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1 – 10 of 29The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to extend existing knowledge on the nature, reach, causes and consequences of judgementoring; second, to present a new framework for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to extend existing knowledge on the nature, reach, causes and consequences of judgementoring; second, to present a new framework for mentoring beginner teachers that has the potential to forestall and combat judgementoring, and enable the full potential of institution-based mentoring to be realised.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on a thematic analysis of: previously published findings from three empirical studies undertaken between 2003 and 2015; new data from two empirical studies undertaken between 2012 and 2016; and recent literature (2013-2016) on judgementoring.
Findings
The paper provides further evidence of the nature, reach, causes and consequences of judgementoring as a national and international phenomenon. In doing so, it extends previous knowledge about the conditions that enhance or detract from the successful enactment of beginner teacher mentoring.
Practical implications
The findings presented have implications for the work of education policymakers, school and college leaders, mentor trainers, mentors and others concerned with enhancing mentorship and effectively supporting the professional learning, development and well-being of beginning teachers.
Originality/value
The paper presents ONSIDE Mentoring as an original, research-informed framework for mentoring beginner teachers. The framework may also be applicable to other contexts, especially for the mentoring of early career professionals.
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Andrew J. Hobson and Christian J. van Nieuwerburgh
The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the evidence base on coaching and mentoring in education, to provide a commentary on literature published in the first 10…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the evidence base on coaching and mentoring in education, to provide a commentary on literature published in the first 10 volumes of the International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education (IJMCE) in particular and to offer some directions for future research in the field.
Design/methodology/approach
This review and position paper draws on the authors’ knowledge of the extant literature on coaching and mentoring in education, their own research in the field and their perspectives as editors of coaching and mentoring journals.
Findings
Among the outcomes of their review and commentary, the authors observe that coaching and mentoring research conducted to date largely occupies two separate fields, and studies published in one field frequently fail to draw on relevant literature from the other or recognise the overlap between them. The authors highlight a number of additional limitations of the evidence base on coaching and mentoring in education and offer some potential means of addressing these.
Originality/value
The paper offers an original reflection on current research into coaching and mentoring in education. It is intended that the paper will inform the design and publication of future studies in this area to strengthen the evidence base and, in turn, inform improvements to coaching and mentoring practice. In particular, the authors hope to encourage the ethical deployment of coaching and mentoring which enhances, rather than inhibits, the well-being of all participants, while realising other positive outcomes.
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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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Mentoring is an essential tool for teacher education, not least because it allows knowledge and experience sharing. Research findings suggest a close relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
Mentoring is an essential tool for teacher education, not least because it allows knowledge and experience sharing. Research findings suggest a close relationship between mentoring and the well-being of those involved. However, little is known about this relationship or the mechanisms involved. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Through an integrative literature review, important links between mentor and mentee well-being and certain aspects of mentoring are explored. The results of the review are then synthesised into a theoretical framework.
Findings
The framework developed here posits that the well-being of teachers relates to the quality of mentoring. This includes teachers' perceptions of mentoring and their decision to get involved, their contributions to functional mentor–mentee relationships and the selection and use of mentoring styles that support both mentor and mentee well-being. Moreover, the framework hypothesises that the quality of mentoring received by mentees is related to their well-being, which is in turn connected to their professional development. Most of these relationships appear to be bidirectional, meaning that mentee well-being also contributes to mentoring quality and mentor well-being. Finally, it is hypothesised that the well-being of both mentors and mentees is connected to the school context in which the mentoring takes place.
Originality/value
This work provides a novel, comprehensive framework for future examinations of the connections between well-being and mentoring. It synthesises the prior work on this topic by integrating findings from both the mentor and mentee perspectives into a single framework.
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Jo 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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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.
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Andrew J. Hobson, Linda J. Searby, Lorraine Harrison and Pam Firth
The purpose of this study was to explore young Arab women's understandings of mentoring as part of a pre-service teacher training program both before and after an extended…
Abstract
Purpos
The purpose of this study was to explore young Arab women's understandings of mentoring as part of a pre-service teacher training program both before and after an extended internship throughout which a collaborative approach to mentoring was practiced. It aimed to identify the opportunities and challenges such an approach would bring in the quest to support trainee teachers' professional development.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this small-scale qualitative study were collected using a brainstorming class-based activity, semi-structured interviews and reflective journals. Data were analyzed using word clouds, and the identification of themes through the coding of transcripts.
Findings
The dominant findings in this study were that mentoring was perceived as emotional support, pedagogic and professional support, evaluation and relationship. While understandings of mentoring amongst participants did shift as a result of mentors adopting a collaborative approach, data indicated that the strength of cultural assumptions held by the participants hindered the rate of change, creating an obstacle to the desired outcome of increasing trainees' agency.
Originality/value
While perceptions of mentoring reported within this study indicate considerable overlap with those in other geographical and cultural contexts, closer examination of the data identified differences also. Without an understanding of the nature and influence of the social assumptions that underlie these differences, mentors who participate in culturally diverse mentor–trainee pairings can misinterpret an unwillingness of trainees to fully engage with the mentoring process and thus fail to provide the required scaffolding and support needed to maximize professional development.
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The author's purpose is to identify and analyze the progress of proposals and dissertations after mentor–mentee relationships rapidly transitioned to intensive online doctoral…
Abstract
Purpose
The author's purpose is to identify and analyze the progress of proposals and dissertations after mentor–mentee relationships rapidly transitioned to intensive online doctoral mentoring as a result of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory pedagogic research design was implemented in 2020 to examine the COVID-19 Dyadic Online Mentoring Intervention, a four-month individualized approach to mentorship. A survey was completed by mentees in an educational leadership cohort that revealed the benefits and drawbacks of technology for learning within online doctoral mentoring contexts. Additional sources of data were published literature, mentor's notes, email exchanges, and scholarly enrichment products.
Findings
Data analysis yielded three themes: (1) mentoring strategies were utilized; (2) the pandemic unsettled reality and (3) personal professional development opportunities were evident. Although life challenges were exacerbated by the pandemic, the online doctoral mentoring intervention met dissertation-related needs and supported academic progress in a Doctorate in Education degree program.
Practical implications
Technology-mediated mentoring during crises involves more than modality changes. Faculty mentors should not be solely responsible for mitigating program and dissertation disruption. Academic cultures must support the adoption of pedagogic innovations like high-quality online doctoral mentoring.
Originality/value
Online doctoral mentoring structures utilizing synchronous and asynchronous technologies can help mentees make academic progress in a crisis, not only in “normal” times.
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