Abstract:

This paper presents an exploratory case study of mentors in a teacher education college in Israel and illustrates critical aspects of the complexity of the mentoring role. Mentoring student teachers and novice teachers constitutes a critical factor in teacher education programmes (Schwille, 2008). Research into the mentoring process of pre-service teachers maintains that mentoring is one of the primary factors that determine the success of the beginning teachers at the initial stages of their teaching experience (He, 2010). However, there is no consensus about the role definition of mentoring (Young, et al. 2005) and the fact that no generalisations can be made might lead practitioners to the conclusion that ‘anything goes’ (Cain, 2009) and any ‘good teacher’ could be a mentor (Jones, 2009).
Although research has shown that formal preparation can improve mentors’ performance (Iancu-Haddad &Oplatka, 2009), not much attention is placed on mentoring models and, as a result, the mentoring that novice teachers receive is often considered as ‘gut feeling’ or ‘hit or miss’ (He,2010). In the last decade, The Ministry of Education in Israel has initiated formal accredited training courses for mentors of novice teachers and pre-service teachers in order to professionalise their role. However, not all mentor teachers are participating in the formal training courses. These notions raise critical questions which this study investigates: Who are the mentor teachers? How is their role perceived by the recipients of their services? What preparation do they receive to serve as effective mentors, if at all, and what are their needs? The study provides insights onto the reality of the mentor’s role and highlights the needs and expectations of mentors. This will help programme designers and Teacher Education programmes to provide the appropriate support for mentors and students and promote their professional practice.
The research is located within the inductive interpretative paradigm. The sample of the research is 15 mentor teachers in secondary schools, 20 mentors participating in a mentor education course and their 3 leaders, 5 student-teachers. The research instruments are open ended questionnaires distributed to mentors. Semi -structured interviews with randomly selected mentors, 3 leaders of the mentoring course and 5 student teachers.

References:
Cain, T. (2009). Mentoring trainee teachers: How can mentors use research? Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 17(1), 53–66.
Iancu-Haddad D., & Oplatka, I. (2009). Mentoring novice teachers: Motives, process and outcomes from the mentor’s point of view. The New Educator, 5, 45–65.
He, Y. (2010). Strength-based mentoring in pre-service teacher education: A literature review. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning 17(3), 263–275.
Jones, M. (2009)Supporting the supporters of novice teachers: an analysis of mentors’ needs from twelve European countries presented from an English prospective. Research in Comparative and International Education 4(1), 4-21.
Schwille, S. (2008). The professional practice of mentoring. American Journal of Education, 115, 139–167.
Young, J.R. et al (2005). Novice teacher growth and personal models of mentoring: choosing compassion over enquiry. Mentoring & Tutoring, 13(2), 169-188.

Keywords:

Teacher education, mentors' role, needs.