Section archive - Mentoring & Supervision

This article reports the findings of a review of the international research literature on mentoring beginning teachers. Research identifies a range of potential benefits and costs associated with mentoring. It suggests that the key to maximizing the former and minimizing the latter lies in the realization of a number of conditions for successful mentoring, such as the effective selection and preparation of mentors.

Lack of knowledge and tools to handle the complexity of teachers' work mean that new teachers often feel insecure about their chosen profession. This influences their perspectives on teaching and their whether they wish (or not) to continue in the field.

This review has three goals: (a) to trace the evolution of mentoring programs in the United States in business and academe, (b) to provide insight on the challenges associated with the study of mentoring, and (c) to identify the limited research-based studies of faculty mentoring programs that currently inform the understanding of this professional development practice in American higher education.The findings indicate that the sophistication of research has not advanced over the past decade.

The study reported on changes sources of support by preservice teachers. A group of preservice teachers was interviewed. The interviews were semi-structured, and focused on categories. The participants moved from formal to informal sources of support. They particularly valued immediate professional support and advice from their teacher tutors and also the social support of their pre-service and teacher colleagues.