UCLA

This study examined how mentor teachers’ perceptions of reciprocity and ideas around equitable teaching practice were cultivated within the context and practice of the Reciprocal Learning Partnership framework. For this study, I analyzed twenty paired interviews with ten mentor teachers and mentees participating in an urban teacher residency program. During these interviews, participants were asked to describe the successes and challenges of mentoring, perceived equity issues in the classroom, and the impact of mentoring on their own practice and that of their mentee. Findings from this study illustrated themes of identity, reciprocity, and equity and the types of equity actions, if any, that were co-created between mentor and mentee. In highlighting the promising Reciprocal Learning Partnership framework in teacher preparation, the findings from this study also provide insight into how future generations of educators can be better prepared and developed to serve as social justice leaders.