Lived Experiences of Mentor Support among BTVTED Pre-Service Teachers during their Teaching Internship: A Phenomenological Inquiry

Abstract

Mentorship plays a pivotal role in shaping the professional readiness, emotional resilience, and instructional competence of pre-service teachers. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education (BTVTEd) pre-service teachers as they navigated the mentoring practices of cooperating teachers and pre-service coordinators during their teaching internship. Guided by Husserlian transcendental phenomenology and grounded in Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory, the study sought to uncover the essence and meaning of mentor support as experienced by six (6) pre-service teachers deployed in three public secondary schools in Misamis Oriental during the first semester of SY 2024–2025. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, field notes, and reflective accounts, and analyzed using Colaizzi's (1978) phenomenological method, which involved extracting significant statements, formulating meanings, clustering themes, and describing the textural–structural essence of the phenomenon.
Four major themes emerged: Instructional Guidance and Emotional Support, Holistic Mentorship Support, Motivational Guidance and the Need for Monitoring, and Close Instructional Monitoring and Advisory Support. For the second research question, participants emphasized the importance of Holistic Mentorship Support and Motivational Guidance with Consistent Monitoring as additional supports they find necessary for their growth.
The findings reveal that cooperating teachers served as the primary source of instructional scaffolding and emotional reassurance, while pre-service coordinators often provided limited, primarily administrative supervision. The essence of the phenomenon highlights mentorship as a paradoxical experience of "supported autonomy" feeling instructionally safe within the classroom due to the cooperating teacher, yet institutionally invisible due to the absence of the coordinator. This dual dynamic foster teaching confidence and professional identity formation while simultaneously creating gaps in formal institutional accountability. The study recommends the strengthening of institutional monitoring systems, enhanced mentor training, and deeper collaboration between teacher education institutions and cooperating schools to ensure more holistic, relational, and sustained mentorship experiences.