Conference Agenda

This symposium, consisting of two sessions (90 mins + 90 mins) is organized by the Network Project which has emerged within the Network 1 (Professional Learning and Development) of EERA. This network, operating as an integral part of the network NW 1 of EERA, is named Ecologies of Teacher Induction and Mentoring in Europe (TIME). Founded in 2021, the TIME network has so far met during NERA 2022 and ECER 2022 conferences, and the third in-person meeting of TIME is held during the ECER 2023.

The TIME network is in the process of publishing a European anthology, entitled European Perspectives on Teacher Induction and Mentoring. The anthology will be part of a TEPE book series (Teacher Education Policy in Europe Network), published by Brill Publishers.

An open call for proposals for this anthology was published in the fall of 2022. From the numerous proposals for the book, the editors chose eight for further development. These eight papers make up this two-part symposium in ECER 2023. So, this symposium will present unique and new research that has not been published anywhere else thus far. The presentations offer different perspectives on mentoring and induction of new teachers from different theoretical and empirical as well as national standpoints. Some presentations bring together broader reviews of mentoring that include multiple countries. Others, on the other hand, are focused more precisely on specific practices or, for example, on comparisons between two countries. Included in this symposium are perspectives from Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Malta, Moldova, Norway, Portugal, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, and the UK, including Scotland and Gibraltar.

The aims of the anthology, are to: (1.) Theorise about the implicit understandings of teacher education and teacher development, thereby addressing the broad understanding of teacher education; (2.) Create insights into the foci that characterise European research in the field and the approaches that are drawn on to discuss the current research literature; (3.) Unpack the European concepts of induction/mentoring.

The chapters of the anthology offer insights to different theoretical frameworks and assumptions that underpin induction and mentoring in Europe. The chapters describe and discuss various European as well as global approaches and implications regarding how mentoring practices are understood and examined. One of the goals of the anthology is also to review the implications of local, national or international policies for induction practices and research on mentoring across different European countries.

The Part 1 of the symposium will start with an overall introduction to the aims of the project and provide an overview on the discussions on induction and mentoring of new teachers in Europe. The second presentation will introduce a comparative analysis on practices and policies of teacher induction and mentoring by using the concept of ‘curriculum ideologies’ as a theoretical lens. The third paper will introduce results of a literature review on European studies on teacher induction and mentoring. The fourth presentation will offer a Nordic view on mentoring and induction.

The Part 2 of the symposium sheds light on mentoring practices and their mutual interaction through four comparisons between two countries. The first paper outlines how the Finnish peer group mentoring model was implanted in Gibraltar and hybridized with the action research approach and how it adapted into and developed in a new kind of ecological niche in a new educational ecosystem. The second presentation compares the mentoring practices of neighboring Belgium and the Netherlands. The third paper is based on an Eastern European perspective, with Romania and Moldova as case examples. The fourth presentation compares mentoring practices in Austria and Israel.

This symposium presents research on understanding the manifestation of practices of induction and mentoring of new teachers in Europe. The symposium is organised in two sessions with eight presentations. Through these papers, diverse insights into framing practices of mentoring and induction in different countries will emerge. This diverse picture can be viewed as an ‘ecology of practices’, where induction and mentoring practices thrive and concur with other educational and social practices, forming a living, dynamically evolving whole. The idea to frame and study practices as if they were ecosystem is one of the theoretical lenses that has inspired this European network - to such an extent that the name of the network reflects this focus. The ecological perspective has been applied recently by a number of other scholars in educational research (e.g. Barnett & Jackson 2019; Godfrey & Brown 2019). The perspective applied in this symposium is based in particular on the work of Australian practice theorist Stephen Kemmis (e,g. Kemmis & Heikkinen 2012). This theory suggests that educational practices like induction and mentoring interrelate with one another in the same way as living organisms do in nature. Thus, concepts derived from ecology can be applied, with given limitations, to the study of mentoring practices. Induction and mentoring are nested within municipal, regional (van der Pers & Helms-Lorenz, 2021), national and international educational professional development practices (Helms-Lorenz et al., 2019). In other words, mentoring practices inhabit a given ‘ecological niche’ in each education ecosystem. Niches are evident for the distribution of resources and for individuals to thrive in systems they fit in best. The relevance of induction and mentoring practices and its research requires “ontological synchronization – i.e., continuous tuning to what is happening and matters at hand, and what future is being generated, including what values and judgements (practitioners, researchers, policymakers) perpetuate in society” (Akkerman, Bakker & Penuel, 2021). A sustainable mentoring system is embedded (‘nested’) within the broader educational ecosystem including the national agreements of the teachers’ working conditions (e.g. salaries, working hours etc.). The symposium focuses on analysing how mentoring can find its ‘ecological niche’ (or not) in the respective educational ecosystems. We will discuss to what extent national and regional programs are influenced by political- economical, teacher and student interests and scientific evidence.

