizing and interrupting
behaviors that undermine the experiences of new teachers of color or cause harm (Kohli &
Pizarro, 2022). When mentors receive training in cultural awareness, they are more likely to see
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how their own identities are relevant to their practice (Byars-Winston et al., 2023). Additionally,
exploring their identities may serve to interrupt patterns of colorblind mentoring that fail to
account for the contribution of social and educational inequities that often inform the experiences
of new teachers of color (McCoy et al., 2015). As noted in Figure 2, racial identity development
depends upon the ability of the mentor to engage in self-reflection and develop self-awareness
(Achinstein, 2012). Mentors who are reflective and self-aware are able to consider how their
identity and beliefs impact decisions about mentoring (Lejonberg et al, 2015). This in turn
impacts their mentoring disposition and stance, or attitude they adopt in support of the new
teacher. When they consider the role of their race and racial identity, they are further able to
monitor and reflect on how identity informs assumptions about a new teacher of color, and how
that impacts their disposition and stance (Howard, 2008).
Manifestation of Racism at the School Site
Mentors need training that provides an understanding of the historical role that racism has
played in education systems alongside an exploration of how racism manifests within their
schools (Achinstein, 2012; Aguilar, 2020). Such preparation should consider providing resources
for mentors to understand microaggressions and other forms of racism that new teachers of color
encounter on a frequent basis (Delgado & Stefancic, 2023; Deitch et al, 2003). Additionally,
training needs to include ways a mentor may leverage their influence or status to support new
teachers of color in navigating and challenging these dynamics, actively disrupting harmful
narratives and practices within their educational environments (Achinstein, 2006; Deitch et al.,
2003; Sleeter, 1992, 2017). Mentor training programs that address cultural awareness and
systematic racism produce mentors who are better able to support new teachers of color in
overcoming possible barriers to their success (Kent et al. 2013).
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As noted in Table 13 and the findings for Research Question 2, mentors regularly enact
practices that support new teachers outside of the classroom by connecting them with resources
and establishing connections with colleagues. They are leveraging their knowledge of the school
site context to directly connect teachers with the tools and personnel that will support their
success. As indicated in Figure 2, a mentor’s ability to navigate the school site supports practices
that help new teachers of color navigate racism at the school site. As mentors increase their
understanding of how racism operates at the school site level, these practices of outside the
classroom support can expand to include actions that operate, both directly and indirectly, to
navigate racialized dynamics. As the mentor establishes positive rapport with site administrators
or department chairs, they can provide counter-narratives that interrupt the assumptions and
beliefs others may be holding about new teachers of color. Additionally, they can assist the
mentee in identifying teachers on campus with shared affinity, teaching philosophy, or context in
which to establish a network of support (Dingus, 2008; Ginsberg & Budd, 2017; Pour-Khorshid,
2018).
Fostering and Valuing Identity Development of New Teachers of Color
Mentor preparation should include opportunities for mentors to engage in dialogue that
explores the identity and experiences of teachers of color in a manner that is supportive of their
growth and development. For example, mentors might practice the use of mentoring tools and
strategies that foster the identity development of new teachers of color through activities that
explore identity markers or core values. Additionally, they may consider attending teacher
collaboration with new teachers of color, provide affirming support through lesson planning, or
support critical dialogue with peers. These activities should emphasize treating the lived
experiences of teachers as assets and actively working against assimilationist pressures, deficit
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narratives, and internalized biases and assumptions. Such practices should aim to affirm and
validate the unique practices and cultural wealth of new teachers of color (Delgado & Stefancic,
2023; Vargas et al., 2021; Yosso, 2005).
In Figure 2, both developing teacher competency and providing trust and emotional
support are foundational mentoring practices where valuing teachers of color’s identity and lived
experiences can be brought into the preparation content. Developing teacher competency
requires assessing and knowing the learner in order to provide individualized support for their
growth (Hong & Matsko, 2019; Lipton et al, 2017; Odell, 1992). The lived experiences, cultural
wealth, navigational and resistance capital new teachers of color possess should be an inherent
component of such assessment when determining what strengths to draw upon and what support
to provide (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002, 2001). In turn, a mentor cannot effectively engage in a
conversation regarding identity and experience unless they are capable of creating a trusting and
emotionally supportive environment where a teacher feels safe to share these experiences (Han
& Onchwari, 2018; McDonald & Flint, 2015).
