Associations between novice teachers’ perceptions of their relationship to their mentor and professional commitment

This first years of teaching constitute entry stage to the profession and are considered a period of critical importance for determining the new teacher’s professional identity. This study explores the associations between novice teachers’ perspectives of their relationship with their mentors and their professional commitment. This qualitative study utilises data from semi-structured interviews conducted with 35 second-year Israeli teachers (subsequent to a year of internship). The findings indicate an association between novice teachers’ high professional commitment and a functional mentoring relationship and lack of association between novice teachers’ low professional commitment and other types of mentoring relationships. The results and their implications are discussed.