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Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Lindy Nahmad-Williams and Carol A Taylor

The purpose of this paper is to explore mentoring as a dialogic practice in relation to three themes: identity, fear of being judged and respect. It develops Bokenko and Gantt’s…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore mentoring as a dialogic practice in relation to three themes: identity, fear of being judged and respect. It develops Bokenko and Gantt’s (2000) concept of dialogic mentoring to propose a new theorisation of mentoring as a relational, embodied, spatial, affective and ethical practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports on a mentoring project that took place in a UK University which was seeking to enhance its research culture. This project used an innovative methodological approach in which mentor and mentee wrote and shared diary entries as means of building more effective and constructive mentoring experiences, and as a vehicle for reflexively analysing the mentoring process.

Findings

The project outcomes were: first, a deepened appreciation and reflexive evaluation of the role played by diaries and writing in the enactment of dialogic mentoring; second, the development of a theoretical framework to enhance understanding of dialogic mentoring and third, the generation of a dialogic mentoring model encompassing multiple dimensions of the process.

Practical implications

The paper provides insights to support methodological innovation in mentoring practice; it links mentoring practice with theory development to enhance mentor and mentee collaboration and reflexivity; it offers an example of good mentoring practice that could be scaled up within educational institutions wishing to enhance their research culture.

Originality/value

The paper offers, first, a reflexive account of a methodologically innovative mentoring practice to enhance mentoring; and second, it proposes a new theorisation and model of dialogic mentoring practices.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 June 2023

Seden Eraldemir Tuyan

This paper presents the results of my learning using my expertise in teacher-research mentoring to address the needs of pre-service teachers and the requirements of the action…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper presents the results of my learning using my expertise in teacher-research mentoring to address the needs of pre-service teachers and the requirements of the action research course in English language teaching. It reflects on the different procedures of my mentoring model, enriched by the dialogic research mentoring strategies informed by Freire's dialogic pedagogy.

Design/methodology/approach

Through this first-person action research, the author aims to improve her teacher-research mentoring practice. As an inquiry into her own actions, the author examines her experiences, her understanding of them, and the potential meaning for her work as a teacher-research mentor during the two years she tutored the action research course. The author explores the procedures of the mentoring model she developed and the effectiveness of dialogic research mentoring in promoting critical consciousness and taking positive action in pre-service English language teachers.

Findings

Effective actualization of the teacher-research mentoring process facilitates mentors' refinement and understanding of their roles during teacher-research mentoring. Perceived barriers can be overcome by adopting nine relevant strategies, which can be grouped into three themes: community-building, nurturing competencies, and fostering growth. Accordingly, the research mentoring model incorporates these strategies.

Originality/value

The insights enriched the existing knowledge of the dynamics of mentoring in general and of teacher-research in particular. Additionally, the study offers strategies developed based on my informed actions as the researcher to attain more effective outcomes during the research mentoring process.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 October 2021

Meg E. Evans, Rebecca M. Taylor, Laila McCloud and Katherine Burr

The purpose of this interdisciplinary study is to identify the aspects that faculty, student affairs educators and students indicate as salient for effective mentoring

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this interdisciplinary study is to identify the aspects that faculty, student affairs educators and students indicate as salient for effective mentoring relationships that enhance ethical leadership development.

Design/methodology/approach

This exploratory qualitative inquiry used the Relational-Ethical-Affective-Dialogic (READ) mentoring model as a framework to examine the experiences of 13 undergraduate mentees and faculty/staff mentors in a formal mentoring program. Each study participant engaged in one semi-structured interview. Researchers coded and analyzed data using the sort and sift, think and shift process identifying power quotes to guide the thematic analysis.

Findings

The data collected in this study revealed insights into the aspects of mentor relationships that both undergraduate mentees and their mentors perceived as contributing to students' ethical leadership development. Salient elements included: (1) relational features of the mentee-mentor dynamic including trust and reciprocity; (2) structural features of the mentoring program including its focus on ethics; and (3) mentoring approaches that were attentive to power and positionality within the mentoring relationship and involved professional judgment about self-disclosure.

