Mentoring Teachers for Empowerment at an International Educational System in China: A Basic Qualitative Study

Teachers get demotivated, reduce their performance, and quit the profession because they lack support to sustain them. The problem was a lack of mentoring to increase teacher retention in an international educational system in China. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to investigate the influence of mentoring on teacher retention. Researchers discussed the impact of mentoring and empowerment, but few publications connected teacher retention and empowerment. Transformational leadership and self-efficacy theories served as the theoretical frameworks for the research study. This research study aimed to explore: (a) the perceptions of mentoring experiences of international educators in China and (b) the effects mentoring may have on teacher empowerment. The qualitative research study applied observations, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group in data collection from a convenience sample of 14 teachers and 3 administrators who were voluntary participants. Emergent themes were employed for data analysis to ascertain the impact of mentoring, teacher empowerment, and retention. Data confirmed mentoring was critical for relationships, teacher support, retention, confidence and empowerment, professional growth, and reflection. A mentoring program was deemed necessary and educational leaders were encouraged to evaluate teachers to deduce whether they could choose their mentors. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]