Culturally Responsive Mentorship
Mentor preparation should provide an overview of culturally responsive mentoring that
includes an understanding of all of the requisite components as outlined in Figure 2. Through the
foundational practices of trust and emotional support, development of teacher competency, proactive development of disposition and stance, and mentoring beyond the walls of the classroom,
mentors provide the support that all new teachers benefit from. When these foundational
practices are expanded to include validating teachers’ experiences and knowing them as learners,
the racial identity development of mentors, and understanding how racism manifests within the
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school site, the mentor has a robust tool kit from which to enact practices that specifically benefit
new teachers of color.
A vision of culturally responsive mentorship must move beyond superficial
acknowledgments of culture or diversity (Howard, 2003). This includes understanding personal
biases, the pervasive nature of racism in education, and the specific assets of new teachers of
color, aiming to create a nurturing environment that diverges from White-centered educational
experiences and promotes the thriving of new teachers of color and their students (Achinstein,
2012; Han & Onchwari, 2018; Kent et al. 2015; Pfund et al., 2022). Mentors who receive
training that improves their cultural awareness are more likely to enact culturally responsive
mentoring practices and are perceived as more effective by the individuals they support
(Anderson & Sanchez, 2022; Byars-Winston et al., 2023).
Recommendations for Future Research
The findings from this study and the review of the literature indicate several areas that
warrant continued research in this area. Recommendations for future research draw from the area
of Table 15 that designated practices and program preparation materials as having uncertain
benefits in supporting new teachers and new teachers of color.
Future research could investigate the direct impact of induction programs on new
teachers of color. As noted in Table 15, several mentor practices are listed as having uncertain
benefits as it is unclear under what conditions the practice is perceived as helpful or instances
where it might be harmful. For example, some mentors mentioned a desire to learn more from
teachers of color about their experiences and also expressed concern that their curiosity may
cross a boundary in which they could cause harm. Furthermore, although affinity groups can
provide support networks for teachers, they are not the only form of network support needed to
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navigate the school site. This research could focus on the experiences of new teachers of color
within a program to more accurately assess their needs and mentoring program impact.
Another area of research might investigate mentor training to address systemic barriers
for educators of color. This research could focus on assessing the impact of including training on
navigating systemic barriers and institutional norms that may disproportionately affect new
teachers of color. Additionally, it might explore how mentors can advocate for systemic changes
within their schools or districts to support new teachers of color. As noted in Table 15,
negotiation on behalf of an educator of color has an uncertain impact. This practice raises
questions about whether such negotiation is attending to a teacher’s interest as opposed to
reinforcing assimilationist behaviors. Additionally, mentor practices that mentors describe as
protecting the teacher’s access to a permanent position appear beneficial and are difficult to
question, but there is a possibility that such moves hide systemic issues or reinforce existing
hierarchies. In both instances, there is also the possibility that in acting on behalf of the teacher, a
mentor is not working to empower them through self-advocacy.
Another area worthy of investigation is exploring mentor practices in navigating difficult
conversations regarding racial dynamics. This might examine best practices for mentors to
facilitate difficult conversations around race, racism, and equity with new teachers, and include
identifying effective strategies for mentors to address and challenge systemic and institutional
racism within educational settings. Such research might also explore the content and context of
difficult conversations to better identify the conditions in which they occur.
Conclusion
Despite extensive research on induction and mentorship program design and
effectiveness (Bullough, 2012; Coca et al., 2007; Glazerman et al., 2006, 2010; Goldrick, 2012;
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Hong & Matsko, 2019; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011; Kang & Berliner, 2012; Odell & Ferraro, 1992;
Reeves et al., 2022; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004; Squires, 2019; Wong, 2016; Zhang & Zeller, 2016;
and others), there is a gap in research that specifically addresses how induction mentoring
impacts new teachers of color, how mentors should be trained to provide supports for new
teachers of color, and how these practices are conceptualized or enacted in real-world settings.
