Thesis (PhD(Curriculum Studies))-University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed March 25, 2010). Advisor: Elizabeth Holloway, Ph.D. "A dissertation submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009."--from the title page. Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-175).

No description available.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.191-196).

Mentoring has the potential to benefit preservice, new teachers, and experienced teachers, but it is a complex process with few agreements about what might make it most effective. Furthermore, due to teacher demographics affecting the availability of veteran teachers, mentors are consequently drawn from various career points, and some of them have few years of teaching experience. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the complexities of mentoring, particularly of the role that age, experience, and situational factors might play in their work. To pursue this study, I used these research questions: What are the goals and approaches of these six mentors in mentoring new teachers? How do these six mentors carry out that approach? How are mentors’ perspectives impacted by situational factors within a formal program such as working conditions and expectations? I examined mentors’ perspectives about their experiences to give insight as to how to develop the overall support structure of formal mentoring for new teachers. Through in‐depth qualitative research interviews and document analysis, I investigated mentors’ perspectives on their particular set of experiences within a formal mentoring program. Through inductive analysis, my study yielded information about whether and how mentors at different career points identify and understand their mentoring. Even though I anticipated experience would impact the goals and approaches of mentors, my first key finding was that these mentors with varying amounts of teaching experience shared similar goals and approaches. The second key finding was that situational and programmatic factors supported collaboration among the mentors and supported the development of common goals and a common approach. The third key finding was that the structure of the VA program helped to foster collective responsibility for the new teachers amongst the mentor team, and this may have reinforced the mentors’ similar goals and approaches. Given these findings that years of teaching experience may not always be a critical factor in mentors’ approaches, this study shows the potential importance of shared experience and socialization within a mentor team, and scaffolding within a mentoring program.

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.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-93).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-93). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1992. / Title from title page screen, viewed February 6, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Larry D. Kennedy (chair), G. Thomas Baer, Barbara S. Heyl, Jeanne B. Morris. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 249-265) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 214-233).