Group mentoring may offer similar supports as traditional one-on-one mentoring and a more culturally consistent forum for addressing issues of ethnicity, academic self-concept and school connectedness (Lindsay-Dennis, Cummings, McClendon, in press; Utsey, Howard & Williams, 2003). The present study investigates the development of students’ ethnic identity, academic self-concept and school connectedness through participation in a school based group mentoring program within a culturally diverse high school. Employing a mixed method design and multilevel modeling analysis, both the ethnicity of the mentor and the diversity composition of each group were assessed as contributors to the mentoring process. Ethnic identity and academic self concept did not yield significant associations (p =.75 and p =.42). School connectedness yielded a significant, but negative association (p < .05) from participation; with multicultural students reporting significantly less connection to the school. Review of process notes maintained by mentors revealed specific group processes that may have influenced the ethnic identity, academic self-concept, and school connectedness of students; such as discussion and resolution of experiences of racism.

Group mentoring has received much less empirical attention than one-on-one mentoring and it is not clear whether group programs can be expected to yield similar outcomes or whether the mechanisms of change are similar compared to one-on-one mentoring programs. This study examined the effects of a group mentoring intervention on quality of relationships with parents and peers for 71 program participants relative to a comparison group of 31 students. Further, analyses were performed among program participants only to determine effects of sense of belonging with mentor and mentoring group on changes in quality of relationships with parents and peers. Findings revealed no program effects, yet among program participants, findings revealed that sense of belonging with mentor and group are important in predicting changes in quality of relationship with fathers and peers.

Group mentoring has received much less empirical attention than one-on-one mentoring and it is not clear whether group programs can be expected to yield similar outcomes or whether the mechanisms of change are similar compared to one-on-one mentoring programs. This study examined the effects of a group mentoring intervention on quality of relationships with parents and peers for 71 program participants relative to a comparison group of 31 students. Further, analyses were performed among program participants only to determine effects of sense of belonging with mentor and mentoring group on changes in quality of relationships with parents and peers. Findings revealed no program effects, yet among program participants, findings revealed that sense of belonging with mentor and group are important in predicting changes in quality of relationship with fathers and peers.

This thesis takes its departure from the on-going debate about teachers´(collective) ‘continuing professional development’ (CPD). Teachers’ CPD through an imposed nine-step model of peer group mentoring (PGM) is focused on. The study draws on data from a two and a half yearlong interactive project that took place in a teacher team in a Swedish school. The general aim of the thesis is to study a practice of professional development in a teacher team involving peer group mentoring and to find out how and what kind of teachers’ expertise that is constructed. Furthermore, the aim is to examine how the PGM-practice was constrained and enabled and what kind of CPD was made possible. The theoretical and methodological framework is mainly based on practice theory. Practices and practitioners are seen as mutually interrelated. Practice architectures (Kemmis &amp; Grootenboer, 2008) are used to uncover the relations between the PGM-practice and its historical, material-economic, social-political and cultural-discursive conditions. Furthermore, Foucault’s notion of power was adopted as an analytical tool to examine how power came into play during the mentoring sessions and how the teachers’ discursively constructed a ‘good teacher’ and teachers’ expertise. The methodological approach is action research. A main finding of the thesis is that professional and personnel development may be imposed through peer group mentoring. Furthermore, democratic processes increased during the PGMmeetings and seemed to have an impact on classroom practice and the practice of parent-teacher meetings. The results show how the PGM–practice and its outcomes are deeply interconnected to global and local historical, material-economic, social-political and cultural-discursive arrangements which constrained and enabled it. When economic cut downs (i.e. materialeconomic arrangements) began to take effect in the local school, along with a neo-liberal discourse (i.e. cultural-discursive arrangements), democratic processes were challenged and threatened. The focus in the PGM discussions shifted from the teachers’ perceived need for pedagogical knowledge development to talk about students as costs. The constrained nine-step model disciplined some individuals more than others. The teachers disciplined each other through e.g. confessions, corrections and differentiations. Inconsistent discourses about good teaching and teachers’ know-how were constructed and the teachers positioned themselves and each other as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ teachers. The interactive research approach partly enabled the PGM-practice but at the same time effected the teachers’ positioning of each other. The interactive research approach disciplined both the teachers and the researcher. Anyhow, power relations became fluent and mutual among the participants. A collegial approach and the ability to carry out reflexive cooperation were both fostered by the model and articulated in the PGM-practice as important teacher skills. / <p>Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid</p><p>Göteborgs universitet för vinnande av doktorsexamen i Pedagogiskt arbete framläggs till offentlig granskning Fredagen den 14 mars, klockan 13.00, Sal C 203 vid Högskolan i Borås</p><p>Fakultetsopponent: Professor Emeritus Per Lauvås, Oslo</p><p>Langelotz, L., &amp; Rönnerman, K. (2014).The practice of peer Group mentoring - traces of global changes and regional traditions. In K. Rönnerman, P, Salo &amp; T. Lund (Eds.), Lost in Practice. Transforming Nordic Action Research. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. (forthcoming)</p><p>Langelotz, L. (2013). Teachers peer group mentoring - Nine steps to heaven? Education Inquiry, 4(2), 375-399. ISSN 2000-4508</p><p>Langelotz, L. (2013). Så görs en (o)skicklig lärare. Pedagogisk forskning i Sverige, 18(3-4). ISSN 1401-6788</p><p></p>