This gap indicates a need for both additional research and a shift in our conceptualization of
mentor professional learning to include practices that lead to the support and retention of new
teachers of color.
Teacher retention is a pressing issue across the United States with a pronounced
challenge in retaining teachers of color (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017; Ingersoll &
May, 2011). The retention of teachers of color is critical due to the positive outcomes a diverse
teacher workforce provides for students. Evidence suggests that students of all races, particularly
students of color, benefit academically from a diverse teacher workforce (Carver-Thomas, 2018;
Cherng & Halpin, 2016; Dee, 2004).
Teacher preparation and certification programs, predominantly designed for White
educators, perpetuate White dominant ideologies through their curriculum, teaching practices,
and structures (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016; Sleeter, 2017). Induction programs are a job-embedded
form of teacher preparation that preliminary credentialed teachers are required to complete to
clear their credentials in California. Induction program mentors from mostly White middle-class
backgrounds often lack the willingness or ability to discuss racism in the experiences of novice
teachers of color (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). Additionally, California induction program standards
fall short in addressing the specific needs of new teachers of color. While program standards
require that induction mentoring practices and preparation programs be research-based and
179
support the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP), they leave crucial
implementation details to local programs (CTC, 2017).
The absence of research and program guidance regarding the support necessary for new
teachers of color leaves individual induction programs ill-prepared to address the needs of new
teachers of color. Without such guidance, induction programs may lack both understanding and
direction in providing support for new teachers of color and may have little impact on improved
retention rates.
This study attempted to understand, through the experiences of the White mentor and the
documents of their program preparation how White mentors characterize their preparation and
support for new teachers of color to identify and address potential gaps in their preparation. The
findings regarding mentor perceptions of their preparation and practice in support of new
teachers of color indicate areas of strength and critical areas for improvement with the Summit
Grove induction mentoring program. Mentors demonstrated a strong foundation in establishing
effective relationships and engaging in reflective practices, highlighting the significance of
interpersonal dynamics in the mentoring process. However, the findings also indicate a need for
deeper integration of culturally responsive mentoring which necessitates a more nuanced
understanding of race, racism, and systemic barriers for new teachers of color in the education
system.
The alignment, or lack thereof, between mentor preparation content and described
practice reinforces the importance of evolving mentor preparation to address these gaps,
particularly in developing mentor racial identity awareness, navigating difficult conversations,
understanding systemic racism in education, validating and affirming the experiences of teachers
of color, and providing formal training for mentors on providing support beyond the classroom.
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Without these changes induction programs risk perpetuating the very inequities they aim to
dismantle, ultimately compromising the retention and success of teachers of color.
Recommendations for practice emphasize the need to incorporate these insights into
mentor preparation programs, ensuring mentors are equipped with the tools and understanding
required to navigate the complex landscapes of racial identity and racism in education. These
include a call for programs to formally integrate practices that address mentor support occurring
outside the classroom, alongside providing a comprehensive framework for culturally responsive
mentorship that is deeply embedded in the mentor training curriculum and intentionally
integrated with preparation to provide foundational mentoring practices known to support all
teachers.
Further research is recommended to explore the direct impact of such mentorship on new
teachers of color, examine programs in which mentors receive training on addressing systemic
barriers for educators of color, and investigate effective strategies for mentors to facilitate
difficult conversations around race. These areas of inquiry are crucial for developing a more
effective, responsive, and equitable mentoring framework that not only addresses the immediate
needs of new teachers of color but also contributes to the broader goal of improving retention of
teachers of color in public education.
