Kutsyuruba

Session Title: The impact of mentoring and leadership on well-being of early career teachers in Canada

Speaker: Benjamin Kutsyuruba, Professor, Queen’s University

​Watch the session: https://app.knowmia.com/jrsp

Session description: This presentation explores the impact that mentoring and school administrator leadership has on Canadian early career teachers’ [ECTs] well-being. Through the online survey (N=1343) and telephone interviews (N=36), we examined ECTs’ perceptions of induction and mentorship programs, with particular interest in retention, career interests, and the impact of mentoring on well-being. Findings show that mentoring and school administrator leadership were pivotal tools available for them to develop resilience, strive towards success, and enhance well-being in the early career years. ECTs who did not receive mentorship indicated significantly lower feelings of well-being, and conversely, the ECTs who participated in some kind of mentorship demonstrated much higher levels of feelings of well-being. Likewise, school leaders’ commitment to and supports through mentoring and induction were key for ECTs’ wellbeing and success. This presentation concludes with implications for research, practice, and school leadership in the area of supporting ECTs’ wellbeing through mentoring and school leadership.

Bio: Dr. Benjamin Kutsyuruba is a Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership, and School Law at Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada.  Throughout his career, Benjamin has worked as a teacher, researcher, manager, and professor in the field of education in Ukraine and Canada. His research areas include educational leadership and policy, flourishing and well-being, mentoring and teacher induction, and trust, moral agency, and ethical decision-making in education.