The role of teacher mentoring in recovering reading and writing skills in the language arts area

Abstract

The present article aims to reflect on the practice of mentoring within the framework of Chile's Teacher Professional Development System, as established by Law No. 20,903. It understands mentoring not merely as compliance with the regulations established by the Center for Professional Development, Experimentation and Pedagogical Research (CPEIP), but as a strategic mechanism for in-service support and mediation for teachers who have recently entered the teaching profession. The article examines and analyzes the tension between the demands imposed by the system, the curriculum, and the contextual realities faced by novice teachers in recent years. Particular emphasis is placed on the subject of Language Arts, especially on the persistent lag in reading and writing skills among elementary school students. In response to this challenge, the paper presents a theoretical proposal that explores how the mentor–mentee relationship should adapt to address this educational reality, focusing on mitigating and remediating the widespread learning gaps that have affected classrooms from the COVID-19 pandemic to the present day.