Although induction programs and mentorship cannot solve structural problems such as
challenging teaching assignments, part-time positions, or lack of resources, induction mentors
can positively impact other facets of teacher retention. Induction mentors can mitigate the effects
of poor site leadership (Hong & Matsko, 2019), connect new teachers of color with support
networks to sustain their practice (Coca et al, 2007), help them navigate the “micropolitics” of
the school site (Achinstein, 2012), act as processing partners during times of challenge (Clark &
181
Byrnes, 2012), and affirm their experiences and practices (Ginsberg & Budd, 2017). However,
Summit Grove’s program does not explicitly train mentors to provide such support. Although the
findings presented in this study are specific to the Summit Grove Induction Program, the lack of
guidance from state policy induction program standards combined with a gap in the research
literature suggests similar challenges may be present in other programs across the state. Teacher
preparation program standards focus on developing teaching competency, but these skills by
themselves do not make teaching sustainable, welcoming or affirming, nor do they address other
key factors that impact retention for new teachers of color.
The state-level call to diversify the teacher workforce has been clear, with most efforts
focused on developing teacher pipelines, investing in alternative pathways for teacher
credentialing, and offering grants and loan forgiveness programs (California Department of
Education, 2023). However, the issues that impact retention have largely been left up to
individual school districts. It is not enough to get new teachers of color in the door. Recruitment
efforts aimed at diversifying the applicant pool and increasing the hiring rates of new teachers of
color will be fruitless if organizations do not also address challenges related to race and racism
within the institution. Induction programs and mentorship that include training to support new
teachers of color have the potential to positively impact and sustain a more diverse teaching
workforce.
182
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202
Appendix A: Interview Protocol
There were two research questions addressed in the interview protocol:
1. What are the post preparation-program perceptions of White, secondary education
induction mentors in a medium-size CA school district in regard to their level of
preparation for supporting new teachers of color?
2. Following participation in a mentor preparation program, how do White induction
mentors in a medium-size CA school district characterize the practices they would use
to support new teachers of color in the secondary education classroom?
Concepts from conceptual framework that are addressed in this interview:
● mentoring PD content
● mentoring practices that influence teacher retention
● mentoring practices that influence teachers of color
203
Table A1
Interview Framework
Questions Question type Conceptual
framework
RQ
1. How many years have you been teaching?
2. What subject(s) do you teach?
3. How do you identify in terms of race and or
ethnicity?
4. Is there anything else about your identity or how
you identify that you would like me to know?
Demographic;
background
– –
5. Tell me about how you decided to become a
mentor or instructional coach? What do you enjoy
most about mentoring or working with new
teachers?
Opening;
background
Opening;
feeling
– –
6. What do you think are the most important parts of
a quality professional learning for mentors?
Transition;
opinion
IC and
mentor
PD
1
7. How has professional learning impacted your
coaching and mentoring practice, if at all?
Probe: What aspects of professional learning have
been helpful to your work as a mentor?
Probe: Can you give me an example of how
something you learned in a mentoring or coaching
PD impacted your practice?
Key;
background,
reflection
IC and
mentor
PD
1
8. According to researchers, this is a list of topics
that mentorship training should cover (provide
participant a printed list of the 6 components of
mentoring PD; give them a moment to look at the
list). Which of these topics do you think are well
addressed in coaching PD? Which of these topics
do you think need to be better addressed in
coaching PD? Which are you comfortable with for
reasons other than PD?
Key;
knowledge,
opinion
IC and
mentor
PD
1
204
Questions Question type Conceptual
framework
RQ
Table shared with interview participants for
question 8
Six key areas that researchers
found important to include
in a mentor’s professional
learning and preparation:
Selecting and applying appropriate
mentoring strategies based on
knowledge of teacher development.
Building effective relationships which
are non -evaluative, trusting, and
emotionally supportive.
Providing feedback to mentees and
using questioning strategies that
promote reflection and growth
Understanding the purpose,
application, and practice of
selecting and using different kinds
of observation tools.
Initiating and facilitating difficult
conversations to shift teacher
practice.
Reflecting on both a mentor’s own
teaching and mentoring practices
for growth.
9. What do you think are the most important ways a
mentor can support a brand new teacher?
Probe: Can you share an example of what
happened when you did or did not see that support
in place for a teacher?
Probe: How about a time when you did see those
supports in place?
Transition;
opinion,
experience
Mentoring
influences
on
retention
2
10. What, if any, experiences have you had working
with new teachers of color, either through
coaching or other roles?
