Section archive - Mentoring & Supervision

Policy makers are concerned about teacher shortages and the high rate of attrition among new teachers. Mentor-based induction has been shown to reduce the numbers of new teachers leaving schools or the profession. However, staying in the profession does not mean that new teachers are effective in helping students learn. The purpose of the project was to study how variations in new teacher support programs are related to changes in student achievement.

Many mentoring programs partner programs of inner-city youth, providing assistance in underserved communities while mentors gain experiences that connect theory and practice. We analysed over 200 field notes, which described their mentoring interactions over eight weeks and conducted exit interviews about their mentoring experiences. Our results indicate that mentors participated not just as more knowledgeable peers but also as facilitators, advisors, most importantly, as learners in this process. In the interviews, nearly all mentors reviewed assumptions about their own learning and mentoring, in addition to reflections about social issues.

The research study focuses the effects of mandated-training for protégés on mentor outcomes within a large-scale e-mentoring program MentorNet for adults. In this randomized experiment, 200 protégés were assigned to a mandated e-training (experimental) group, and another 200 protégés were assigned to a voluntary e-training (control) group. The mentors were more satisfied, engaged with program, and held their protégés in higher esteem.

In order to develop an understanding of mentoring on high risk adolescent girls, the article explores the relationship between 'Little Sisters' and 'Big Sisters'. Findings suggest that a long-term, nurturing mentoring relationship had a positive impact on the self-efficacy, aspirations, and possible selves of the at-risk adolescent girls.