Schools provide different contexts for pre-service teachers who are learning to teach under the guidance of mentor teachers as part of work-integrated learning (WIL). As a result, universities and teachers' colleges offer guidance to schools and classroom practitioners to ensure that pre-service teachers are provided with similar opportunities during WIL field experiences. This qualitative paper used semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis to examine mentoring contexts in different classes, to gain a deep understanding of the mentoring practices, by using the socio-cultural-theory lens. The mentoring pair was used as the unit of analysis. The study analyzed three cases from Zimbabwean secondary schools with different mentoring contexts. Findings indicate that the contexts of WIL for pre-service teachers could be more conducive but are limited by the multiple roles of mentors and limited mentoring infrastructure and facilities. The paper recommends that pre-service teachers practice in different school contexts. © 2021 International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning. All rights reserved.
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