Akkerman, S. F., Bakker, A. & Penuel, W. R. (2021). Relevance of Educational Research: An Ontological Conceptualization. Educational Researcher, 50 (6) , 416-424. Barnett, R., & Jackson, N. (2019). Ecologies for Learning and Practice: Emerging Ideas, Sightings and Possibilities. Milton Park: Routledge. Capra, F. (2005) “Speaking Nature's Language: Principles for Sustainability”. In M. K. Stone and Z. Barlow. (Eds.) Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World (pp. 18–29). San Francisco, CA:Sierra Club Books. Godfrey, D., & Brown, C. (Eds.) (2019). An Ecosystem for Research-Engaged Schools: Reforming Education Through Research. Milton Park: Routledge. Kemmis, S. & Heikkinen, H. (2012). Future perspectives: Peer-Group Mentoring and international practices for teacher development. In: H. Heikkinen, H. Jokinen & P. Tynjälä (Eds.) Peer-Group Mentoring for Teacher Development. Milton Park: Routledge, 144-170. Helms-Lorenz, M., van der Pers, M., Moorer, P., Lugthart, E., van der Lans & Maulana, R. Supporting Beginning Teachers 2014-2019: Final report. Teacher Education department University of Groningen. Plauborg, H., Wieser, C., Petersen, K.B. & Laursen, P.F. (2022): Teachers who stay in the profession, Pædagogisk indblik, Aarhus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag

For over 30 years there have been calls to focus on supporting beginning teachers and improve teacher quality (Darling-Hammond 1995; Huling-Austin 1992). This has led to new national standards, legislation and policies which aim to safeguard beginning teacher learning. The underlying purpose of teacher induction is to provide support to beginning teachers (Britton et al., 2003; Mena & Clarke, 2021; Olsen et al., 2020; Shanks et al., 2022; Snoek et al., 2010). Here, four national contexts (Malta, The Netherlands, Norway and Scotland) are compared to critically inquire into induction. A comparative approach helps us to understand the interrelatedness between education and culture (Kazamias 2009) and how national contexts surrounding teacher learning are embedded in policies, resources and actual practices. A comparison between countries which differ in terms of history regarding induction, and policy contexts: Centralized or decentralized approach; Level of collaboration and trust between teacher education institutions and schools/local authorities; Employment status of beginning teachers after initial teacher education (permanent or temporary/partial license or registration to teach); Approaches to address teacher shortages: Focus on teacher recruitment or retention; Availability of clear teacher career paths. To analyse and compare the impact of these differences we use Schiro’s curriculum ideologies as a lens. This is based on our understanding of the teacher profession as a continuum of professional learning. As initial teacher education provides a curriculum that supports the professional development of student teachers, an induction programme can be understood as a curriculum supporting beginning teachers. Schiro (2013) recognizes four different ideologies that can drive curriculum aims and curriculum development: Scholar Academic ideology; Social Efficiency ideology; Learner Centred ideology; and Social Reconstruction ideology. Our research question is: How do curriculum ideologies in different national contexts create a European perspective for teacher induction? For each country, we analyse to what extent the curriculum ideologies can be recognised: Scholar Academic ideology (e.g., focus on further development of knowledge, skills and inquiring mindsets of beginning teachers); Social Efficiency ideology (e.g., focus on improving learning outcomes of children/students and reducing teacher attrition); Learner Centred ideology, (e.g., focus on the needs of beginning teachers); Social Reconstruction ideology (e.g., focus on beginning teachers as change agents in schools, education systems and societies). This comparison highlights the importance of studying local educational practice and pedagogy, including historical factors which impact how induction is structured. The induction schemes are inspired by or can lead to a common European framework.

Britton, E. Paine, L., Pimm, D., & Raizen, S. (2003). Comprehensive teacher induction. Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Darling-Hammond, L. (1995). Changing conceptions of teaching and teacher development. Teacher Education Quarterly, 22(4), 9-26. Huling-Austin, L. (1992). Research on learning to teach. Journal of Teacher Education, 43(3), 173-180. Kazamias, A.M. (2009a) Comparative education: Historical reflections. In: Cowen, R., Kazamias, A.M. (eds) International Handbook of Comparative Education vol. 1. Dordrecht, Heidelberg: Springer. Mena, J., & Clarke, A. (Eds.) (2021). Teacher induction and mentoring: Supporting beginning teachers. Palgrave studies on leadership in teacher education. Palgrave Mcmillan. Olsen, K.-R., Bjerkholt, E.M., & Heikkinen, H. L.T. (Eds.) (2020). New teacher in Nordic countries: Ecologies of mentoring and induction. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. Schiro, M. (2013). Curriculum theory: Conflicting visions and enduring concerns. London: Sage. Shanks, R., Attard Tonna, M., Krøjgaard, F., Paaske, K. A., Robson, D. & Bjerkholt, E. (2022) A comparative study of mentoring for new teachers, Professional Development in Education, 48:5, 751-765, DOI: 10.1080/19415257.2020.1744684 Snoek, M., Eisenschmidt, E., Forsthuber, B., Holdsworth, P., Michaelidou, A., Dahl Norgaard, J., Pachler, N. (2010). Developing Coherent and Systemwide Induction Programmes for Beginning Teachers. A handbook for Policy makers. Brussels, European Commission.

