The purpose of this study was to determine if, after one year of operation, the UNT/Dallas Public Schools Leadership Development Program was progressing in accordance with the goals set out for the program. Questionnaires administered to 26 interns and 10 mentor principals and follow-up focus group interview sessions provided answers to the study's five research questions that explored the following: selection process; how interns' involvement in campus-based decision-making had changed; how mentor principals' perceptions toward interns had changed; and how administrative interns' perceptions of themselves and educational administration had changed. Findings from this study revealed the selection process provided the Dallas Public Schools an opportunity to select teacher-leaders from the district and to include a representative number of minority and women candidates for participation in the program. An area of weakness was seven interns with low GRE scores were admitted through an appeals process at the university. Another weakness revealed the majority of interns had been assigned more duties and responsibilities at the schools, but only 4 of 26 interns were being allowed to participate in any campus-based decision-making processes that could have an impact on school improvements. The study found the role of the mentor principal to be the most important factor in determining the satisfaction and success of the interns in the program. The embedded internship proved to be a disadvantage for the interns and principals, as the majority reported not having enough time to spend on administrative activities. Interns reported growth in personal and professional maturity and gained knowledge about the world of educational leadership. All 26 interns expressed the desire to become administrators in Dallas Public Schools upon completion of the program. Further research should include comparison studies between graduates of restructured programs and graduates of traditional programs to determine if there is a difference in school improvements and student achievement based upon the nature of the training of the school leader.

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Research shows that student teachers find the mentor teacher and the student teaching experience itself the two most influential factors in their practicum experience. This study examined five student teachers and the two mentor teachers of each in elementary school settings within a metropolitan school district in North Texas. Lave and Wenger’s (1991, 2002) community of practice theory informed this study. Data sources included mentor teacher interviews, student teacher interviews, student teacher observations, student teacher/mentor teacher dialogue journals, and student teacher reflections. A collective case study approach was followed to gain a detailed understanding of the experiences of the five student teachers, looking specifically at their confidence in teaching and the factors associated with it. Findings indicated that the confidence in teaching of all five student teachers changed throughout their practicum experiences. Results suggested many factors influenced these changes. Student teachers shared that the student teaching experience, the grade level/subjects taught, their relationships with their students, and their relationships with their mentor teachers contributed to their confidence. The mentor teachers perceived that student teachers’ confidence could be influenced by consistency in classroom management and their interactions with their mentor teachers. Two areas of influence on student teacher confidence not uncovered by other researchers were the quest of student teachers for perfection while teaching and the need of mentor teachers for control of the content presented by the student teachers, especially during the months prior to state-mandated testing. Implications of the study included the need for university supervisors to mediate between student teachers and mentor teachers in promoting shared ownership of student learning within that community of practice enabled by student teaching.

Children whose mothers go to prison are at high risk for poor outcomes of many kinds,including externalizing behaviors, internalizing disorders, school dropout, and eventual criminal activity. Inhibitory control, moral emotions, emotion regulation, and stressful life events were examined as predictors of externalizing and internalizing behaviors in children of incarcerated mothers. Participants were 50 children age 6 to 12 years (M = 9.77 y, SD = 1.54) with mothers currently in prison who attended a faith-based recreational summer camp. Inhibitory control was not impaired in these children, showing that their brains were functioning appropriately in this area of executive functioning. Inhibitory control did not impact emotion regulation as is usually seen, however. As expected, though, poor emotion regulation predicted both internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Lower levels of guilt (a healthy moral emotion) and higher levels of blame (an unhealthy denial of responsibility) predicted externalizing behaviors, while higher levels of shame (an unhealthy self-deprecation) predicted internalizing behaviors. A lower level of guilt also predicted the presence of callous/unemotional traits. Almost half the children experienced four or more life stressors within the past year; stressors predicted feelings of sadness and anxiety as opposed to externalizing problems, and not problems with emotion regulation. Results indicated that children who experienced the incarceration of their mothers have the cognitive and moral tools with which to regulate their emotions, but they do not always use these tools. Poor emotion regulation puts children at risk of difficulties ranging from psychopathy to long-lasting peer and relationship problems. One possibility is that their behaviors are learned and purposeful; perhaps their home and neighborhood environments modeled and reinforced out-of-control behavior. Suggestions for interventions include increasing the understanding of the impact of emotional self-understanding on self-control and behaviors, using strategies that employ both a cognitive and moral focus.

