Enabling and constraining ‘vulnerability ready’ teachers in mentee–mentor relations

Abstract

Becoming a teacher is complex and relies on productive relations forged in practicum contexts that support expressions of uncertainty. Supportive mentor–mentee practices are integral to enabling relationships that can nurture expressions of vulnerability in workplace learning. However, workplace conditions are affected by the sociocultural arrangements that shape how relationships are enabled and constrained, affecting how preservice teachers (PST) perceive and respond to expressions of vulnerability. The added requirement of a teacher performance assessment to endorse PSTs to the profession adds another layer of complexity to expressions of uncertainty. When performative demands are framed within social conditions, educators can feel powerless to act agentically in response to these demands and be less likely to express their vulnerabilities. Drawing on the theory of practice architectures and adopting a comparative case study methodology, two cases of learning teaching in open-plan learning classrooms are examined. Expressions of vulnerability are grounded in the stories of PSTs’ practicum relations they build with mentors to legitimise their readiness for classrooms. Conditions that enabled dialogue, interactions and collaboration support an openness to expressions of vulnerability in early career experiences, shaping resilience as vulnerability-ready agency as teachers. However, findings also highlight constraining elements of practicum learning that limit PSTs’ transformation and may be supported by a thinking-feeling praxis.