Transition;
activating
background
knowledge
Mentor
practices
2
205
Questions Question type Conceptual
framework
RQ
11. As I mentioned before, research tells us that the
problem of retaining teachers is especially
difficult for new teachers of color. What do you
think might be some of the reasons we struggle to
retain new teachers of color in the teaching
profession?
Probe: Can you share an example of how this
might show up at your school site?
Probe: Are there any additional considerations for
(Black, Latinx, or Asian) teachers?
Transition;
opinion,
activating
background
knowledge
Mentoring
influences
on
retention
–
12. According to research, teachers of color can
experience microaggressions and barriers related
to race at their school sites. How might a mentor
use knowledge of their school site to help new
teachers navigate these challenges?
Probe: How else might you use knowledge of
your school site to help new teachers of color?
Probe: Can you describe more about….
Key;
opinion
Mentor
practices
2
13. We know from research, and you know this from
your own experience, we don’t leave who we are
behind when we enter the classroom, and can
bring in our own knowledge and experiences.
How might a mentor support a new teacher of
color in bringing in their own experiences and
knowledge?
Probe: Can you share an example or describe at
time when…
Probe: Are there any other considerations for
helping teachers of color bring in their
experiences?
Key;
knowledge,
hypothetical
Mentor
practices
2
14. Educators, particularly educators of color, can
struggle with knowing how to bring their
authentic selves or identities into the classroom.
How might a mentor support a new teacher of
color in their own identity development?
Probe: What else might we consider?
Probe: Are there any additional considerations in
identity development as educators for Black,
Latinx or Asian teachers?
Key;
knowledge,
hypothetical
Mentor
practices
2
206
Questions Question type Conceptual
framework
RQ
15. Some researchers call for culturally responsive
mentorship, especially for teachers of color. What
does this mean to you? What mentoring practices
do you think might be culturally responsive?
Key;
knowledge,
hypothetical
Mentor
practices
2
16. In addition to what you have already shared, is
there anything else you think I should know about
how mentoring might address some of the
challenges new teachers of color face?
Key;
opinion
Mentor
practices
2
17. In reflecting on your professional learning, what
do you think should be included in mentoring or
PD to help coaches and mentors support new
teachers of color?
Key;
opinion
Mentor
practices
2
18. Scenario: I am going to read a scenario, and I
have it printed out so you can read it as well.
You have been assigned to mentor a new
teacher of color. This teacher has expressed
a desire to select standards based curricular
materials that are not the same as other
teachers at their site teaching the same class.
This teacher would like to make the
curriculum more inclusive and relevant, and
has selected resources that meet course
standards but do not align with what the rest
of the department is using. There is
pushback from the department, and the
teacher has been advised to “stick with the
PLC unit plan” by their department chair. As
the semester moves on, department members
complain that the class is too noisy with
poor management, and that the teacher is too
friendly with students. You have been in this
classroom several times and although noisy,
the students are engaged and learning, and
although friendly with students, you have no
concerns about boundaries.
Key;
knowledge,
opinions,
hypothetical
Mentor
practices
207
Questions Question type Conceptual
framework
RQ
As their mentor, how might you support them
through this ongoing challenge with their
department?
19. What else do you think I should know about
mentoring, mentoring PD, or supporting new
teachers of color?
