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Article
Publication date: 9 September 2014

Javonda Williams and Debra Nelson-Gardell

The purpose of this paper is to detail a project that created a community-based mentoring intervention for sexually abused children and adolescents. The project features the use…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to detail a project that created a community-based mentoring intervention for sexually abused children and adolescents. The project features the use of family and community strengths, trauma sensitivity, current research and ecological theory to develop a curriculum for training mentors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods to create a community-based intervention designed for sexually abused children and adolescents. This model supports the building and maintenance of the often fluid and relationship-driven processes that are characteristic of CBPR. The stages included: identification of research questions; assessment of community strengths, assets and challenges; defining priorities; developing research and data collection methodologies; collecting and analysing data; interpretation of findings; dissemination of findings; and applying findings to address action.

Findings

The results include a recommendation to include community members in interventions for sexually abused adolescents.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study include recommendations for a culturally relevant training curriculum for mentors of sexually abused children and adolescents. Hallmarks of the resulting curriculum included using a hybrid of natural and programme mentors and inclusion of trauma sensitivity in training the mentors. The results from the pilot study are not generalisable since the pilot only included a small number of mentors and the effectiveness of the intervention was not tested. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of the intervention.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for further development of a mentoring curriculum for sexually abused children and adolescents. This curriculum promotes several potential benefits, including: incorporation of families and communities in discussion and awareness of sexual abuse and trauma sensitivity; and formal training for individuals who have the potential to remain important in the life of the child or adolescent long after formal services have ceased.

Originality/value

The literature shows a lack of community level interventions for sexually abused children and adolescents. The focus of this project was to expand the traditional ecological context of mentoring from a micro or individual level intervention to a community level intervention.

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2018

Ashleigh Hillier, Jody Goldstein, Lauren Tornatore, Emily Byrne, Joseph Ryan and Hannah Johnson

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the impact of peer mentoring on mentors working with university students with a disability. Research questions focused on how…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the impact of peer mentoring on mentors working with university students with a disability. Research questions focused on how undergraduate student mentors evaluated their experience as a mentor, in what ways they benefited, the challenges they experienced and how these challenges could be addressed.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative and qualitative data examined the experiences, benefits and challenges experienced by the mentors across seven separate cohorts. Self-report measures were collected in a pre-post design, and qualitative analysis was conducted on focus groups at the end of the program. The paper also outlines the program model including training and support mechanisms, and the program curriculum implemented by mentors.

Findings

Responses on the measures showed that student mentors saw mentoring as a positive experience, and they felt more committed to their university after participating. Qualitative content analysis of focus groups supported this and also highlighted some of the unique challenges faced by mentors working with students with a disability. These included communication difficulties, trouble building rapport, not knowing how to help their mentee and feeling over-protective.

Research limitations/implications

While the findings are preliminary, results indicated that serving as a mentor to freshmen university students with a disability had an important impact on the personal growth and skills development of the mentors. In addition, similar program models should recognize that careful attention is needed to ensure mentors are fully supported in their role. Findings also highlight areas for improvement of the program such as examining longer term outcomes, including a comparison group, and seeking the perspectives of the mentees. Limitations included limited standardized assessment tools to assess impact more broadly.

Originality/value

The study is original in its focus on improving current understanding of outcomes for student mentors who are working with incoming university students with a disability status.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 February 2024

Kate Thornton

This article aims to contribute to a clearer understanding of the importance of mentor preparation and provide recommendations for effective mentor preparation programmes based on…

Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to contribute to a clearer understanding of the importance of mentor preparation and provide recommendations for effective mentor preparation programmes based on the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

A narrative review of a range of literature focussing on the importance and characteristics of effective mentor practice and preparation.

Findings

Many mentors working in educational contexts lack adequate preparation, and a shift in mentoring practice from a mentor as expert approach, which mentors are likely revert to without training, to a more collaborative relationship in line with educative mentoring is recommended. Relationship building, working collaboratively and encouraging critical reflection are essential mentoring capabilities, and can be supported by participation in effective mentoring preparation programmes. Characteristics of these programmes include: providing time for mentors to reflect on their personal capabilities and attitudes; strengthening their knowledge about mentoring and learning a range of approaches and tools.

Practical implications

Implications for mentor preparation include consideration of curricula that focus on the nature of effective mentoring relationships, provision of effective observation-based feedback and the facilitation of critical reflection. Blended learning models appear to have potential and organisational leaders need to recognise and value mentoring to ensure that it is prioritised.

Originality/value

This article makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the nature of effective mentor preparation programmes.

Details

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

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 21 November 2015

Renée T. Clift, Chris Da Silva Iddings, Donna Jurich, Iliana Reyes and Kathy Short

This chapter is about the multiple forms of collaboration that are crucial to designing and implementing a school and community-based early childhood teacher preparation program…

Abstract

This chapter is about the multiple forms of collaboration that are crucial to designing and implementing a school and community-based early childhood teacher preparation program. Maintaining quality in education and teacher education is a systemic, interdependence among individuals, institutions, and local, state, and national policy makers. We conclude that teacher education redesign is less about courses and pedagogies and more about systemic relationships, routines, and evaluations over time.

