Teacher Mentoring Relationships in One School in South Kazakhstan: Experiences, Benefits and Challenges

Abstract

Teachers in Kazakhstan, both novice and experienced, develop some of their skills by attending different professional development courses, both at their schools and outside of it as well. One of those courses that a school can offer is regarded as ‘mentoring,’ when a recently employed teacher works in cooperation with a more experienced teacher to provide a smooth induction into the profession. In this study, the question under discussion is the relationship that can occur between a mentor and a mentee. Even though mentoring is effective in teachers’ retention and advancement of professional skills, not all schools organize mentoring programs for novice teachers. Additionally, there is little information available on how mentoring is organized in those schools, how teachers establish their relationship with mentor teachers, and what benefits and challenges they experience during mentoring. The purpose of this study is to examine novice teachers’ experiences during mentoring and identify effective components of mentoring relationships in the Kazakhstani context. The research questions that will lead this study are: RQ1: How do novice teacher mentees and more experienced teachers build their mentoring relationships in one secondary school in Kazakhstan? SQ1: What are the key components of an effective mentoring relationship in the opinion of novice teacher mentees? SQ2: What benefits and challenges do mentees experience during their mentoring relationships with more experienced mentors? A qualitative case study approach was implemented where eight novice teachers participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. In general, the results of this study suggest that novice teachers tend to view mentoring as a way of professional development that has provided a smooth induction into a new work environment. The finding also reveals nine components of mentoring relationships that have been successfully built during mentoring, promoting a positive experience for novice teachers. Moreover, the results show some benefits of mentoring as timely feedback and individual meetings, along with some challenges like time constraints and additional stress. This study contributes to mentors’ understanding of how mentoring relationships should be built, taking into account mentees’ preferences and needs. The findings of the study are especially relevant to teachers, who consider entering mentoring programs to assess and adapt their behavior according to the description of key components. It also has the potential to support the school administration in preparing a school policy on mentoring and the Kazakhstani policymakers in designing mentoring programs in the country.