Exploring descriptions of mentoring as support in Swedish preschools

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article contributes to knowledge about mentoring in preschool, which is important as research on mentoring of preschool teachers is limited. The study examines how in-service preschool teachers perceive their assignment as a mentor. The aim is to develop the understanding of mentoring as support among pre-school teacher mentors in Swedish preschools (children’s age 1–5). The data consists of 75 in-service preschool teachers’ self-reflective texts from a university mentoring course. A phenomenographic approach was adopted and three qualitatively different categories were identified. Mentoring as support was experienced as: mentoring as personal, professional and team support. Apart from the finding that the mentor’s role is complex, the preschool settings present other challenges and place different demands on the mentor because they comprise a team including preschool teachers, childcare attendants and parents, when compared to their counterparts in compulsory school settings. The paper has implications for how to reflect on and problematize concepts of mentoring, and it could also have an impact on mentoring in school, on mentoring education, and on induction programmes internationally. Mentor support for professional practices directed at team building should influence early childhood teacher preparation for pre-and in-service teachers.