Taking on a Life of Its Own: Relational Mentoring for Mutual Professional Growth

Relational mentoring, or critical friendships, has been recognized as an effective form of continuous professional development (PD). Through autonomous informal mentoring sessions implemented outside the umbrella of institutional top-down PD initiatives, teachers can gain valuable insights on their own practice and that of their peers. In this paper, one such mentoring session is analyzed from the perspective of both participants. Transcribed audio data of the mentoring session was inductively analyzed by both mentor and mentee, and major points of salience were reflectively and collaboratively discussed. The reflections highlighted the fluid nature of the session that challenged the traditional hierarchical mentor-mentee dynamic. While the session began in a transactional fashion with mentee seeking knowledge from mentor, it was seen to evolve into a more symmetrical relationship of co-learning. This short account of reflective practice offers additional evidence of the transformational potential of relational mentoring and critical friendships on teachers’ PD. Moreover, there are indications that such autonomous PD can contribute positively to sustaining teacher wellbeing in times of uncertainty and instability.