Exploring a framework for the mentoring of early career teachers in Catholic schools in Western Australia

The basis for the paper ‘Exploring a Framework for the Mentoring of Early Career Teachers in Catholic Schools in Western Australia’ stems from the work undertaken in the author’s recently published PhD study (Topliss 2017) and on personal experiences of teaching philosophy to students as a classroom teacher, gifted and talented coordinator and School leader for over 28 years. The mixed methods study identified and explored the mentoring experiences in the transition from graduate to Early Career Teacher (ECT) in selected Catholic primary and secondary schools in Western Australia. The research addressed a significant deficit, as presently the lack of a system-wide framework for the mentoring of ECTs, the cessation of the current ECT program and the limited training of mentors, has resulted in less than ideal mentoring experiences for ECTs. A chief finding was that the guarantee of a mentor does not necessarily alleviate every problem faced by an ECT. However, the attributes of a mentor may significantly assist or hinder the aspirations of an ECT. Encouragingly, the majority of principals recognised the importance of mentoring by offering support for the instigation of a system-wide mentoring framework. On the basis of these findings, principles upon which a new mentoring framework might be developed are proposed. The suggested system frame-work for Western Australian Catholic Education, titled ‘Borromeo’s Mentoring Framework’, may benefit system-leaders, principals, mentors and ECTs through the implementation of programs at a school based level, that enhance critical thinking skills i.e. Philosophy for Children (P4C) and Circle of Inquiry (CoI).


Introduction
The Chair of Australia's Teaching Body, The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), Professor John Hattie (2015) stated: 'We must stop allowing teachers to work alone, behind closed doors and in isolation in the staffrooms and instead shift to a professional ethic that emphasizes collaboration ' (p. 23). Furthermore, a 2017 AITSL report into initial teacher education indicated 22% of Beginning Teachers would leave the teaching profession within ten years. Of these, some 15% indicated they would leave within one to five years and another 22% of Early Career Teachers (ECTs) were unsure of their future teaching career (AITSL 2017, p. 102). The release in early 2018 of the Australian Federal Government's report: Through Growth to Achievement: The Report of The Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools, may have provided the much needed looking-glass to redress the concerning rapid incline of ECTs in Australia, and similarly around the world, who appear to be leaving the profession. A key aspect of the Report has been the recommendation of a structured career pathway for ECTs, through the support of a trained mentor.
A mirror, a looking-glass, a window or a microscope are often terms used to conjure the metaphor for looking inside, or reflecting on something more closely. Mentoring is one mirror that leaders may so desperately require to provide feedback to ECTs when improving student performance and may assist in sustaining their future career. ECTs may often be intimidated by the responsibility of teaching a class, and a wise mentor may be the person needed to guide them through such an emotional conundrum. For the purpose of maintaining conceptual clarity in this paper the nomenclature Early Career Teacher (ECT), Beginning Teacher, novice and mentee are used interchangeably throughout the paper to refer to those who are in their first three years of teaching.
The paper will explore how the establishment of a System Mentoring Framework may assist mentors to provide feedback to ECTs and the possibility of how P4C and CoI training for mentors may become an integral feature of future mentor training as part of a System Mentoring Framework in Catholic Schools in Western Australia. The topic will be explored under the following headings:

