Examining the mentor-mentee dyad to understand the role of early career teacher stress created by Covid-19
Authors
Sonya Haidusek-Niazy, Rob E. Carpenter
Publication date
March 1, 2023
Journal
Research on Teacher Stress: Implications for the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Pages
163-181
Publisher
Information Age Publishing
Description
A phenomenological case study was undertaken to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 mentoring relationships as assessed by early career teacher mentees. Using semi-structured interviews with 14 early career teachers participating in a formal mentoring program, perceptions of the mentees during the 2020-2021 school year were explored. The findings revealed five themes related to mentee stress. Three themes were identified that increased mentee stress related to COVID-19 and these were complicated instruction, difficult emotions, and complex engagement. However, two themes were identified that reduced mentee stress while teaching during the pandemic and included mentee's digital competency and the leveling of the hierarchy between mentees and mentors. The study is among the first to examine mentor-mentee relationships in public school systems during the pandemic. Despite the increased stress levels reported by mentees, those with superior technology skills were able to insert their expertise into the dyad and thus report transformational, high-quality reverse mentoring experiences. The implications from this study may provide more explanatory power on mentor-mentee roles, cultural influences, and social interactions during a context of high stress when technology skill is a vector for success.