Originality/value

This study adds to the literature by exploring effective mentoring for ethical leadership development across disciplines. With colleges and universities serving a vital role in preparing the next generation of leaders for ethical engagement in their democratic and professional roles after graduation, it is imperative to broaden our understanding of how faculty and staff can support students' ethical leadership development.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2007

Marjatta Saarnivaara and Anneli Sarja

The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize the transition from university to working life through different theoretical approaches. Inspired by Barnett the paper also asks: What…

1945

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize the transition from university to working life through different theoretical approaches. Inspired by Barnett the paper also asks: What is it to learn for an unknown future? According to Bartlett neither knowledge nor skills are sufficient to enable success in the contemporary world. What is needed are certain kinds of human qualities and dispositions. The paper seeks to introduce two examples that help us to analyse the phenomenon from the perspectives of higher education and working life.

Design/methodology/approach

The data consists of an interview on pedagogical practices in actor training and of group mentoring discussions in a teacher community.

Findings

Based on the observations, the educational process itself with its disturbing factors, the transition to working life, and finding one's place in it are all sites that provide their own challenges for an unknown future. The contradiction between security and the unknown inscribed in them produces uncertainty. Furthermore, the paper maintains that self‐challenge is one of the dispositions needed for living with uncertainty.

Originality/value

Dialogic mentoring is a tool by which the problems and contradictions raised by daily practices can be challenged. Some of these contradictions may have their roots in unsolved challenges during education, and then have to be shouldered by the work community. The concept of dialogic mentoring is a fruitful pedagogical tool in preventing and reducing work‐based stress and exhaustion experienced by newcomers in work communities.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 March 2019

Luke Jones, Steven Tones and Gethin Foulkes

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the learning conversations that take place in the context of secondary initial teacher education (ITE) in England. More specifically, it…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the learning conversations that take place in the context of secondary initial teacher education (ITE) in England. More specifically, it aims to examine the learning conversations that occurred between physical education subject mentors and their associate teachers (ATs) during a one-year postgraduate programme.

Design/methodology/approach

Self-completion questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, with 11 ATs within a university ITE partnership, were used to explore ATs’ perceptions of the learning conversations that occurred between them and their mentors. A process of content analysis was used to identify and analyse themes in the data.

Findings

Meaningful learning conversations are not exclusively based on mentors’ feedback on ATs’ teaching. The ongoing everyday dialogue that occurs between mentors and ATs has a direct impact on the ATs’ teaching and a more indirect effect of nurturing collaborative relationships and providing access to a learning community. Successful mentoring is not realised through an isolated weekly lesson observation of the ATs’ teaching. It is an immersive process where the AT and the mentor face the ongoing challenge of exploring aspects of pedagogy and developing a relationship that is conducive to shared learning.

Practical implications

These findings have implications for providers of ITE and more specifically how they approach mentor training. Examining learning conversations, and in particular the more informal everyday dialogue that occurs between the mentor and the AT, may have significant impact on the learning of those who are training to teach.

Originality/value

Informal learning conversations are central to the mentoring process. These findings highlight the value of learning conversations and in particular the impact of informal everyday dialogue that may otherwise be overlooked.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 August 2023

Lily Orland-Barak, Roseanne Kheir-Farraj and Ayelet Becher

This chapter examines the moral dilemmas mentors from three different groups (Jewish, Druze, and Arab) encountered in Israeli Arab schools, how they manage these dilemmas, and how…

Abstract

This chapter examines the moral dilemmas mentors from three different groups (Jewish, Druze, and Arab) encountered in Israeli Arab schools, how they manage these dilemmas, and how the nature of particular dilemmas might connect to their management strategies. Given the multicultural and politically conflictive context of Israeli society, a cultural and political reading of in-service mentors' moral dilemmas reveals that mentors' encounter and management of recurrent moral dilemmas is embedded in cultural and political issues that seem to hinder their mentoring practice. Preparation programs need to highlight awareness of mentors' own culture and that of their mentees in order to implement a culturally and politically responsive practice.

