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This dissertation challenges the traditional patriarchal conception of mentoring, in which mentors are cast as experts and the task for novices is to assimilate their mentors' knowledge and proposes an alternate feminist conception in which mentors and novices are learner-teachers. The conception is based on practices of conversation and shared experience, through which mentoring partners develop trust and reciprocity. Through reciprocity, mentoring dyads move to a practice of thoughtful critique, in which they trouble taken-for-granted structures within schools. Central to feminist mentoring are issues of concern to the teachers involved, including issues of gender, race and culture as experienced in their own lives. To explore the conception of feminist mentoring, a qualitative research study was undertaken. Data about four mentoring dyads and one triad were collected through a series of structured interviews with individuals and pairs of teachers during one school year. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, and the resulting transcripts were analyzed for common themes. It was found that more successful dyads formed on the basis of the beginning teacher's choice and involved considerable time commitment. Successful mentoring dyads participated in frequent conversations, both casual and planned, in which they talked about students, shared resources, and co-planned curriculum. Conversations centred on both work-related and personal issues. The most successful dyad created numerous shared experiences which provided opportunities for the partners to learn reciprocally. Mentoring conversations and shared experiences led to two complementary ways of coming to know about teaching. In percolated learning the beginning teacher came to know based on hearing and thinking about the mentor's experiences. Thoughtful critique is a more deliberate mode of learning in which the mentor and beginning teachers intentionally address issues of common concern. Although there was some evidence of explicit thoughtful critique emerging within the mentorships, critique was expressed tentatively and cautiously. I suggest that the conditions of schools discourage critique and beginning teachers feel discouraged from being overtly critical. Mentoring dyads may need to work together for more than one year to develop a sufficient level of trust to move to a more critical feminist reconception of mentoring that supports and challenges both mentors and beginning teachers.

In this study, an innovative 'peer tutoring' programme at a high school in KwaZuluNatal was examined. The aim of the study was to explore the limits and possibilities of this approach to enhancing learning at the school from the perspective of teachers, tutors and tutees. 30 learners who were tutees in the programme, 10 tutors, and 5 educators were interviewed through semi-structured interviews into order to examine how they were experiencing the programme. In addition, the researcher conducted non-participant observations of selected peer tutoring sessions at the school. The findings revealed that overall peer tutoring has positive benefits for learners and has the potential to enhance learning and teaching at the school. Some of the benefits that emerged are: increased motivation; enhanced self-concept; reduced inhibition; learning in a supportive, enabling environment; increased communication and dialogue; development of learner autonomy and independence. The study revealed there are areas in the programme that need to be systematically monitored, for example, peer interactions to ensure that they are not at a purely concrete knowledge telling level. Training has to ensure that deep level thinking and problem solving occurs. The active involvement of teachers is necessary at all levels, in particular to monitor discipline. The findings also suggest that the success of a peer-tutoring programme may be linked to the culture and ethos of the school as a whole. A school that upholds the principles of inclusivity, values of caring and affirming others, collaboration, and an ethos of working together may be an environment in which a peer-tutoring programme will flourish. The whole school community needs to build this kind of an ethos and culture - teachers, learners, parents, school management. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

This study explores the experiences of the master teacher in mentoring teachers. Education officials have acknowledged that capacity and skill gaps are impeding progress in education, especially at schools. Within the school context many teachers are either under-qualified or poorly qualified for their job description and this to a large extent has contributed to the schools being dysfunctional. Therefore a well-structured mentorship programme is integral in upgrading education. Within the new occupation specific dispensation (OSD) for educators in the public sector, the category of master teacher has been created to fulfill their roles as mentors in schools. The purpose of the study therefore attempts to critically examine and explore the experiences of the master teacher in a mentoring role. The rationale for choosing the study ("Master teacher experiences of mentoring teachers") is that I am presently a master teacher at Stanger South Secondary, a school 75 kilometres north of Durban, in the KwaDukuza area of KwaZulu-Natal. However the mentoring role by the master teacher, which has been in existence at schools for over two years, is in some cases non-existent or done in a very fragmented way. The phenomenon of the master teacher as a mentor is relatively new in the context of South African education. Hence very little or no research has be done in this domain. Moreover, most of the literature on mentoring focuses on the plethora of definitions of mentoring, the role of the mentor and the experiences of beginning teachers in the induction programmes at schools and very little research on experiences of mentors, especially within the context of education in South Africa. A qualitative methodology was used using the phenomenological approach. The study employed a purposive sampling technique, choosing 3 respondents from 3 different public schools in the Ilembe district of KwaDukuza area (viz. Cranbrook Secondary, Greyridge Secondary and Doesberg Secondary), who are each subjected to a semi-structured interview. The analysis of the data revealed that three master teacher mentors embraced the discourses of collaboration, collegiality and critical dialogue in their mentoring relationship with their mentees, which forms an important part of the radical humanistic approach to mentoring, which is a shift from the rigid functionalist approach to mentoring that emphasizes conformity and maintaining the status quo. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

The transition from high school to college is difficult for students and they need to learn to navigate the transition in order to be successful and stay in school. This process is especially challenging for many students with disabilities who may face additional difficulties due to their disability. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how having a faculty mentorship influences the collegiate experience of students with disabilities. This study was grounded in qualitative, hermeneutic phenomenology methodology. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with students with disabilities who had a faculty mentor during their first semester of college. Data analysis was conducted based on thematic analysis (Van Manen, 1990), and predominant themes were discovered. The researcher concluded faculty mentorship does affect the collegiate experience of students with disabilities in considerable ways. Students met significant challenges adjusting to the collegiate life. Faculty mentorship assisted some of these students during their transition from high school to college. Based on these themes, specific conclusions were drawn regarding students with disabilities transition and the postsecondary accommodation process. Suggestions were presented for university administrators, faculty, and staff, all of which work with students with disabilities. / Department of Educational Leadership

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Waikato, 2007. / Title from PDF cover (viewed August 25, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 290-300)

Thesis (M.Ed. Mgt.)--Unitec New Zealand, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-93).

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 41).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 159 p.; also includes graphics Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-138). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center