abstract: The purpose of this study was to help increase success for first-generation Latina students at Arizona State University by providing a group mentoring support experience during the spring semester of their sophomore year. Thirteen first-generation Latinas in their sophomore year were recruited from the Obama Scholars Program at Arizona State University. These students participated in one or two 90-minute group mentoring intervention sessions during the spring semester of their sophomore year and responded to reflection questions at the end of each session. Additional data were collected through e-journaling and field notes to document the mentoring process and the short-term effects of the group mentoring intervention. Study participants named three themes as critical to their college success: college capital, confidence, and connections. Participants also reported that the intervention of group mentoring sessions helped them increase their knowledge of available resources, feel more confident about their remaining years in college, make connections with other first-generation Latinas, and convinced them to recommit themselves to working hard for immediate academic success to achieve their goal of becoming the first in their families to become a college graduate. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2011

The disparity in test scores, known as the achievement gap, between African American and European American students has persisted despite research and reforms. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine what African American community members in a North Carolina school district perceived as the causes of the local achievement gap and what support they believed they could offer to close the gap. The theories of cultural-historical psychology, social cognition, learned helplessness, social disorganization, and the funds of knowledge concept, guided the data collection from the 3 focus groups from the local community. Each focus group contained 6 to 7 people who were below, at, or above median income. They included members of the local African American community such as business people, parents, educators, and clergy. Open and selective data coding procedures organized data into major themes. The major themes were past school experience, parental role, and community involvement. All focus groups identified the lack of support from the African American community as the primary cause of the achievement gap. They suggested that the local African American community would develop an academic community support system. These findings informed the design of The Village Builder's Project to establish a collaborative community mentoring system that offers a team of business people mentors, academic supervisors, and elderly advisors for each student. When assigned to low performing K-12 African American students, this network of mentors has the potential to reduce the achievement gap and produce positive social change in terms of improved academic achievement of African American students in a local community.

The Group Mentoring Programme which is the subject of this evaluative research was developed and implemented under the auspices of the Australian Library and Information Association by the author and a colleague. The main aim of the Programme was to facilitate the transition of new graduates in librarianship into the profession. The objectives of the research were: (1) to conduct an impact evaluation of the Programme; (2) to explore and develop the conceptual and theoretical bases of mentoring; and (3) to identify sources of stress anticipated and experienced by new graduates in their transition into the profession. This evaluative research represents the first report in the research literature to date in which a group mentoring programme of this kind has been evaluated using a quasi-experimental research design. The population comprised all graduates in librarianship from the two Western Australian universities offering these courses in 1996. Subjects in the experimental group were self-selected, and the remainder of the population made up the comparison group. (This was divided into two groups - those who did not have a current mentor, and those who had a current mentor.) Data were collected by means of pre- and post-test questionnaires, and analysed by multiple regression analysis. The main outcome variable was measured by Hall's Professionalism Scale, a validated measuring instrument. Results indicated that the Group Mentoring Programme was effective in only one of the five domains of professionalism as measured by this scale (that is, in having a sense of 'calling' to the field). This suggested that a group mentoring programme, by itself, is not a sufficient strategy for new graduates to attain a professional identity. A four-stage model of mentoring as continuing professional development is suggested as a strategy for teaching professionalism in a more formal, ++ / structured way. Results also showed that career-development outcomes were significantly higher in the Group Mentoring participants than in the two comparison groups, indicating that group mentoring is an effective career development strategy in the first year of such a programme. The concept of mentoring is extended to include group mentoring, which incorporates the essential characteristics of mentoring; it is also suggested that group mentoring includes the potential for practising three forms of mentoring relationships: individual, peer and co-mentoring. Two broad areas for future research are suggested: longitudinal studies examining the outcomes of group mentoring, and studies extending the theoretical and conceptual bases of group mentoring.

