Chinese Preservice Teachers’ Perspectives of Mentoring Relationships in an International Learning Partnership

• Published in: Journal of teacher education Vol. 73; no. 5; pp. 525 - 537
• Main Authors: Parker, Lana, Xu, Shijing, Chi, Chenkai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.11.2022; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Cultural Awareness; Educational partnerships; Foreign Countries; International education; International Educational Exchange; Learning; Mentors; Preservice Teachers; Research/Empirical; Student Attitudes; Student Exchange Programs; Teacher education; Teacher Education Programs; Teacher Student Relationship; Canada; China; international teacher education; reciprocal learning; mentoring; preservice teacher education
• ISSN: 0022-4871; 1552-7816
• DOI: 10.1177/00224871221108655

Mentoring is an essential fixture of teacher education. With growing opportunities for international learning exchanges, there is a need to better understand how cross-cultural mentoring can be characterized by reciprocal learning. This study investigated mentee perceptions of the mentoring relationship in an international, cross-cultural teacher education exchange. We conducted research among 19 Chinese preservice teachers who participated in an international teacher education exchange program, exploring their perspectives on the cross-cultural mentoring relationship and mutual learning. Our findings suggest that learning outcomes are improved in a mentoring relationship when there are strong relational ties, opportunities for reciprocal learning, and a greater awareness of cultural complexity. We contend that there is value in supporting the mentoring relationship directly, which has implications for both international exchanges and teacher education programs.