The Good Shepherds: Challenges of a Mentoring Program for ALL Teachers

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The Good Shepherds Challenges of a Mentoring
Program for ALL Teachers

• Gary M. Kilburg, Ph.D
• The Mentoring Institute at George Fox University
• Newberg, OR 97132
• gkilburg_at_georgefox.edu

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The Shepherds

• The researcher recognizes that the vast majority
  of the mentoring program for All teachers has
  been effective and successful for a variety of
  reasons.
• But, regardless of the benefits, it is
  unfortunate that programs still fall prey to
  problems that can inhibit its effectiveness.

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Context

• Small rural community in Oregon
• School district serves approximately 4,300
  students
• Employs include 20 administrators and supervisors
  and 225 licensed staff
• Mentoring program was first initiated during the
  2004-2005 school year by local education
  association.
• District began planning a mentoring program for
  ALL teachers during Spring 2005.

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Definitions

• Critical Friends Group CFG
• School Support Person SSP
• Critical Friends Group Coach CFGC
• New Teacher Conversations NTC
• Tall Poppy Syndrome A pejorative term used to
  describe what is seen as a leveling of social
  attitude. It is also seen as a societal
  phenomenon in which people of genuine merit are
  criticized or resented because their talents or
  achievements elevate them above or distinguish
  them from their peers.

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A Mentoring Program for ALL Teachers

• Five Levels
• New Teacher In-Service
• New Teacher Conversations (NTCs)
• School Support Person (SSP)
• Critical Friends Groups (CFGs)
• Instructional Coaches (ICs)

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Researchers Role

• Participant observer
• Member of planning committee
• Collected surveys and conducted interviews
• Analyzed data for school district
• Recommendations
• Member of the coordinators committee 2008-2009

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Demographics

• Data collected over a four-year period from
  2005-2009.
• 57 Critical Friends Group Coaches
• 122 New teachers and teachers new to the district
• 361 Critical Friends Group participants
• 46 School Support Persons
• 19 Instructional Coaches
• 26 Planning Committee members
• 631 Teachers and Specialist participated in this
  study over the four year period

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Questions

• What types of problems do mentoring program
  participants encounter over a four-year period?
• Which problem reoccurred on a regular basis?
• What impact do intervention procedures have on
  participants that were encountering problems on a
  regular basis.

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Methodology

• Qualitative
• Step 1
• Survey data were collected in October, January,
  March, and May.
• Additional data were collected from observations,
  141 formal, and informal interviews
• Step 2
• Identify challenges and benefits
• Step 3
• Identify challenges that were recurring on a
  regular basis and cross-case themes
• Step 4
• Implemented intervention strategies

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Cross-Case Themes

• Time-Related Barriers
• Territorial-Related Barriers
• Institutional-Related Barriers
• Interpersonal/Ego/Emotional-Related Barriers
• Administrative-Related Barriers

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Cross-Case Themes

• Time-Related Barriers
• Finding a common time to meet
• Timeliness of feedback
• Need dedicated release time
• Waiting to get to the meat of the problem
• Taking family time away from teachers

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Cross-Case Themes

• Territorial-Related Barriers
• Concern over having an administrator in a CFG
• High school tends to be the enigma (perplexing)
• Most high school administrators and teachers do
  not care to participate in CFGs

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Cross-Case Themes

• Institutional-Related Barriers
• Funding was never mentioned as an issue by
  teachers and specialist, although they alluded to
  it through the back door.
• To many teachers and not enough instructional
  coaches
• SSPs need training to work with new teacher and
  veteran new to the district.
• Make the CFG a priority for each school
• Special education and counseling need an SSP in
  each building and a coach in their specialty

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Cross-Case Themes

• Administrative-Related Barriers
• Some of the administrators are unwilling to have
  their teachers participate in the CFG because of
  it takes away from their agenda.
• One of the questions that continually comes from
  some administrators is why the mentoring program
  (CFG and IC) are taking away some of their best
  teachers.

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Cross-Case Themes

• Interpersonal/Ego/Emotional-Related Barriers
• Attitude
• Venerable
• Gripe Sessions
• Anxiety
• A history of challenges, resentment that many
  veteran teachers hold onto that impact the
  mentoring program.

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Idiosyncratic Cases

• Some people could benefit from mentoring/coaching
  but are worried it will draw attention to a
  problem, in other words, raising a red flag
• How the program and/or the coordinator is
  perceived.
• Unwilling to participate in CFG because one of
  the members of the CFG talks to much.

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Conclusions

• A number of teachers are dedicated to their
  students, but not to one anothers growth.
• At least one of the schools in which these
  teachers worked remained largely unchanged, with
  an egg-crate mentality that reinforces classroom
  boundaries and a professional culture that
  discourages building a community of learners.
• Funding
• Principals can make or break a program and the
  roles teachers acquire

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Conclusions

• Instruction coaches efforts to share their
  expertise can be undermined by the culture of
  teaching.
• Others told of being criticized by their peers
  because their role granted them unusual
  privileges or special access.
• Teachers and administrators sometimes hold the
  institutional culture hostage because of past
  events (Tall Poppy Syndrome). Continuing to
  cultivate leaders and program is essential for
  quality growth.
• Overworked and underfed.

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Conclusions

• Some teachers are just not comfortable with the
  IC coming into their classroom.
• It is not enough for the principal to be a
  passive supporter. He or she needs to anticipate
  resistance that the mentoring program might
  encounter and broker the relationships that need
  to be in place in order for the program to work
  effectively.
• Bifurcated/Detached (Calm Seas vs. Stormy Seas)