Mentoring Beyond the Degree: Equipping the Meaning-Makers

Abstract

The teacher shortage in the United States has forced Education Preparation Programs (EPPs) to rethink their practices and overall philosophies. A growing area of importance for teacher educator preparation in this volatile time may now be the post-completer phase or the first years of a new teacher’s career. With the dramatic rise of conditional licensure and high teacher turnover rates, the need to support teachers after they leave their EPP and complete their programs of study, and those who prepare them, is paramount. Beyond any specific practice or method, in the widest sense, EPPs may now have an ethical prerogative to continue to support completers after they leave their programs. This chapter focuses on administrators who support teacher educators, and specifically, who support teacher educators who work with completers. This chapter will detail how one department in an SOE in a small private institution created an infrastructure to support their teacher educators who work with completers. The main question here is, how can administrators support and build capacity for teacher educators in this critical phase? And relatedly, how do administrators maximize the talents and knowledge base of those who prepare teachers to deliver this support? And finally, how can administrators help their teacher educators convey that teaching is not simply a technical endeavor, but an act of love, transformation and meaning-making?