| In Kenya, teaching practice is a critical component of pre-service teacher education. However, while the Teachers Service Commission has established a structured mentorship policy for in-service teachers through the Teacher Induction, Mentorship, and Coaching program, no formal national policy exists for mentoring pre-service teachers. This absence of structured mentorship during teaching practicum leaves a significant gap in the professional development of trainee teachers. To address this, we sought to generate policy-relevant lessons for Kenya by identifying and analyzing a promising mentorship-based teaching practice model in sub-Saharan Africa. A South African school-based program with a strong mentorship component was purposefully selected for analysis. Using a qualitative case study design, we collected interview data from 51 student-teachers, 16 mentors, 17 school coordinators, and 5 university lecturers. An inductive thematic analysis identified three dominant themes: (i) structured mentor support through co-planning, observation, and feedback; (ii) professional growth through reflective dialogue; and (iii) institutional alignment between schools and universities. Framed within Situated Learning Theory, the findings show that mentorship situated within authentic school contexts enabled pre-service teachers to progressively develop confidence, instructional skills, and a professional identity. Our study contributes three novel insights. First, it demonstrates a methodologically grounded approach to south-to-south policy learning by adapting lessons from a scalable African model. Second, it shifts the discourse from mentorship as goodwill to mentorship as institutionally designed support. Third, it draws on multi-stakeholder perspectives—students, mentors, school leaders, and university faculty—thus offering a 360-degree view rarely seen in teacher practicum research in the region. For Kenya, the findings imply that mentorship must be structurally embedded in preservice teacher education policy, with trained mentors, clear roles, and deliberate school-university/college collaboration. Doing so would move the practicum from a procedural requirement to a meaningful learning experience—better aligned with the goals of competency-based teacher preparation (299/300). Keywords: mentorship; teaching practice; teacher education policy. |