Details

International Teacher Education: Promising Pedagogies (Part C)
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-674-4

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 27 May 2017

Nicholas J. Shudak and Robin M. Wiebers

Developed and discussed in this chapter is a model for university–school partnerships in the Goodlad tradition, a model referred to as the Professional Development Center (PDC)…

Abstract

Developed and discussed in this chapter is a model for university–school partnerships in the Goodlad tradition, a model referred to as the Professional Development Center (PDC). This model is a unique apprenticeship-based partnership inspired from Goodlad, the Holmes Group, NNER, and others, and, has been sustained for nearly 25 years at a rural midwestern university in the United States. Though different in form from the professional development school model, the PDC functions conceptually similarly in that it seeks to renew and revitalize teaching and teachers, and to do so in a professional learning context predicated on inquiry aiming toward the improvement of practice.

This chapter proceeds by introducing the PDC, discussing its policies and practices, curriculum, competencies, and commitments of those in the program, and concludes by discussing the growth, leadership, and renewal experienced through the program. Inclusive in this chapter are observations from mentors and novices who have gone through the PDC programming.

Details

University Partnerships for Pre-Service and Teacher Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-265-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2015

Ben Pogodzinski

Mentoring can improve novice teacher effectiveness and reduce teacher attrition, yet the depth and breadth of mentoring can vary greatly within and between schools. The purpose of…

1413

Abstract

Purpose

Mentoring can improve novice teacher effectiveness and reduce teacher attrition, yet the depth and breadth of mentoring can vary greatly within and between schools. The purpose of this paper is to identify the extent to which a school’s administrative context is associated with the focus and frequency of novice teacher-mentor interactions.

Design/methodology/approach

By estimating logistic regression models, the author identified the association between novices’ perceptions of their working conditions and the content and frequency of interactions with their formally assigned mentors.

Findings

When novice teachers perceived positive administrator-teacher relations in their schools and reported that administrative duties did not interfere with their core work as teachers, they were more likely to frequently interact with their mentors around issues of curriculum.

Research limitations/implications

Studies of new teacher induction need to more fully account for elements of school-level organizational context which influence novice teacher-mentor interactions, specifically related to administrative decision making and climate. Future research should seek to identify the extent to which formal policy related to new teacher induction is supported by broader elements of the organizational context.

Practical implications

In addition to implementing sound formal policies related to teacher mentoring, school administrators should seek to foster a school climate that promotes administrator-teacher and teacher-teacher collaboration to promote improved teacher mentoring.

Originality/value

This study builds upon previous research by drawing attention to the association between broad measures of school-level administrative context related to the quality of working conditions and teacher mentoring.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 53 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2011

Jolene Zywica, Kimberly A. Richards and Kim Gomez

This paper aims to examine the development and use of a scaffolded‐social learning network (S2LN) called Remix World. The local aim is to increase understanding of how Remix World

1183

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the development and use of a scaffolded‐social learning network (S2LN) called Remix World. The local aim is to increase understanding of how Remix World is integrated into programmatic and curricular structures as a way to support learning. The broader aim is to contribute to conversations about learning opportunities that S2LNs afford for participants.

Design/methodology/approach

Remix World was integrated into the Digital Youth Network (DYN) in‐school and after‐school digital arts curriculum. DYN used Remix World to display and comment on media, artifacts and designs, and to post original work. Two of the authors were given accounts on Remix World, where they logged in to respond to comments and note site activities and conversations.

Findings

The data suggest that students across the grade levels regularly used Remix World to post commentary, post media, and critique peers. Students used Remix World across ecologies (home, after school, and school day). Mentors' efforts to integrate the site into their classes increased the number of users and activities on Remix World.

Practical implications

Integrating a media‐based curriculum that encourages critique and production requires some formal feedback and guidelines. It is essential to explore how mentors and teachers pedagogically leverage the students' posts to reach curricular and programmatic learning goals.

Originality/value

This study explores how features and affordances of social networking sites can be redesigned to intentionally support in‐school pedagogical use that promotes transformative communication and the development of critical, new media literacies.

Details

On the Horizon, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1074-8121

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2015

Frances Langdon and Lorrae Ward

In recent years mentoring has been promoted as an essential, yet complex, new teacher induction dynamic. Mentors generally develop their knowledge of this role in isolation and in…

2101

Abstract

Purpose

In recent years mentoring has been promoted as an essential, yet complex, new teacher induction dynamic. Mentors generally develop their knowledge of this role in isolation and in situ, and despite extensive research in the field few studies investigate how mentors learn. Therefore it is important to continue to examine the complex aspects of learning to mentor. The purpose of this paper is to focus on understanding the knowledge, attitudes and skills required by mentors to simultaneously focus on their own learning, new teachers’ learning and student learning.

