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The purpose of this paper is to discuss how different styles of mentoring in teacher education relate to mentor characteristics. Pre-service teachers often want practical advice. However, in Norway, school mentors have traditionally been encouraged to promote reflection rather than offering advice. This study seeks to explore the relationship between mentors’ support for reflection based and clear mentoring (a relatively direct approach to mentoring) and mentors’ self-efficacy and effort.

Using structural equation modelling of cross-sectional survey data (from 272 school mentors), the researchers in this study tested empirical interrelations between reflection-based mentoring, clear mentoring, mentor efficacy and effort. Clear mentoring was a reasonably consistent construct, while refection-based mentoring was a more elusive concept.

Effort was associated with support for reflection, while self-efficacy was moderately related to clear mentoring and reflection-based mentoring. The results illustrate that reflection-based methods are demanding for mentors. If direct approaches are more effective, additional evidence would be required to support mentor training that heavily emphasises reflection.

Longitudinal and quasi-experimental studies are needed to support inferences about causality. Variable omission may have influenced the models. More research is needed to better understand the concept of reflection-based mentoring.

This paper contributes to the mentoring field by examining mentors’ preference for reflection based and clear mentoring and how such preferences are related to self-efficacy and effort. It also contributes to general and theoretical discussions about the relationships between beliefs about mentoring and mentor characteristics.

Organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) involves discretionary behaviour advantageous to the organisation that goes beyond existing role expectations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between the strength of accountability and teachers’ OCB within three different management systems in which teachers are working: a system of assessment‐based accountability; a system of the gradual introduction of accountability devices; and a system with no tests or examinations.

Structural equation modelling of cross‐sectional surveys from the three different management systems was used to estimate the path coefficients and to compare the strength of relationships between concepts in the models.

The analysis shows that the factors that influence OCB in an accountability regime are clearly different from those in a regime with weak or no accountability devices.

A cross‐sectional study does not allow us to test causal relationships among antecedents of organisational citizenship behaviour. The use of self‐reported questionnaire data is another shortcoming. Furthermore, the response rates leave uncertainty about whether the samples are representative.

The strength of accountability in education governance might influence OCB among teachers. Educational administrators could benefit from exploring this issue to help the establishment of institutional arrangements.

The paper shows that OCB amongst teachers is essential for the smooth functioning of schools for several reasons.

The study integrates three strands of theories that have their focal points in employees’ perceptions of exchange: Shore's theory on employee‐organisation relationships; Bryk and Schneider's theory on trust in schools; and theories on accountability.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight university-based mentor education as a negative antecedent to mentors’ beliefs which are consistent with judgementoring (Hobson and Malderez, 2013). The concept of beliefs consistent with judgementoring (evaluative or judgemental mentoring) is introduced as a quantitative construct which is then used as a dependent variable. The concept of “folk mentoring” is introduced to theorise why and how mentor education may challenge mentors’ beliefs about mentoring.

Structural equation modelling of cross-sectional survey data is used to estimate and compare the strengths between mentors’ perceived self-efficacy, role clarity, experience and education as independent variables and beliefs about mentoring aligned with judgementoring as the dependent variable. The survey was completed by 146 mentors who attended mentor education programmes in universities and university colleges across Norway.

The findings indicate that mentor education contributes to lower levels of beliefs consistent with judgementoring and strengthens mentors’ awareness of their role as a mentor. Higher levels of self-efficacy related to the mentor role were associated with stronger beliefs consistent with judgementoring. Mentor experience was not associated strongly with any tested variable.

This paper identifies new questions pertaining to the effects of mentor education and variables associated with judgementoring. Omitted variables might have influenced the explored models and the methods used do not allow us to determine causal relationships.

Taking an approach based on social exchange theory, the authors describe judgementoring as a form of mentoring that hampers potential exchanges which would enable mentoring to contribute to professional development. This paper provides new insights into judgementoring by introducing it as a quantitative construct, by testing relevant antecedents and by introducing the concept of “folk mentoring”. Mentor education is highlighted as a potential moderator of mentors’ beliefs in judgementoring.