An evaluation of school-based mentoring in initial teacher education : the exploratory phase

Abstract

This report presents the results of the evaluation undertaken by the Department of Leadership for Learning & Innovation in relation to what the Faculty has described as the exploratory phase in the introduction of mentoring within its teaching practicum. This experience acknowledges the importance and strong influence that schools and educators at school level can play on teacher preparation. Our belief that one way of addressing the lack of fit between theory and practice is through establishing closer ties with educators at the school site. Furthermore, mentoring has been identified as the knot that brings us together. This has spearheaded some of the discourse within the Faculty of Education and led towards the introduction of this school-based mentoring. This is a discourse that has been with us since the 1990s. We have persisted and our conversations and initiatives have led to the proposal and endorsement by the University and stakeholders that mentoring needs to be at the core of Initial Teacher Education (ITE).