Design/methodology/approach

In this New Zealand study the authors examined a pilot programme aimed at shifting mentoring practices to an educative model. Through a two-year professional development intervention, 22 participant mentors inquired into, analysed and documented their practice. Data were gathered through learning conversations, action research documentation and reflections. They were analysed using qualitative methodology.

Findings

Evident was a shift in mentoring practice from a focus on the transmission of knowledge-for-practice to inquiry into knowledge-of-practice. Change was observed after sustained and serious engagement with evidence about mentoring practices. However the shifts did not come easy, nor were they assured.

Research limitations/implications

This study is not without limitations. Transferability is potentially problematic. The pilot study was well resourced, therefore expecting the implementation and outcomes to transfer to other contexts without similar resourcing maybe unrealistic.

Practical implications

The findings contributed to the development of a mentoring curriculum and national guidelines for mentoring new teachers.

Originality/value

While the findings emerged from a situated context, the theoretical and practice issues reported are matters for international attention, particularly the matter of transitioning from a well-practiced, efficient teacher mentor to an adaptive educative mentor.

Details

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

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 October 2023

Sharon Chang and A. Lin Goodwin

Co-teaching is a foundational mentoring model used in teacher residency programs in urban classrooms throughout the United States of America. Beyond the basic understanding of…

Abstract

Purpose

Co-teaching is a foundational mentoring model used in teacher residency programs in urban classrooms throughout the United States of America. Beyond the basic understanding of co-teaching in categorizing classroom models, the purpose of this qualitative case study is to investigate the dialectical tensions manifested in mentored co-teaching activities through the lens of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT).

Design/methodology/approach

Designed as a qualitative case study of 17 pairs of teaching-residents and mentor-teachers, the authors used thematic analysis to scrutinize archival interview data in an urban teacher residency program located in the largest megalopolis of the USA Northeast. The authors used CHAT-based concept coding to analyze the interview narratives from participants across different secondary school placements as they reflected on their co-teaching philosophy and the relationships they built.

Findings

The authors found that for teaching-residents and mentor-teachers to co-develop as co-teachers, they jointly must learn to resolve the dialectical tensions of unbalanced classroom ownership vs added co-working responsibilities, breaking from routine so that a partnership can grow. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the prefix co- should be understood as (1) shifts in thinking that transcend the status quo and (2) the orchestration of human capital to change norms.

Originality/value

This new understanding of the prefix co- allows teacher education programs to better mediate the dialectical tensions experienced by co-teachers in a mentored co-teaching activity, from individual teacher learning (e.g. a pair/dyad comprising one teaching-resident and one mentor-teacher) to collective co-learning across activity systems (e.g. partnership-based teacher education).

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 October 2019

Jeffrey S. Winter, Sherri Bressman and Efrat Sara Efron

The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative model of mentoring that evolved over the past ten years as a result of experience, research and self-study. This research…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative model of mentoring that evolved over the past ten years as a result of experience, research and self-study. This research, conducted in Orthodox Jewish day schools will raise awareness of potential benefits of mentoring as an effective means for supporting Q1 teachers’ classroom effectiveness and sense of well-being. Background research is presented on mentoring as a powerful tool in supporting teachers throughout their careers. An original aspect of this paper is the analysis of exemplary cross-cultural mentoring intentional training, ongoing support and solicitation of feedback. Findings are based on samples from data collected over several years and are analyzed using qualitative tools. The authors discuss implications from two published self-studies of an exemplary mentoring model in which mentors worked with teachers and explore considerations for teacher well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative–narrative approach was chosen for these studies. The findings were drawn from three sources of data: open-ended questionnaires, end-of-year letters teachers wrote to their principals reporting on changes in their classroom practices and in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers, mentors and administrators in each of the schools participating in the program.

Findings

The two self-studies, in tandem with the teachers’ surveys and reflections, illustrate how the teachers viewed the connection between the mentoring they received and their own professional growth. Overall, teachers reported a general satisfaction as a result of participating in the mentoring program. Many noted that the program provided a useful framework offering a personalized approach to their professional development. The teachers were directed to frame their own learning agendas by setting their own instructional improvement goals and asking meaningful questions relevant to their particular classroom situations.

Research limitations/implications

Limited sample size and private religious school environment might put limits on implications.

Practical implications

The presented model has universal implications. A personalized mentoring model, with supplementary professional development sessions geared toward topics supporting well-being, can be applied in any educational setting. Schools leaders must find ways to foster teacher satisfaction and keep teachers engaged in their own learning. Offering teachers a personalized approach that supports continued growth while encouraging them to set their own learning agendas can serve as a vital bridge to teacher satisfaction and well-being.

Social implications

The findings of this paper have implications for school improvement, cross-cultural mentoring, mentor training and teacher well-being.

Originality/value

Original aspects of this paper include: the self-study of exemplary mentoring program, application of mentoring in cross-cultural environments, teacher well-being in private schools and mentoring of teachers in Orthodox Jewish schools.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 5000