Mentoring, Role Modeling, and Acculturation: Exploring International Teacher Narratives to Inform Supervisory Practices

Abstract

As teacher shortages continue in countries worldwide, international teachers may be recruited from other countries to help fill critical teacher vacancies, particularly in high-need subject areas such as mathematics and science. International teachers are a unique group who have specific needs, which could be addressed through school administrators’ supervisory practices. To understand international teacher needs, a review of the literature from 2009 to 2019 was completed to examine the extent to which dimensions of mentoring, role modeling, and acculturation were represented in international teacher narratives in peer-reviewed journals. In the course of the review, a fourth dimension of principals and ITs was found in the literature and explored. Findings from the literature review pointed to four themes related to the three identified dimensions: (a) a need for induction, (b) role modeling as collegial support, (c) international teacher acculturation issues, and (d) principal perspectives of ITs. The international teacher themes discovered through this review of the literature may help to inform the supervisory practices of school administrators as they strive to ensure positive outcomes for international teachers