Educative mentoring: a way forward

Abstract

Purpose – In recent years mentoring has been promoted as an essential, yet complex, new teacher induction dynamic. Mentors generally develop their knowledge of this role in isolation and in situ, and despite extensive research in the field few studies investigate how mentors learn. Therefore it is important to continue to examine the complex aspects of learning to mentor. The purpose of this paper is to focus on understanding the knowledge, attitudes and skills required by mentors to simultaneously focus on their own learning, new teachers’ learning and student learning. Design/methodology/approach – In this New Zealand study the authors examined a pilot programme aimed at shifting mentoring practices to an educative model. Through a two-year professional development intervention, 22 participant mentors inquired into, analysed and documented their practice. Data were gathered through learning conversations, action research documentation and reflections. They were analysed using qualitative methodology. Findings – Evident was a shift in mentoring practice from a focus on the transmission of knowledge-for-practice to inquiry into knowledge-of-practice. Change was observed after sustained and serious engagement with evidence about mentoring practices. However the shifts did not come easy, nor were they assured. Research limitations/implications – This study is not without limitations. Transferability is potentially problematic. The pilot study was well resourced, therefore expecting the implementation and outcomes to transfer to other contexts without similar resourcing maybe unrealistic. Practical implications – The findings contributed to the development of a mentoring curriculum and national guidelines for mentoring new teachers. Originality/value – While the findings emerged from a situated context, the theoretical and practice issues reported are matters for international attention, particularly the matter of transitioning from a well-practiced, efficient teacher mentor to an adaptive educative mentor.

Strengthening music provision in early childhood education: a collaborative self-development approach to music mentoring for generalist teachers

“…Mentors modelled effective music teaching practice and observed developing practice of their mentees, refining the effectiveness of their teaching strategies. Langdon and Ward (2015) proposed such a "knowledge-in-practice" approach for mentoring, helping teachers gain practical knowledge through hands-on experience.…”

The impact of mentoring on the Canadian early career teachers’ well-being

“…This model is based upon the three themes (identity, fear of being judged and respect), which in turn become dimensions of the mentoring model (relational dimension, affective dimension, and ethical dimension). Another model (Langdon and Ward, 2015) focuses on educative mentoring, where both mentors and mentees construct a collaborative partnership by reconstructing their practice with the aim of transforming student learning. Both the READ model and educative mentoring approaches call for a commitment to continued professional development for mentors as well as ECTs.…”

Online (web-based) education for mentors of newly qualified teachers

“…This calls for more advanced mentoring approaches such as educative mentoring (Langdon and Ward, 2015), an acknowledgement of mentors' roles as educational leaders and change agents (Thornton, 2014) and a content-based mentoring approach (Achinstein and Davies, 2014). An obvious solution is to establish dedicated mentor education programmes and increase the number of qualified mentors.…”