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21 – 30 of over 9000Jo Fletcher, Chris Astall and John Everatt
This paper is about mentoring of initial teacher education (ITE) students whilst on their practicum.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is about mentoring of initial teacher education (ITE) students whilst on their practicum.
Design/methodology/approach
Informed by a social constructivist theoretical framework, an online survey was used to capture the breadth of quantitative data and the richness of qualitative responses relating to factors that impact student teachers' experiences during practicum.
Findings
Quantitative data indicate that many student teachers were positive about the practicum, but this varied across the type of school in which they were placed. The qualitative data analyses showed a greater in-depth understanding of the range of issues that impacted how student teachers are treated in their role as a mentee by the mentor and the wider school community.
Practical implications
Better understanding the experiences of student teachers helps to inform ITE providers of the critical role that mentor teachers play in preparing student teachers. The practical implications are that strategies to develop deep and collaborative partnerships amongst ITE providers, mentor teachers and school leaders, which build stronger understandings of a mentor teacher's role, are critical in order to support student teachers.
Originality/value
This research study repositions the critical nature of effective mentoring of student teachers so that mentor teachers and ITE providers can be informed by the voices and lived realities of these student teachers. The mentoring relationship needs to be critically interrogated to provide a more even and supportive “playing field” for all student teachers.
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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.
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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.
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Irene Mains and Samantha MacLean
The purpose of this paper is to explore the operating factors influencing a cross-organisational mentoring initiative created to support leadership development. The research…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the operating factors influencing a cross-organisational mentoring initiative created to support leadership development. The research provides insight on participants’ views and mentoring practices around planning and preparation of mentoring relationships, to inform future training of leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is inductive in nature, using an exploratory approach via a two-stage qualitative analysis. The qualitative data were gathered via interviews with the initiative partners and questionnaires distributed to all mentors and mentees involved. Data were gathered at the outset of the initiative and one year later.
Findings
Emergent themes revealed that centrally driven criterion-based matching was deemed effective, with skills and experience of mentors perceived as more important than seniority. Support from senior management was of paramount importance at all stages. Clear personal and professional objective setting was vital at the outset of the mentoring relationship; however, a degree of fluidity in direction occurred over time. Planned periodic meetings to share experiences, aid reflection and gather feedback from individual mentors and mentees groups was requested. Finally, while the mentees should drive the process, it was recognised that mentors may be required to take the lead initially.
Research limitations/implications
It is recognised that wider generalisations are limited; the initiative would require replication with a number of different participants to increase validity. However, as the research is exploratory in nature, there is value in the initial research findings with potential for replication within other organisations and for other cross-organisational mentoring initiatives.
Practical implications
The research provides a number of useful themes which practitioners could use to explore the creation of a cross-organisational mentoring scheme and provides benchmarking indicators for this.
Originality/value
This is an innovative approach to leadership training that can be seen in the limited literature and theory related to cross-organisational mentoring as a leadership training tool that the design team, a partnership of HR academics and HRD professionals, were able to access.
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Mentor–mentee relationships are important for individual wellbeing, mental health, professional agency and confidence. In the context of an initial teacher education (ITE…
Abstract
Purpose
Mentor–mentee relationships are important for individual wellbeing, mental health, professional agency and confidence. In the context of an initial teacher education (ITE) programme, these relationships become a key factor. Pre-service teachers’ capacity to cope on a professional placement is closely linked to the quality of the mentoring relationship. The purpose of this paper is to identify the negative coping strategies used by pre-service teachers who struggle to cope in a school placement in Melbourne, Australia, highlighting the importance of providing quality mentorship.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-methods approach was used for the analysis of pre-service teachers’ coping on a teaching practicum and to identify common related beliefs. A total of 177 pre-service teachers, who have completed at least one supervised practicum participated in this study. The Coping Scale for Adults second edition (CSA-2) was administered alongside an open-ended questionnaire to identify frequently used coping styles and associated thoughts and beliefs.
Findings
The results show that pre-service teachers who favour non-productive coping strategies were more likely to express feelings of loneliness, pointed at poor communication with their mentor and described thoughts about leaving the teaching profession.
Originality/value
Using the Coping Scale for Adults in the context of practicum provides an insight into individual experiences. The implications of mentor–mentee relationships for individuals’ coping are highlighted. initial teacher education programs and schools have significant roles in supporting mentor–mentee relationships and practical supportive interventions are offered.
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Nancy Graber Pigeon, Wendy Cook and James L. Nimnicht
The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a difference between same vs opposite sex pairings in the mentor‐protégé relationship when it comes to salary and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a difference between same vs opposite sex pairings in the mentor‐protégé relationship when it comes to salary and levels within the organization.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 612 manager/non‐manager dyads with all non‐managers being female. The organization was located in the Northwest section of the United States and was a large Fortune 500 manufacturing firm. All levels of the organization were utilized from entry level positions to vice presidents to measure how women fared under female vs male mentors.
