Mentoring and Lived Experiences of Beginning Teachers in a Resident Teacher Program

There has been considerable attention and focus, in the field of education, on development support for beginning teachers. The resident teacher program or a teacher residency is a comprehensive means of providing beginning teachers with support. This initiative is usually organized through the concerted efforts of a college of education and school district. Within this study, attention is given to the potential or real benefits and to the successes and challenges of an existing resident teacher program with six beginning teachers enrolled in an elementary education resident teacher program. The outcome shows that resident teachers’ experiences is characterized by double commitment with a lot of responsibilities but double support; ability to bring what’s learned in graduate courses into classroom teaching; and confidence to transition into regular classroom teaching after the program.