Abstract This doctoral thesis discusses the creation of professional identity of education developers working in the crossroads of administration and school development work. The subjects of the study work as class or subject teachers, and as education developers in Support Services at the Department of Education. The study also examines the impacts of a peer mentoring group based on narrative and action based methods on the creation of professional identity. The theoretical and methodological basis of this study is narrative. The goal, challenge and learning narratives identified were then analysed using content analysis. The creation of developer identity is seen as a series of reflecting and processing events that challenge one’s identity. Professional identity is examined as being created through a narrative, and the research data has been created through narration. Challenges emerge at the crossroads of administration and school – in the arena of interaction. Managing these challenges is described as evolution in knowledge, skills and operating methods as well as beliefs, attitudes and feelings. The learning stories created in the reflection process describe change, which is required for managing challenging situations. The goal narratives emphasise expertise, the power to influence and being a peer. The education developers describe themselves as walking alongside teachers, as peers. Three developer identities were recognised in the education developers’ narratives: the critical developer, the flexible developer and the self-developer. The critical developer is motivated by being competent in an expert position. The flexible developer feels that being a teacher is an integral part of the identity of an education developer. The work is about expressing oneself. The self-developer’s identity includes the aspect of enhancing one’s own expertise. She or he has an optimistic attitude towards the changes of the job. Using the peer mentoring group to support the development of professional identity required trust amongst the group members to enable them to share critical events that challenge one’s identity in the group. This study is an important and topical address to the dialogue on the ways to support the professional growth and career development of teachers as well as the development of continuous education. / Tiivistelmä Väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan opetustoimen kehittäjäopettajan identiteetin rakentumista opetustoimen hallinnon ja koulujen kehittämistyön tukemisen välimaastossa. Tutkimuksen kehittäjäopettajat toimivat kouluillaan luokan- tai aineenopettajina ja koko opetustoimessa kehittäjäopettajina. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään myös, mikä merkitys kerrontaan ja toiminnallisiin menetelmiin perustuvalla vertaismentorointiryhmällä on identiteetin rakentumisessa. Tutkimuksen teoreettisena ja metodologisena lähtökohtana on kerronta. Luennassa tunnistettua tavoite-, haaste- ja oppimiskerrontaa on analysoitu sisällöllisesti. Kehittäjäidentiteetin rakentumisessa on tärkeällä sijalla identiteettiä haastavien tapahtumien reflektointi. Ammatillinen identiteetti nähdään kerronnan kautta rakentuvana, ja tutkimusaineisto on syntynyt kerronnassa. Haasteita syntyy hallinnon ja koulun välimaastossa, vuorovaikutusareenalla. Haasteista selviäminen kerrotaan muutoksena tiedoissa, taidoissa ja toimintatavoissa sekä uskomuksissa, asenteissa ja tunteissa. Reflektoinnissa syntyvät oppimiskertomukset kuvaavat muutosta, jota haastavista tilanteista selviäminen edellyttää. Tavoitekerronnassa korostuvat asiantuntijuus, vaikuttaminen ja vertaisuus. Kehittäjäopettajat kuvaavat itseään opettajan rinnalla kulkijoina ja vertaisina. Kerronnasta tunnistetaan kolme kehittäjäidentiteettiä: kriittinen, joustava ja itsensä kehittäjä. Joustavalle kehittäjälle opettajuus on kiinteä osa kehittäjäopettajan identiteettiä ja kehittäjän työ itsensä toteuttamista. Kriittistä kehittäjää motivoi päteminen asiantuntijatehtävissä. Itsensä kehittäjän identiteettiin liittyy oman asiantuntijuuden vahvistaminen, optimistinen suhtautuminen muutoksiin ja oman urapolun suunnittelu. Vertaismentorointiryhmän toimiminen ammatillisen identiteetin rakentumisen tukena edellyttää luottamuksen syntymistä, jotta kriittisiä, identiteettiä haastavia tapahtumia pystytään jakamaan ryhmässä. Tutkimus on tärkeä ja ajankohtainen puheenvuoro keskusteltaessa opettajien ammatillisen kasvun ja urakehityksen tukemisen keinoista sekä täydennyskoulutuksen kehittämisestä.

Mentoring, a kind of traditional mechanism for passing down knowledge and skills, is now becoming an organized field of practice in early childhood education contexts, not only globally but also in China. A variety of mentoring models have been implemented to facilitate the ongoing and continuous professional development of educators, including early childhood teachers. This qualitative case study focused on the impact of group mentoring on the professional development of four teachers in a Shanghai kindergarten. Within the theoretical framework of COP (Community of Practice), it was an investigation of how the group mentoring process, an alternative to traditional models of professional development, had an impact on the teachers in a changing early childhood education context in China. This study featured in-depth individual interviews with the four teachers (two mentors and two mentees), who are in the same mentoring group, and observations of their group mentoring activities. Data was coded and analyzed qualitatively. A few major themes emerged from the study: the teachers’ perceptions of the model, the benefits and challenges it brings, and its influence on their relationships and identity. The study aimed to gain insight into how group mentoring, a potentially optimal model, has exerted an influence on the teachers’ professional development. This study concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings and areas for future research.

This mixed-methods research study investigated medical students' perspectives of professional mentoring through a web-based survey/needs assessment. The participants are fourth year medical students from three large urban research institutions and two regional branch campuses. The web-based survey/needs assessment was created, peer reviewed, and validated. A strategic sampling of focus groups was conducted to gather additional information regarding the results from the web-based survey. The information and data obtained from the survey and focus groups was used to provide recommendations for administrators and faculty about the mentoring program for each campus. A new proposed model of mentoring was developed upon analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. The significance of this study includes not only the findings about medical school students' perspectives of professional mentoring, but also the development of a validated assessment tool able to inform administrators about perceptions of their medical students.