Abstract:

Pedagogical mentors play a vital role in bridging the gap between theory and practice in special education teacher preparation. While much research has examined how mentors support pre-service teachers, little attention has been given to mentors’ own reflective and emotional development, particularly within creative and experiential learning contexts. This qualitative case study examines the reflective journey of a pedagogical mentor who guided a pre-service special education teacher with learning disabilities through a cooking-based experiential intervention. The mentor faced the dual challenge of supporting a student struggling with self-doubt while adapting a recently published educational book designed to foster learning and self-regulation among pupils into a reflective tool for teacher education. This innovative adaptation prompted her to re-examine professional beliefs, navigate between guidance and autonomy, and redefine what meaningful mentoring entails in preparing inclusive educators.

The study draws on three complementary frameworks: reflective pedagogical mentoring, teacher professional learning, and experiential learning. Together, these perspectives frame mentoring as a dialogic, relational, and embodied process that integrates cognition, emotion, and experience. Using a qualitative interpretive design, data were collected from the mentor’s reflective reports, the student’s teaching artifacts, and an in-depth interview conducted at the end of the intervention. Thematic analysis identified recurring patterns of uncertainty, emotional tension, and transformation, while reflexive interpretation ensured that the mentor’s evolving voice guided the analytical process.

Findings reveal that the mentor’s professional growth was non-linear, marked by moments of doubt, emotional struggle, and gradual transformation. Integrating cooking as a mentoring tool created a sensory-rich, experiential environment that fostered engagement, creativity, and dialogue, while also raising questions about the legitimacy of non-traditional learning spaces in higher education. Over time, the mentor came to view vulnerability as a professional strength, moving from a directive stance toward a partnership model grounded in empathy, trust, and reflective dialogue. "The process taught me to listen differently, to the student, but also to myself", she reflected. Uncertainty and emotional labor, once perceived as barriers, became sources of flexibility, insight, and renewal, allowing both mentor and student to experience growth through shared reflection.

The study demonstrates that reflective mentoring does not depend on certainty or expertise but on the courage to remain within complexity and learn through it. It conceptualizes mentoring as a reciprocal and embodied form of professional learning that strengthens mentors’ emotional awareness, creativity, and pedagogical adaptability. By illuminating how personal meaning and creative engagement can shape professional identity, the case contributes to current discussions on inclusive teacher education and experiential mentoring practices. Ultimately, it shows that reflective engagement in creative, embodied practice is not supplementary but essential for fostering adaptive and inclusive teacher development.

Keywords:

Embodied mentoring, Reflective pedagogical mentoring, Mentor professional learning, Pedagogical Agency, Affective Mediation, Inclusive teacher education, Professional identity development.