What do we mean by effective professional learning and development for teacher mentors?

Approaches to teacher mentor professional learning and development (PLD) that enable teachers to learn and develop as mentors and the attributes they need are considered in this article through three lenses: induction, development and becoming. Drawing on work by Korthagen, Eraut, and Evans, the attributes explored include behaviour, knowledge, skills, attitudes, beliefs, values, identity, and mission. What would make mentor PLD ‘effective’ is considered in the light of the level of desired change in mentor attributes. Using findings from a narrative review of international literature this article critiques these issues relating to teacher mentor PLD in order to inform and stimulate reflection on and discussion about this important aspect of teacher education. It presents ideas for developing practice identified from the different approaches to mentor PLD reported in the literature, focusing on where the impact or effect of these opportunities might lie. The transition of an experienced teacher to becoming a mentor, learning to think like a mentor and developing an additional professional identity as a teacher educator requires induction into the processes and curriculum of teacher education; development of professional attributes intertwined with a process of becoming or developing an identity as a mentor.