Teacher leadership and teacher mentoring: understanding the preparedness of mentors and their educational practices

Purpose Formal mentorship provides mentors with opportunities to demonstrate teacher leadership potential, benefiting both themselves and their mentees. However, the practices of mentors serving in this capacity remain understudied. This study sought to examine how mentor teachers differ from their non-mentor peers demographically, instructionally and in teacher leadership practices. Additionally, the study investigated to what degree mentors felt prepared for their formal mentorship roles. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a quantitative survey design. All public-school teachers in the US state of Nevada were invited to participate in a survey. The survey asked participants to indicate how frequently they engage in teacher leadership practices, how they teach, how prepared they are and what formal roles they take on in their schools. Survey responses were analyzed through analysis of variance and regression to understand if mentor teachers were different from their peers in terms of demographic characteristics, teaching practices and engagement in teacher leadership behaviors. Findings Data collected in this study indicate that mentor teachers are more likely to identify as White and female and have higher levels of education than their non-mentor peers. They also use engaging instructional strategies more frequently in their classrooms. Individuals who serve as mentors also report engaging more frequently in teacher leadership behaviors. Originality/value This study examined how mentors are different from their non-mentor peers for analysis as a unique approach. Additionally, the use of demographic comparisons revealed that different backgrounds and identities were related to different instructional and teacher leadership practices.