Innovations in Higher Education. Mentoring Preservice Teachers: Applying a Developmentally Appropriate Practice Lens
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Early childhood education programs play an important role in teacher preparation, “serving as field sites where emerging professionals can develop their knowledge, skills, and dispositions under the mentorship of experienced early childhood educators” (NAEYC 2020b, 28). As such, the relationship between preservice teachers (candidates in teacher education programs) and their assigned mentor teachers (those individuals with whom preservice teachers are placed to complete field work as part of teacher education programs) is one of the most important they will have during their preparation program.
Research on the stressors experienced by preservice teachers indicates that when they perceive a positive relationship with their mentor teachers, they have less stressful field experiences and become more optimistic about their roles as teachers. When the relationship is perceived as negative, the reverse occurs (Gold 1985; Murray-Harvey et al. 2000; Horgan et al. 2018; Barry 2024). Given the ever-increasing attrition rates experienced by early career teachers due to factors such as stress, feeling underprepared to enter the field, and lacking adequate support in the workplace (Ryan et al. 2017; Dunn 2018; Diliberti & Schwartz 2023), teacher education programs must center effort and attention on the mentor-mentee relationship.
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David Barry, PhD, is an assistant professor of early childhood education at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. As a kindergarten teacher of 10 years and now as a teacher educator, Dave is committed to providing developmentally appropriate learning experiences for students of all ages. [email protected]
Daris McInnis, EdD, is an assistant professor of literacy at West Chester University, a former early elementary teacher, and a Tillman Scholar whose research centers on family literacy, Black children’s literacy development, early childhood, and critical literacy. [email protected]