The origins of mentoring in contemporary Catholic Education in Western Australia
Throughout the history of Christianity, mentoring has been a concept evident through the missionary role of educators in the Catholic Church. Mentoring has been demonstrated in sacred Scripture through the life of Jesus and his relationship with the Apostles, in the everyday lives of the saints, and in the formation of religious orders. English (1999), described Jesus' model of ministry as one of collaboration and support of group cohesion, stating, Just as Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two (Mk 6:7), so too ought Catholic school teachers be sent out in twos … Those who do not realize and assume their responsibility to be available to and mentor new teachers should be reminded of Jesus' example and of the positive rewards of being a mentor. ( (Treston 2008). Whereas in the past, parents relied on Religious Orders and a few lay teachers to teach all learning areas including Religious Education, today the majority of early career teachers in Catholic schools are lay teachers. The decline of the Religious Orders over the last thirty years or so in Catholic education has created a tremendous loss of mentoring experience in key areas of leadership, teaching and faith education (Sharkey 2010;Treston 2008).
Mentoring in contemporary education can trace its modern origins back to the 1800s, when, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in England, apprenticed teachers were trained on the job to follow the teaching methods of a more senior and experienced teacher (Boreen, Johnson, Niday & Potts 2009). This apprenticeship is what would eventually be known as mentoring. Mentoring is defined as a relationship between a more experienced employee, commonly referred to as the mentor, and an inexperienced new employee, called the mentee or protégé. The role of the mentor has been described as one involving counseling, coaching, educating, inspiring, enriching, leading and advising the less experienced person (Boreen, Johnson, Niday & Potts 2009;Fulton 1990;Furlong & Maynard 1995;Nakamura, Shernoff & Hooker 2009 agrees, defining mentoring as having a direct relationship with coaching, they stated: The term 'coaching' is used in a wide variety of contexts to describe an array of relationships. Consequently, there is no universal practice when it comes to coaching. Coaching relationships can and often do cross over with mentoring, teaching by instruction and counseling. (AITSL 2013, p. 4) For the purposes of this paper, the definition of mentoring and coaching encompasses the AITSL definition and the one provided by Passmore, Peterson and Freire (2012).
Present-day teacher education involves attending university programs where an internship or mentor model is adopted which links classroom practice with latest educational theory (Boreen, Johnson, Niday & Potts, 2009). Furlong andMaynard (1995, as cited in Boreen et al. 2009) suggested a positive change in the way mentoring of Beginning Teachers is conceptualised. They stated, '… a Beginning Teacher is encouraged to be an active participant, inquirer and critical thinker. The mentor's role has also changed from advice-giver and problem-solver to questioner, listener and model for reflective thinker' (p. 9). Similarly, Bouffard (2013) noted a conceptual change in current mentoring practices from one where induction involved a simple orientation process for Beginning Teachers to one where mentors are trained to assist Beginning Teachers to be more effective from the outset. She stated: The ultimate goal is to make new teachers more effective with students more quickly. And that goal say experts, requires an approach that is more targeted to instruction than past efforts, using rigourously selected, trained mentors Teaching can therefore be seen to encompass all developmental stages from Pre-Service to Beginning Teacher to that of a more experienced teacher (AITSL 2012;Dinham 2008). In describing teaching as an ever-learning process, Ambrose, Bridges, De Pietro, Lovett and Norman (2010) also stated, 'Thinking of teaching as a progressive refinement raises the notion of development, which happens in the context of a given climate' (p. 224). They then suggested that apart from students, mentors also need to engage with intellectual development. Such engagement might take the form of refining personal competence, integrity, educational purpose and dealing with emotions. The thrust of the argument proffered by Ambrose et al. is that the mentor-mentee relationship is best developed in an environment that is mutually beneficial in terms of professional development.
Mentoring involves both cognitive and emotional processes. From a cognitive perspective, mentees are encouraged to be active learners, be more aware of the learning needs of their children and be able to reflect with their mentor about how they can improve their teaching practices (Boreen, Johnson, Niday & Potts 2009). A benefit of conceptualising mentoring from the cognitive perspective is the sharing of good work practices that not only benefit the mentee and mentor, but also the organisation and the wider profession (Nakamura, Shernoff & Hooker 2009).
Emotional processes, on the other hand, are required to enhance the mentor-mentee relationship in which the cognitive activity is being undertaken. There has been a growth in research that recognises the increasing role that emotional development plays, especially in the key formative stages of a Beginning Teacher's career (McNally & Blake 2008;Watt & Richardson 2011). McNally and Blake realised that, in addition to the cognitive processes, the emotional processes of teaching are important, especially for Beginning Teachers in their first months of teaching.
The possession of emotional processes is necessary for reflecting on teaching practice.
Although cognitive processes are significant, they appear to be more relevant to a Beginning Teacher later in their first and second years of teaching rather than too early in the process. Moir, Barlin, Gless and Miles (2010)  The recognition of the key emotional and cognitive processes in attitudinal development is seen as being necessary in establishing an effective mentoring framework for Catholic Education Schools in Western Australia.

International and local context
Over the last 10 years, there has been a slight decline in the performance of Australia's education system in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development This UK report declared that, 'Mentoring is seen as one of the core professional standards for teachers. Despite this, mentoring of trainees is still not seen as a central requirement of all teachers, as it is, for example, for the medical profession' (p. 35).
The 2013 UK Department for Education Report, Induction for newly qualified teachers, further reported that all Early Career Teachers (or termed Newly Qualified Teachers) would benefit from an induction process of at least one year, that included mentoring support (p. 16). The importance of system-based support and a mentoring framework has, correspondingly, been established in the United States. In their research report titled The cost of teacher turnover in five school districts: A pilot study, Barnes, Crowe and Schaefer (2007) identified the financial cost of losing a new teacher. The study found that, 'The total cost of turnover in the Chicago Public Schools is estimated to be over $86 million per year. It is clear that thousands of dollars walk out the door each time a teacher leaves' (Barnes, Crowe & Schaefer 2007, p. 5).
Significant government and independent research over the last twenty years has also been conducted in Australia. In particular, the two reports, An Ethic of Care The relevance of the NSIT to the study for mentoring Beginning Teachers in Catholic Education in Western Australia was clearly stated in two critical domains: 1. Building a school culture that promotes learning (domain 3, p. 6) and 2. Developing an expert teaching team (domain 5, p. 10).  (Table 1). Although the program ceased at the end of 2016 as a consequence of a broader program review, it was evident that mentoring provided during the program was, at least in part, intended to address attrition in the workforce. Through participation in the professional learning workshops, there were opportunities for ECTs to conduct personal reflections on their strengths and areas for growth in their teaching. The This section showed how Catholic education in Western Australia is currently in a state of flux regarding how mentoring is to be envisaged, but it was also noted that various attempts have been made and are currently being made to formalise how mentoring is to be approached to include all ECTs. In summary, discussion revolved around the need for mentor-related programs to be cognizant of the advantages of system-wide input; and the inverse relationship between mentoring and workforce attrition. The investigation of the methods used in the author's PhD study involving the context of mentoring in Catholic Schools in Western Australia, are now presented.

The Mentoring of Beginning Teachers Study
The approach was seen to be desirable for the current study, it was decided to use mixedmethod methodology while at the same time referring broadly to grounded theory.
Both of these approaches are discussed in what follows.

Methodology: The Mentoring of Beginning Teachers Study
For the purpose of the study, collection and interpretation of the data involved a mixed methods convergence design. Following Creswell and Plano Clark (2007)

Theoretical framework
It was also considered that grounded theory, anchored in inductive methodology would make a valuable contribution to the study. As Strauss and Corbin (1998) proffered, 'grounded theories, because they are drawn from data, are likely to offer insight, enhance understanding, and provide a meaningful guide to action' (p. 12). It has been suggested that even if no theory emerges, grounded theory research 'will still retain its descriptive value' (Wiersma 1995, p. 13). As the study relied on the emergence of conceptual categories, it was considered that the research procedures of grounded theory might be advantageous in organising and categorising concepts as they emerged.  What follows is a linear description of how the study was undertaken. The various components under this methods rubric are identified and are briefly described.

Extraction of descriptive categories for planning a mentoring framework
As identified in the literature, there exists a vast corpus of research on models of mentoring and mentoring programs. The value of grounded theory procedures became immediately apparent in helping to extract from the literature relevant concepts pertaining to the creation of a mentoring framework, that could then be tested in the 'real world' of the study environment. As Corbin and Strauss (1990)  study' (p. 5). Strauss and Corbin (1998) referred to this approach as conceptualising the phenomena, which resulted in the creation of a defined set of attributes or concept descriptors. What Corbin and Strauss termed attributes or concepts have in the present research been identified as theme descriptors (from here on referred to as descriptors). This nomenclature was chosen as it more accurately represents the data under consideration.
The first step in the research was to identify descriptors that needed to be considered before a mentoring framework could be planned. After a thorough investigation of the literature, 18 descriptors relating to the creation of a mentoring framework were extracted for the present study (Table 2). Where similar descriptors were identified across studies, these were synthesised into a representative statement. The 18 descriptors that were extracted could then be used to provide the basis for the mentoring framework.

Conceptual framework and research questions
Having identified from the literature the descriptors required for the development of a mentoring framework, these now needed to be tested to determine their veracity in the Western Australian Catholic educational context. Such a task was undertaken with three different groups which represented three discrete (by cohort) yet interrelated (by orientation) phases of the study. Figure 3 then shows how these relate to the conceptual framework for the study.

Primary overarching research question:
To what extent is early career mentoring operating effectively in Catholic school environments in Western Australia? This group also completed a survey and were engaged in a focus group interview.
Survey questionnaires and focus group interviews were selected as the instruments best suited to gain the perspectives and experiences of participants during each of the three phases of this study, and so address the research questions. Survey questionnaires were selected because they sought to seek the perceptions of the mentoring experience through utilising a range of question techniques, which included multiple choice, Likert scales and open short answer written responses. The importance of web-based surveys to collect data was identified by Rosenbaum and Lidz (2007). They recommended that Dillman, Tortora and Bowker's (1999) more traditional survey methods are a useful guide for designing web-based surveys.
The purpose of the focus group interviews was to gain a range of perceptions of the mentoring experiences of Post-Internship (Pre-Service) teachers, Beginning Teachers and principals. Focus group interviews were chosen because they present an opportunity to collect data on group interaction about the topic of mentoring by audio-recording and then transcribing the responses for later detailed analysis. Focus group interviews also require greater attention on the part of the moderator to gather greater depth from a participant compared to an individual interview (Morgan 1997).
In a focus group, participants can spark off each other and so deliver deeper information that might otherwise be unavailable to the researcher. Data was collected in non-threatening and comfortable forums, with all participants appearing relaxed and keen to participate.

Data analysis procedure
A separate analysis of QUAN (survey) + QUAL (focus group) data for each phase of the study was undertaken. The mixed methods analysis involved the identification of the descriptors from the literature and plotted the current qualitative and quantitative data against these. This was achieved by using a simple tick or cross to represent whether or not the descriptor was evident. The focus groups' and surveys' ticks were then converged and an overall percentage of the achievement of that descriptor was identified. The results combined to inform mixed method analysis in order to answer the research questions.

Findings
The findings from the data focused on specific survey responses and focus group comments specifically from the Phase 2 and Phase 3 stages of a mixed methods study on Mentoring Beginning Teachers in Western Australia.
The findings of the major conclusions and principles regarding mentoring in the study are now presented. The ten conclusions and ten principles as promulgated from the study (Figures 4 & 5) were necessary considerations for the successful implementation of a proposed Systematic Mentoring Framework, titled the Borromeo Mentoring Framework (BMF) (Figure 6.).

A proposed mentoring framework: The Borromeo Mentoring Framework (BMF)
The importance of mentoring ECTs as identified in the literature, together with the findings of the author's study relating to the subsidiary questions, segues well to recommending the development of a system-wide mentoring framework to be used by all Catholic schools. Buchanan, Raffaele, Glozier and Kanagaratnam (2016) suggested that the benefits of a formal mentoring framework are, '… making sure that both parties have a shared agreement about their roles in the relationship and identifying potential goals and challenges' (p. 26). The provision of such a framework would ensure that: school leadership has the necessary system-based support to implement local school-based mentoring programs; the use of terminology and understanding of roles is common; ECTs are provided with the necessary emotional support and formal feedback to progress with their achievement of the Australian Professional Standards of Teaching; and system-wide training is provided for mentors.
On the basis of the mixed method research that has been conducted, and utilising a grounded theory approach, a framework can now be proposed which has been named from this thesis, the Borromeo Mentoring Framework (BMF). The BMF is so named to acknowledge the life of Catholic Saint, scholar and mentor, Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), who demonstrated the values of knowledge, humility, eagerness, teaching and prayer (Atwood 2012;Guissano 2015). These values assisted the Church in reforms that involved the mentoring of catechists, teachers and priests in a period of great change in the church, the Catholic Reformation of the 16 th century.
During this time of great renewal, St Charles Borromeo pondered: If teaching and preaching is your job, then study diligently and apply yourself to whatever is necessary for doing the job well. Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head. (Atwood 2012, p. 215) His writings on Catholic education are still relevant for ECTs and Catholic teachers today. As such, as the implementation of the BMF is designed to equip mentors and mentees with the skills required to enhance the education of children in Catholic schools.
The BMF is considered to be appropriate for furthering dialogue about mentoring in Catholic schools as it remains cognizant of the faith imperative that underpins the Catholic education system. The findings and conclusions from the study also pinpointed that both experienced mentors and ECTs in Catholic Schools are experiencing more staff, students and parents coming from far more diverse: cultural, family and faith backgrounds than previous generations. The opinion of the author, garnered from nearly 30 years of teaching experience in the classroom, would identify programs like CoI and P4C as integral strategies that are necessary to be included in the development of any future mentor training program and would form an integral part of the BMF Framework. The BMF is pertinent to the present paper as it has the wide-ranging potential to benefit mentors, mentees and their students in multiple areas, i.e. critical thinking self-reflection; collaborative partner teaching and observation; Religious Education teaching feed-back; and creating whole staff learning opportunities. The BMF pre-empts the role of a system-wide coordinator/s responsible for framework oversight and liaison with Catholic Education System staff, the University of Notre Dame (Fremantle), The Catholic Institute of Western Australia, school staff, principals, ECTs and mentors. The BMF is outlined in Figure   6. The focus for these RE lessons centred on caring for God's environment. Many students suggested damage to the environment by plastic wrappers as a major consideration they faced when they bought an item from the canteen. Several other factors incorporated by the students as part of the decision-making process focused on the importance of one's parents or peers, i.e. Mum may have wanted them to donate the money to Project Compassion, or, some peers may have wanted the money to spend on their favourite sweet. The virtue of prudence was considered by many of the children as necessary to assist them in their decision-making process.
Furthermore, some children decided that prayer was an action they may incorporate to assist them in future decisions such as personal canteen choices and the potential effect of plastics on the environment. The next lesson then investigated three further questions that arose from the previous content: 1. What is good?
2. What is a good school, and 3. What is a good Catholic school?
The above examples of questioning that arose from the author's own RE lesson engaged both the children and the mentee in critical thinking and displayed the potential for utilising the P4C and CoI approach as part of a future mentor-training program. The adaption of the proposed system-level Borromeo Mentoring In the midst of these different currents of the modern world, Catholic education seeks to be faithful to its religious dimension. Catholic education is called upon to develop the gift of faith. It aims at bringing into the fullness of the Christian life those who have been baptized. It seeks to foster a desire to worship God in spirit and in truth, and a longing to share more completely in the life of the Most Holy Trinity. In today's world, we must help young people and adults to have a clear and consistent understanding of the faith, so that they will be able to affirm their Christian and Catholic identity. Only then will they be able to bear joyful witness to Christ in the changing times in which we live. Education must also assist the members of the Church to grow in an appreciation of their human vocation, since all are called to help make the world a better place. If people possess truly human values and sound moral principles, they will be enabled to find 'solutions which are truly human' for the problems of their lives. Christians know that their faith helps them to contribute more effectively to the good of the society in which they live. (John Paul II, 1986) Saint John Paul II discussed the importance of maintaining a Catholic faith dimension in education. As this faith was founded from within a strong historic tradition of Catholic Education in Western Australia, and as such development was in many ways premised on providing some form of mentoring to novices, it seemed appropriate in this paper to provide a brief summary of the early history of how this was undertaken.
Such an approach also emphasises how mentoring has historic tenure in this state. The paper also recommended that an accompanying training program for mentors be based on the Borromeo Mentoring Framework (BMF). The adoption of the BMF might lead to the desirable situation that has been identified by Sunde and Ulvik (2014), who declared, Mentoring seems to hold the potential to transform the teaching profession, revitalise experienced teachers…it is thus not only beneficial for new teachers. Yet the influence of mentoring depends on the quality of the mentoring and on support from both the school culture and school leaders (p. 285). It was concluded that careful mentor selection, perhaps by disposition, might obviate problems at a later date. Special mention was made of school leaders who need to be what may be 'dispositionally disposed' with regard to supporting a system mentoring framework, if it is to prove successful in implementing programs like P4C and CoI, that may assist all mentors and their mentees to engage actively as learners with their students in the classroom.