Details

Studying Teaching and Teacher Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-623-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 November 2020

Lisa Murtagh and Louisa Dawes

The purpose of this paper is to explore school-based mentors' perceptions of the non-statutory National Standards for school-based initial teacher training (ITT) mentors in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore school-based mentors' perceptions of the non-statutory National Standards for school-based initial teacher training (ITT) mentors in England.

Design/methodology/approach

Taking the form of a qualitative survey, the paper explores the views of mentors in relation to the potential use of the National Standards in supporting the mentoring role and in enhancing the experiences of pre-service teachers during school placements.

Findings

The paper reports that the National Standards have the potential to support the role of mentoring in ITT if used in ways that support mentor recognition and reward.

Practical implications

In the absence of any common training model for mentors in England, there is potential that the National Standards could offer mentors some guidance for the role to support more equitable experiences for pre-service teachers.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the field since it accesses mentor voices about matters that involve them. The paper draws attention to the impoverished representation of mentoring in the National Standards, whilst paradoxically noting that in the absence of any common mentoring framework, mentors perceive that the standards could offer some support for mentors and mentees alike.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 March 2019

Daniel A. DeCino and Molly M. Strear

New faculty often encounters myriad professional and personal challenges during their first year of employment. In order to foster connection, support and critical dialogue…

Abstract

Purpose

New faculty often encounters myriad professional and personal challenges during their first year of employment. In order to foster connection, support and critical dialogue throughout this potentially taxing transition, the authors utilized duoethnography to establish a peer mentorship relationship. The purpose of this paper is to describe how duoethnography can cultivate peer mentorship and further understand the experiences of first-year faculty.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative study used duoethnography as a mechanism for peer mentoring for two first-year faculty located within the Midwest and Western regions of the USA. Data sources included an online journal with multiple author entries and e-mail correspondence.

Findings

The analysis revealed that duoethnography was helpful for maintaining peer mentorship for two counselor education faculty, as they critically evaluated their experiences transitioning into higher education through an online journal. Several key moments of mentoring emerged from the data including navigating tenure, holding hope, balancing and finding place.

Research limitations/implications

In this study, the authors found the use of duoethnography to be helpful for peer mentorship as the authors navigated unfamiliar settings and established the professional identities as educators. Future studies utilizing duoethnography for peer mentorship may provide insight into experiences in higher education to support faculty professional development.

Originality/value

Although prior research has examined the experiences of faculty and traditional mentorship, the authors are unaware of research examining the use of duoethnography to establish peer mentorship for new, tenure-track faculty. This manuscript provides higher education faculty a tool for promoting mentorship, critical dialogue, collaboration and transformation through duoethnography.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Andrew J. Hobson, Jan Long and Linda Searby

256

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2018

Luke Jones, Steven Tones and Gethin Foulkes

The purpose of this paper is to analyse feedback in the context of secondary initial teacher education (ITE) in England. More specifically, it aims to examine the feedback…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse feedback in the context of secondary initial teacher education (ITE) in England. More specifically, it aims to examine the feedback experiences of physical education (PE) subject mentors and their associate teachers (ATs) during a one-year postgraduate programme.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews, with nine PE mentors and 11 ATs within a university ITE partnership, were used to explore lesson feedback and the context in which it was provided. Interview data from the 20 participants were analysed through constant comparison to categorise content and identify patterns of responses.

Findings

Mentors were well versed in the formal feedback mechanism of a written lesson observation. This approach is well established and accepted within ITE, but the dialogic feedback that follows lessons was thought to be where ATs made most progress. These learning conversations were seen to provide less formal but more authentic feedback for those learning to teach, and were most successful when founded on positive and collaborative relationships between the mentor and the ATs.

Practical implications

These findings have implications for providers of teacher education and more specifically how they approach mentor training. The focus on lesson observations has value, but examining more informal dialogic approaches to feedback may have more impact on the learning of ATs.

Originality/value

These findings support the value of lesson feedback but challenge the primacy of formal written lesson observations. The learning conversations that follow lessons are shown to provide authentic feedback for ATs.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

1 – 10 of 564