Closing – –
208
Table A2
Interview Question Alignment With Conceptual Framework
Conceptual
framework element
Sub-element RQ Q
Mentor preparation Knowledge of teacher development to inform
mentoring strategies
1 6–8; 17
Building effective relationships; non -evaluative,
trusting, emotionally supportive
1 6–8;
10, 17
Providing feedback and using questioning
strategies that promote reflection and growth
1 6–8; 17
Training in specific observation tools; purposes,
practice, and use
1 6–8; 17
Facilitating difficult conversations to shift teacher
practice
1 6–8; 17
Mentor’s own ability to reflect on both teaching
and mentorship practice
1 6–8; 17
Mentoring practices
that influence
teachers of color
Culturally responsive mentoring 2 11–12,
16, 18
Teachers as learners 2 11–12,
14, 18
Identity self-awareness 2 11–12,
15, 18
Educational context 2 11–12,
13, 18
209
Appendix B: Informed Consent and Recruitment Materials
The following recruitment email was sent to potential study participants:
Dear _________,
I hope this message finds you well! My name is Sabbie Hopkins, and I am the Manager
of Teacher Induction and Professional Learning at _________. I am reaching out to you to invite
you to participate in a research study that aims to better understand how induction mentorship
can improve the retention of a diverse teacher workforce. This study will look at how mentors
are prepared to support new teachers and teachers of color and explore how mentor’s
characterize practice. Insights from this study have the potential to inform mentor preparation
programs, best practices in mentorship for retaining a diverse teacher workforce, and may even
lift up additional considerations for improving teacher retention.
I am recruiting individuals who have been induction mentors in the 21–22, 22–23 or both
school years. Mentors should also self-identify as racially White for the purposes of this study.
This is not intended to exclude the perspectives of mentors who self-identify as non-white,
instead it is meant to focus the exploration on understanding the needs of a majority White
mentor group in serving an increasingly diverse teacher workforce.
If you decide to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete the following
activities:
1. A one-to-one interview taking approximately 45 minutes to 60 minutes.
2. Possible optional follow up phone call or email to clarify interview responses, taking
15 minutes or less.
During these activities, you will be asked questions about:
210
• Mentoring practices that influence teacher’s retention (teacher’s decisions to stay in
the profession)
• Mentoring practices that support new teachers and teachers of color
• Mentor preparation and professional learning
• Demographic questions: years of teaching experience, subject area you teach, years of
mentoring experience, and racial or ethnic identity markers that you use to describe
yourself.
If you are interested in participating in this study, please contact me at sabarija@usc.edu,
or call me at XXX-XXX-5809.
Thank you!
Sabarijah (Sabbie) Hopkins
sabarija@usc.edu
211
Appendix C: Informed Consent Letter
The following is the information sheet and consent information document shared with
participants prior to their participation in the study.
My name is Sabarijah (Sabbie) Hopkins, and I am a student at the University of
Southern California. I also hold a role as the Manager of Teacher Induction and Professional
Learning at ____________. I am conducting a research study that aims to better understand how
induction mentorship can improve the retention of a diverse teacher workforce. This study will
look at how mentors are prepared to support new teachers and teachers of color and explore how
mentor’s characterize practice. The name of this research study is “Mentoring New Teachers of
Color: How Induction Mentors Characterize their Preparation and Practices that Support New
Teachers of Color.” I am seeking your participation in this study.
Your participation is completely voluntary, and I will address your questions or concerns
at any point before or during the study.
You may be eligible to participate in this study if you meet the following criteria:
I am recruiting individuals who:
• have been induction mentors in the 21–22, 22–23 or both school years.
• self-identify as racially White. This is not intended to exclude the perspectives of
mentors who self-identify as non-white, instead it is meant to focus the exploration on
understanding the needs of a majority White mentor group in serving an increasingly
diverse teacher workforce.
• You are over 18 years old.
If you decide to participate in this study, you will be asked to do the following activities:
• A one-to-one interview taking approximately 45 minutes to 60 minutes.
212
• Possible optional follow up phone call or email to clarify interview responses, taking
15 minutes or less.
I will publish the results in my dissertation. Participants will not be identified in the
results. I will take reasonable measures to protect the security of all your personal information.
All data will be de-identified prior to any publication or presentations. I may share your data, deidentified with other researchers in the future.
If you have any questions about this study, please contact me at sabarija@usc.edu. If
you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the University
of Southern California Institutional Review Board at (323) 442-0114 or email hrpp@usc.edu.
My Signature: ______________________________
Date: ______________________________
My Printed Name: ______________________________
Investigator Signature: ______________________________
For further information, please contact:
Sabarijah (Sabbie) Hopkins
(XXX) XXX-5809
sabarija@usc.edu
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Mentoring new teachers of color: how induction mentors characterize their preparation and practices that support new teachers of color
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