In many European countries, teacher induction and mentoring are central answers to the question of how newly qualified teachers' path into the teaching profession can reduce attrition, increase job satisfaction and enhance the quality of teachers' work. However, it is difficult to gain insight into existing European research in the field partly because this research has not previously been systematically collected and analysed. There have been efforts to summarise relevant literature in some European regions e.g. in the Nordic countries (Olsen et al. 2020), but a literature review of research across European countries is missing. This is the goal of this chapter. Through a critical literature review (Hart 2003/2018) focusing on empirical, peer reviewed European research, the chapter will address the following research questions: - How is teacher induction and mentoring organised across the different countries in Europe? - What are recurrent topics explored in studies on teacher induction and mentoring in Europe? - How is induction and mentoring conceptualised in European studies in the field? - What effects of teacher induction and mentoring processes are examined in the research literature and how are these effects investigated? Research literature written in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Greek, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish is searched in ProQuest and EBSCO as well as in specific European databases in the period from 2000-2023. Inclusion criteria are: empirical studies, focused on teacher induction and/or mentoring in primary and lower secondary schools, conducted in one or more European countries and peer-reviewed.

Hart, C. (2018): Doing a Literature Review. Releasing the Research Imagination, Sage Olsen, K. R., Bjerkholt, E. M. & Heikkinnen, H. L. T. (Eds.) (2020): New teachers in Nordic countries – Ecologies of mentoring and induction. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. Symeonidis, V. (2021). Europeanisation in teacher education: A comparative case study of teacher education policies and practices. Routledge. Vidović, V. V., & Domović, V. (2013). Teachers in Europe - Main trends, issues and challenges. Croatian Journal of Education, 15(3), 219-250. Zuljan, M. V., & Požarnik, B. M. (2014). Induction and Early-career Support of Teachers in Europe. European Journal of Education, 49(2), 192-205. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12080

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of teacher induction practices and the situation of mentoring for new teachers in the Nordic countries and Estonia. The chapter will identify what is unique within a broader European context and also what, if anything, is significantly different. This chapter arises from a longstanding collaboration between teachers' trade unions, teacher educators and researchers on mentoring and induction which includes partners from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. This chapter will report on the current research and development project named Nordic Teacher Induction - Sustainable Ecosystems of Mentoring (NTI-SEM) which is funded by Nordplus Horizontal. This paper will begin with six summaries of the current state of mentoring and induction from each of the partner counties. The summaries will include a short historical account about the development of induction and mentoring, and then the most up-to-date status from each country will be introduced. Following this, a comparison of the various contexts for teacher induction will unpack each nation’s policies as they relate to induction and mentoring, and discuss the implications for induction and mentoring practices and research. In this comparison concepts drawn from the theory of practice architectures (Kemmis et al., 2014) and ecologies of practice (for example Kemmis, 2022) will be used. The final part of this paper will reflect on the unique collaboration that this network has sustained for nearly two decades; that between teacher educators, researchers, teachers and teacher unions. This collaboration has already resulted in important conference symposia, publications including two anthologies titled: “Newly Qualified Teachers in Northern Europe – Comparative Perspectives on Promoting Professional Development” (edited by Fransson & Gustafsson, 2008) “New Teachers in Nordic Countries: Ecologies of Induction and Mentoring” (edited by Olsen, Bjerkholt & Heikkinen, 2020), as well as in a series of “Road Show Events” in each of the countries. The multi-stakeholder collaboration has not only provided a mapping and comparison of mentoring and induction practices for newly qualified teachers across the Nordic region, it has also provided impetus for change in policy and focus in the educational landscape in relation to mentoring and induction in each of the countries.

Fransson, G. & Gustafsson, C. (Eds.) (2008). Newly Qualified Teachers in Northern Europe – Comparative Perspectives on Promoting Professional Development. University of Gävle. Kemmis, S. (2022). Transforming Practices. Singapore: Springer. Kemmis, S., Wilkinson, J., Edwards-Groves, C., Hardy, I., Grootenboer, P., & Bristol, L. (2014). Changing practices, changing education. Springer Science & Business Media. Olsen, K.-N., Bjerkholt, E. & Heikkinen, H. (Eds.) (2020). New Teachers in Nordic Countries: Ecologies of Induction and Mentoring. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk.