Mentoring: The BC context

1. Mentoring: The BC context Charlie Naylor, Ph.D. BCTF Research May, 2012

2. Contextual factors • Teacher and administrator demographics • A range of cultures: individual, generational, school, district, union, province • Leadership: system leadership and system navigators • Concepts of mentoring to work within the contexts

3. Why does context matter? The Ingersoll and Smith (2004) data suggest that context matters: induction’s efficacy may depend on the school setting. Their hypothesis is that induction is not a panacea and that it, alone, may not be sufficient to reduce the high levels of turnover that normally exist in many urban, low income public schools. Ingersoll, R., Strong, M. (2011). The impact of induction and mentoring programs for beginning teachers: a critical review of the research. Review of Educational Research, 81, p 201-233

4. Teacher statistics by age Source: BCTF graph created from data from BC Ministry of Education (2012). Reporting on K­–12: Provincial Reports—Teacher Statistics 2011/12: Province—Public Schools. p 4. Accessed at http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reports/pdfs/teacher_stats/public.pdf

5. Teacher statistics by age and gender Source: BCTF graph created from data from BC Ministry of Education (2012). Reporting on K­–12: Provincial Reports—Teacher Statistics 2011/12: Province—Public Schools. p 4. Accessed at http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reports/pdfs/teacher_stats/public.pdf

6. Teacher experience in BC Source: BCTF graph created from data from BC Ministry of Education (2012). Reporting on K­–12: District Reports—Teacher Statistics 2011/12. Accessed at http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reporting/district_data_summary.php

7. Teacher Experience: Metro/Fraser Valley Source: BCTF graphs created from data from BC Ministry of Education (2012). Reporting on K­–12: District Reports—Teacher Statistics 2011/12. Accessed at http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reporting/district_data_summary.php

8. Teacher Experience: Metro West Source: BCTF graphs created from data from BC Ministry of Education (2012). Reporting on K­–12: District Reports—Teacher Statistics 2011/12. Accessed at http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reporting/district_data_summary.php

9. Teacher Experience: Vancouver Island South

10. Student enrolment 2000-2020 Source: BCTF table created from data from BC Stats, Ministry of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government. Table 6. British Columbia Population by 5-year Age Group Estimated (1971-2010) and Projected (2011-2036). British Columbia Population Projections 2011-2036. September, 2011. Accessed at http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/Demography/PopulationProjections.aspx

11. Administrator Statistics by age *Administrators (Principals, Vice-Principals and Directors of Instruction) includes full- and part-time

12. Administrators by age *Administrators (Principals, Vice-Principals and Directors of Instruction) includes full- and part-time

13. Administrator statistics by age/gender Female Administrators* Male Administrators* *Administrators (Principals, Vice-Principals and Directors of Instruction) includes full- and part-time

14. Administrator FTE numbers by gender *Administrators (Principals, Vice-Principals and Directors of Instruction) includes full- and part-time

15. Generations: X – 60’s/70’s: uncertain futures Y – 80’s/90’s: Millennials, increased technology and communication usage/skills Z – 2000/2010: Internet generation, multi-taskers

16. Generational differences: fact, fiction, or a bit of both? Baby Boomers Money is an important motivational factor, along with a strong title, recognition and respect. Gen X They seek a work-life balance and are motivated by a job that fulfills them personally as well as financially. For them, money is a reward for a job well done, yet it does not add value to the job. Gen Y Friendship is such a strong motivator for them that Gen Y workers will choose a job just to be with their friends. Mixed with their sense of ethics, they are more likely to participate in activities to support a cause. Similar to Gen X, money is an important factor, but it is not a standalone. http://goldbeck.com/hrblog/?tag=generational-differences

17. Generational Values and Personality: Workplace Characteristics Comparative • http://goldbeck.com/hrblog/?tag=generational-differences

18. School Cultures • Jim Strachan’s video from Toronto – stress on the importance of school cultures. http://teachermentorshipbc.com/ • Schools on a continuum from collaborative to combative cultures • ‘This is how things are done in this school’: is this how some veteran teachers induct new teachers?

19. Secondary school cultures “The professional culture of high schools presents the most difficult challenge of all. Traditional norms of high school teaching – teaching subjects rather than students – shape teachers’ conceptions of their professional attitudes and responsibilities towards students.” McLaughlin, M.W. & Talbert, J. E. (2007). “Building professional learning communities in high schools: challenges and promising practices,” in Stoll, L & Louis, K.S. Professional Learning Communities: Divergence, Depth and Dilemmas.

20. District culture - Richmond • It’s not explicit but there is a sense that this district welcomes and facilitates shared enterprises with its trustees, staff and community, so that change initiatives tend to be widely discussed and open to amendment. • There’s an attitude that collectively and collaboratively, education and change can be a journey of exploration, with the end destination not always clear and rarely exactly defined, but with a confidence that it will appear if there’s enough dialogue and good will. • Processes are explicitly co-operative and non-hierarchical so that different people/groups will see that the processes are invitational and participatory.

21. District culture - Richmond • Actions reflect the values described above, with cross-organizational working groups and committees which work without district control but with district support. • Tensions exist as part of work and life in an urban school district, but for the most part they are accepted and dealt with rather than the tensions controlling processes and agendas. Naylor, C., Fast, J. D’Angelo. K., Champion, K (2012). A British Columbia Teacher Union and School District Collaboration to Support Inclusion. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada, April 13–17, 2012

22. District culture - Richmond • To this end the Board and the Association further agree to the following principles: • Professional growth is a process of adult learning and professional development programs are most effective when the following principles of adult learning are acknowledged in planning and implementing such a program: i) past knowledge and experience is taken into account and built upon; ii) the ideas and shared experiences of the participants are validated; iii) the process is interactive and social; iv) participation is voluntary.

23. District culture - Richmond b) Any new professional development initiative should begin with an explicit goal setting process by the participant(s) which not only considers present needs and interests but also attempts to build on previous experience.  c) Planning for professional development should consider needs for material resources, human resources, organizational support and time for learning. d) Professional development activities should provide for a cycle of presentation, discussion, demonstration or modeling, individual practice, practice with feedback and reflective analysis both individually and with colleagues. e) All professional development programs should be evaluated for effectiveness by the participant(s). Professional Development Contract Language. School District # 38, Richmond

24. Provincial culture - Ontario The New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) supports the growth and professional development of new teachers. It is a step in a continuum of professional learning for teachers to support effective teaching, learning, and assessment practices. It provides another full year of professional support so that new teachers can continue to develop the requisite skills and knowledge that will support increased success as teachers in Ontario. By helping new teachers achieve their full potential, the NTIP supports Ontario's vision of achieving high levels of student performance. The New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teacher/induction.html

25. Provincial culture - Ontario • 2003: High conflict, stagnant student achievement, growth in private schools, high teacher attrition • 2010: No teacher disputes, all indicators rising, private school growth stopped. Teacher attrition rate reduced by 75% (resulting in teacher ed programs extended to 2 years to cut supply of teachers)

26. Provincial culture - Ontario • Strong political leadership • Clear goals that engage the profession and the public • Positive engagement to build the education community • Focus on capacity building – where there’s a problem, support offered (Ben Levin, AERA conference, Vancouver, April 2012)

27. BCPSEA tabled language Professional Growth: Professional Growth Plans are intended to be evaluative in nature and must include a feedback process completed by the school or district administrator. http://www.bcpsea.bc.ca/documents/teacher%20bargaining/E28-CW-Professional%20Growth%20and%20Engagement.pdf

28. BCPSEA tabled language Mentorship • The purpose of this clause is to facilitate and foster collegial sharing, mentoring and cooperative learning through the use of employee mentors. • A mentor is an employee who voluntarily, with the agreement of the employer, agrees to support and assist an employee in her/his instructional assignment and professional growth. • Mentorship may be used as a method, in whole or in part, to address goals or concerns identified in an employee through the performance review process. • The initiation and duration of the mentoring relationship shall be by common agreement of the mentor, the employee who is to be mentored and the school or district administrator.

29. BCPSEA tabled language • The employer may dismiss an employee for just and reasonable cause where the employee has failed to demonstrate competence pursuant to the Performance Review process as set out in this article. • Performance review reports, including Professional Growth Plans, may include mandatory requirements on professional development activities.

30. Pan Canadian study – BC teachers Kamanzi, Riopel, and Lessard (2007), in a wide-ranging study of Canadian teachers’ work, explored professional induction and development, social relations in school, work satisfaction, perception of changes on teachers’ work, and perception of the profession of educator. They found that teachers’ work was impacted by decisions made at the provincial level, whether by government or a Ministry of Education. Of teachers who responded to Kamanzi et al.’s survey, 88.6% stated that their workload had increased in recent years. The authors also found that BC and Quebec teachers were more pessimistic about educational change than teachers in other provinces. Kamanzi, P.C., Riopel, M-C, and Lessard, C. (2007). School Teachers in Canada: Context, profile and work. Highlights of a Pan-Canadian survey. University of Montreal. [50 pages] https://depot.erudit.org/bitstream/003042dd/1/Hightlights of a pancanadian survey.pdf

31. Provinces – confrontation or collaboration? Table 3: Education governance and liberal democracy based on the market and free enterprise Alberta Ontario British Columbia Nova Scotia Manitoba Newfoundland and Labrador New Brunswick Prince Edward Island Quebec Northwest Territories Yukon Nunavut Saskatchewan Education governance and participatory community-based democracy Lessard, C., Brassard, A. (2005). Education Governance in Canada: Trends and Significance. Paper presented at AERA, Montreal http://www2.crifpe.ca/html/chaires/lessard/pdf/AERAgouvernanceang3.pdf

32. Provincial comparisons We should note the provinces situated on the two extremes of the continuum have adopted radically different strategies with one group focusing on confrontation, notably with the internal players in the education system, and the other group continuing to use collaboration and consensus building. In the former, we are working in the strict confines of representative democracy, in the latter, we emphasize the system of participatory community-based democracy that is a heritage of the past (p 21). Lessard, C., Brassard, A. (2005). Education Governance in Canada: Trends and Significance. Paper presented at AERA, Montreal http://www2.crifpe.ca/html/chaires/lessard/pdf/AERAgouvernanceang3.pdf

33. The provincial context - BC We argue that the types and quantities of legislation since May 2001, when the Liberal government took power, has been designed, in part, to undermine the BCTF and to deprofessionalize teachers. (p. 24) Chan, A., Fisher, D., Rubenson, K. (2007). “Chapter 1: Policy Narrative for British Columbia.”The evolution of professionalism: Educational policy in the provinces and territories of Canada.http://chet.educ.ubc.ca/pdf_files/Evolution-Book-CHET.pdf

34. BCTF Worklife study BCTF Worklife of BC Teachers in 2009. Chapter 6: Sources of work-related stress, and changes in stress, workload, and job satisfaction. Chart 1. Available at http://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/Issues/WorklifeWorkload/2009/Chapter6.pdf

35. Leadership development • Leadership roles evolved 'naturally' and were not planned. • Leadership occurred and evolved when the teachers felt passionately about tasks or approaches that they felt must be completed or addressed. • Leadership was not necessarily immediately recognized as it was assumed rather than proclaimed. • Credibility among peers was crucial to taking leadership roles • Some of the teachers had very positive role models who both modeled leadership and who supported and encouraged the teachers to assume particular forms of leadership. Naylor, C. (2008). The international debate on educational and teacher leadership and its relevance to teacher unions http://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Publications/Research_reports/2008EI01.pdf

36. Teacher Leaders • A strong interest in understanding and extending experiences of professional development • Interest in the professional literature and discourse and how to apply both in pursuit of goals • Passion in terms of wanting to support teachers’ professional development • “System navigators”, well able to negotiate school district and local/provincial teacher union tides and currents, with expanding circles of influence

37. Teacher Leaders • “People persons” with strong communication and empathic skills, used to be responsive to needs but also to articulate new directions • Reaching a plateau and needing to find new opportunities and challenges Naylor, C., Alexandrou, A., O’Brien, J. (2008). Developing teacher leadership in unconventional contexts—The experience of teacher trade unionists . Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Denver, CO. April 30-May 4, 2010. http://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/Issues/Teacher_Leadership/AERA2010.pdf BCTF Teacher leadership web page http://bctf.ca/IssuesInEducation.aspx?id=22473

38. Andy Hargreaves on leadership http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVPu_OKpkFo

39. Union culture: professional focus • The professional focus of teacher unions benefits from collaboration with external groups and organizations, and this collaboration should be increased. • The professional focus of teacher unions in North America has a subordinate and an acquiescent place in union structures, and this placement should be challenged and changed. • Teacher unions should collaborate more with other teacher unions, universities, and other organizations, in professionally-focused networking and publishing. Naylor, C. (2002). Reconciling teacher unionism’s disparate identities: A view from the field. http://www.bctf.ca/uploadedfiles/publications/research_reports/2002ei01.pdf

40. Fitting it all together • Concepts and models of mentoring • Skill development for mentors and mentees • Networking to share success • Knowledge dissemination and mobilization • Preparing for changing contexts • Dealing with challenging cultures • Developing a better provincial culture • Creating multiple approaches to leadership