Findings
Women with female mentor supervisors earn less than with male mentor supervisors. The disparity is even greater the younger the protégée. If the trend shown in this research continues, wages may drop for women in high levels of the organization with same‐ sex mentees.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation of this research is the operationalization of a manager as a mentor. Supervisors were used as the mentor in most examples. Even if the participants in the study had self‐selected their mentors, it would still be expected that the participants would be successful. Another limitation to this research is that there was no direct assessment of the perceptions of the mentor/protégé relationship among the participants. More research needs to be done to understand why these trends were found which might include looking at personality traits, various characteristics, immutable traits, etc. Additionally, experimental longitudinal research should be done to arrive at a definitive conclusion. This research provides the impetus to study the phenomenon cross culturally, outside of the northwest and outside of the USA, etc.
Practical implications
The practical implications for management may be that having women moving up the organizational hierarchy without the appropriate pay increase may save the company money in labor costs. But, as women recognize the disparity in income, they may request opposite sex mentors vs same sex mentors which may be a self‐limiting factor for organizations promoting women into higher level positions in the organization. Therefore, they may promote fewer women which would decrease their diversity efforts.
Originality/value
Many researchers have reviewed the relationship between a mentee and a more seasoned organizational member. Formal and informal mentoring systems have been studied as well reviewing many variables. The research reviewing same vs opposite sex pairings in the mentor/protégé relationship demonstrates conflicting findings. This paper tests the result in salary and organizational level that the female protégé rises to if they have a female mentor vs male mentor.
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J. Barton Cunningham and Ted Eberle
Describes the benefits of mentoring in relation to trainingpersonnel and gives guidelines on selecting suitable role models asmentors. Discusses in depth the essentials of a good…
Abstract
Describes the benefits of mentoring in relation to training personnel and gives guidelines on selecting suitable role models as mentors. Discusses in depth the essentials of a good, solid mentor‐prot\?\g\?\ relationship.
The purpose of this paper is to define and describe the mentoring mindset in a protégé. The central research question was: What constitutes a mentoring mindset in a protégé who is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to define and describe the mentoring mindset in a protégé. The central research question was: What constitutes a mentoring mindset in a protégé who is poised to receive maximum benefits from a mentoring relationship, as described by the mentor?
Design/methodology/approach
A phenomenological approach was used to conduct this study. Interviews were conducted with veteran school principals who were trained mentors, assigned and paired with newly appointed principals for a year of mentoring. The identification of the phenomenon of the mentoring mindset of the protégé was derived from the mentors’ perspectives of their protégés’ behaviors, dispositions, attitudes, and competencies, as they were conveyed in the research interviews.
Findings
A definition of the protégé's mentoring mindset was created after analysis of the interview data, and indicators of the presence and absence of the mindset were formulated into a Protégé Mentoring Mindset Framework that provides information on protégé competencies. The protégé with a mentoring mindset takes initiative, possesses a learning orientation, has a goal orientation, is relational and reflective. Conversely, the protégé who does not have a mentoring mindset lacks initiative, lacks a learning orientation, a goal orientation, and is not relational or reflective.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation of the study is that it only gathered the perceptions of the mentor, but the protégé is the one being described. This, however, is consistent with other studies of protégé competencies. The study was conducted with a specific population (school principals) in a southern state of the USA. Hence, it cannot be assumed to be generalizable to other populations or fields of study. Replication of this research in other settings is suggested, so that the Framework can be further affirmed, disconfirmed, or augmented. Implications of this research could be that the Mentoring Mindset Framework can be used for considering the varied competencies of the protégé, and can be used in both mentor and protégé training.
Originality/value
To this researcher's knowledge, there has not been a Protégé Mentoring Mindset Framework of competencies created in mentoring research.
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Mentoring processes have been researched extensively, but rarely from a perspective that incorporates issues related to stress. In this chapter, a focus is placed on the common…
Abstract
Mentoring processes have been researched extensively, but rarely from a perspective that incorporates issues related to stress. In this chapter, a focus is placed on the common themes and connections between these two important literature bases. The first part of the chapter describes the mentoring process, including a description of types of relationships, stages of relationship development, and the mentoring exchange. Stress research is presented along with a presentation of research that explicitly examines stress in relationship to mentoring. Specific stress points related to each aspect of the mentoring process will be described and illusted in a conceptual model. The chapter will conclude with suggestions for future research and methods that will enhance both stress and mentoring research.