'There's more than one way to skin a cat': Reflecting on mentoring models in the 'More Leaps' project - with apologies to cats and cat lovers

Abstract

The 'More Leaps' project provided leading languages teachers in Australia the opportunity to work with a suite of professional learning materials and with colleagues in a collaborative inquiry community, aimed at exploring models of mentoring and developing improved leadership skills. Each participant developed a mentoring inquiry project, and these were individually tailored to meet the needs of individuals in their particular professional contexts. The range of models developed is explored in this paper, with analysis of the variety of models, and the emphasis on collaborative inquiry, as engaged reflexive praxis. In illustrating that there is more than one way to approach mentoring, the models provide illuminating insights into potential for all languages teachers to work with colleagues in collaborative and complementary ways, to improve individual practice and the leadership skills of the profession, and to support sustainable outcomes for long-term engagement in languages education in Australia.