The Impact of Mentoring: Professional Growth, Reflection, and Retention in Secondary Science Education

Author

• Summer M. Landreth, Clemson UniversityFollow

Date of Award

8-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching and Learning

Committee Chair/Advisor

Julianne A. Wenner

Committee Member

Brooke A. Whitworth

Committee Member

Steph N. Dean

Committee Member

Shanita Anderson

Committee Member

Laura Eicher

Abstract

Teacher attrition threatens the stability of the U.S. education system, with science teachers experiencing particularly high turnover rates. While research has primarily focused on early-career teachers, less is known about the factors influencing mid-career and veteran science teachers’ decisions to remain in or leave the profession. This study explored mentoring student teachers as a potentially transformative experience for cooperating teachers, offering opportunities for professional development, identity development, and enhanced retention. Guided by Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory, the study examined how mentoring may function as a productive experience that prompts critical reflection, revitalizes pedagogy, and reconnects teachers with their professional purpose. Using an exploratory case study design, data were collected from three cooperating teacher/student teacher dyads through classroom observations, reflective journals, and semi-structured interviews. The research sought to answer three questions: (1) How do cooperating teachers experience and interpret their mentoring relationships with their student teachers? (2) In what ways (if any) do cooperating teachers view the process of mentoring student teachers as contributing to their professional growth, professional identity, and ongoing development as educators? (3) How do these relationships influence their motivation to remain in the teaching profession, if at all? Findings indicated that mentoring relationships functioned as reciprocal and reflective learning spaces in which cooperating teachers experienced professional and personal growth through relationship building, dialogue and critical reflection with student teachers. Additionally, mentoring reaffirmed cooperating teachers’ professional identities, fostered the development of pedagogical and instructional content, and renewed their motivation and commitment to the teaching profession. By highlighting mentoring as a pathway to transformative learning, this research contributes to ongoing efforts to strengthen teacher preparation, sustain the science teaching workforce, and address persistent shortages in high-need STEM fields.

Recommended Citation

Landreth, Summer M., "The Impact of Mentoring: Professional Growth, Reflection, and Retention in Secondary Science Education" (2026). All Dissertations. 4354.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4354

Author ORCID Identifier

0009-0009-2488-0800