Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ed.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Learning

Major Professor

Jennifer Jacobs, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Sara Flory, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jennifer Wolgemuth, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Laura Sabella, Ph.D.

Keywords

Alternative Certification Pathways, Mentor Education, Teacher Education, Teacher Retention

Abstract

Teacher shortages are becoming increasingly problematic nationwide. Teacher mentoring has been found to be an effective method of curbing teacher attrition, but little attention has been addressed to ensuring that teacher mentors are receiving the most relevant professional learning experiences to bolster their self-efficacy and mentoring practice. This qualitative study, drawing on research traditions such as grounded theory and case study, seeks to illuminate the mentor self-efficacy and practice of secondary teacher mentors and to understand the role their professional learning plays in how and how well they enact their mentor roles. Through qualitative interviews, including artifact-based interviews, this study examines the participants’ mentoring realities, finding that the teacher mentors feel unprepared and unsupported in numerous ways as the mentor professional learning they have undertaken was not set up to meet the particular needs of teacher mentors in the secondary setting and is not keeping up with the transforming characteristics of new teachers entering education through alternative pathways, the new type of students they face in recent years, and the changes to education overall since the pandemic. This research increases our understanding of what makes mentor professional learning most relevant and effective to those who engage in it and, thereby, opens paths of inquiry for mentor educators to strengthen professional learning and support for secondary mentor teachers.

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