The theoretical part of the thesis consists of literary research focused on mentoring, mentoring relationship, goals and importance of mentoring, kinds and phases of mentoring, mentoring at the beginning of a teacher's career, mentoring in the course of his / her career, giving examples of implemented projects which were aimed at mentoring, and the relationship between the mentor and the learning organization. The main goal of the empirical part is to elaborate a model example for effective use of mentoring in nursery schools as a potential tool leading to the learning organization. Some necessary requirements and ideal conditions for implementing the internal mentoring in the nursery school are stated, the time schedule for implementing the internal mentoring has been elaborated, and both formal and content part for its implementation has been suggested, including some advice and recommendations. Three tools have been used in the empirical part of the thesis: research into mentoring in selected nursery schools, observations of the interaction between the mentor and the mentee with a specified goal of mentoring and observations of the cooperation between the mentor and the mentee in a selected nursery school during a controlled activity, analysis of internal mentoring materials in a selected...

Balansgången mellan chefskap och ledarskap kan vara en utmaning för många chefer. Organisationer klarar sig inte utan chefskapet och dess tillhörande arbetsuppgifter, men det kan samtidigt vara avgörande att kunna inspirera och skapa engagemang. Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilka förutsättningar chefer behöver i sitt ledarskap. Frågeställningar som användes för att besvara syftet gällde chefers behov av ledarutveckling, chefers behov av stöd i ledarskapet, samt vilka förbättringar chefer upplever att de behöver för att få bättre förutsättningar i sitt ledarskap. Kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod användes. En enkät sammanställd av Region Västerbotten analyserades vilket var den kvantitativa delen i studien. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med avdelningschefer vilket var den kvalitativa delen i studien. Centrala resultat i studien är att stöd, tydlighet och tidsbrist bör tas hänsyn till vid organisationers arbete med chefers behov i ledarutveckling för att kunna ge chefer rätt förutsättningar i ledarskapet. Chefers erfarenhet kan påverka behovet av coach, mentor och handledning. Resultatet visar också att en ökad grad av återkoppling, planering av kompetensutveckling och uppföljning kan minska behovet av coach, mentor och handledning. Det är nödvändigt att se över system, orsaker till tidsbrist,lönesättning samt hur man skapar en attraktiv arbetsplats för chefer. Det är svårt att arbeta enbart med chefskap eller enbart med ledarskap då dessa två delar är beroende av varandra. Det är därför av vikt att se över stödet både i vardagliga arbetsuppgifter men också gällande chefers egna utveckling, något som författarna hoppas denna studie har gett insyn i.

Since South Africa’s democratic government was elected to power in 1994, much attention has been given to restructuring the country’s education system. Peer-mentoring is one approach to meet current challenges in education given high teacher:learner ratios, greater diversity in student population and majority of learners being taught in English, their second and even third language. This research examined the impact of a peermentoring reading intervention with second language Grade 9 learners. The study utilized a sample of Grade 9 learners (N = 173) from a school in Gauteng. Biographical information was obtained and these learners were pre-tested in Grade 8 and post-tested in Grade 9 2007, using the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT). The entire Grade 9 group received the reading intervention for three months and their results were compared to a comparison group from the previous year who received no intervention. Results of learners’ vocabulary, comprehension and academic achievement scores were compared. Although both the comparison and the experimental groups showed an improvement on their vocabulary and comprehension scores, the experimental group’s gains were significantly higher. Of the Grade 9 experimental group, 30 learners (mentees) received individual paired reading mentoring and their scores were examined to determine the extent of improvement. The mentees group showed similar significant gains in their vocabulary and comprehension scores, and showed an overall improvement in their academic marks. Challenges faced, limitations and recommendations for future study are discussed.

Thesis advisor: Stephanie Berzin / A growing body of evidence shows that sexual minority youth disproportionately suffer from poor mental health and substance abuse outcomes in comparison to their heterosexual peers. Parental support has been found to be a strong protective factor for these youth. There is a lack of research, however, that examines the role of non-parental adult support, such as natural mentors (e.g., teachers, grandparents, and coaches). Guided by minority stress and resiliency theories, the current study aims to deepen our understanding of whether natural mentors act as a resilience resource for sexual minority youth. The current study uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) restricted-use dataset. This is a large, nationally representative sample of both heterosexual (n=12,667) and sexual minority youth (n=1,413), ages 18 to 26. Variable-centered (i.e., multiple regression analysis with moderation) and person-centered (latent class analysis) statistical techniques were utilized to explore the effect of the presence and characteristics of natural mentoring relationships on a range of mental health and substance abuse outcomes. Results show that natural mentors have a similar relationship with health outcomes, regardless of sexual orientation. Perceived closeness is a critical characteristic of the mentoring relationship, exhibiting significant associations with depression, suicide ideation, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and binge drinking. Furthermore, those who have lifelong, close relationships with non-parental adult family members receive the most benefit. It is noteworthy that sexual minority youth are significantly less likely to have a permanent family mentor. Rather, they are more likely to have mentors from high school with whom they lack closeness as they transition into adulthood. Several suggestions for individual and school-based interventions to assist sexual minority youth in developing and maintaining long-term relationships with non-parental adult family members are discussed. The current study emphasizes the importance of supporting and advocating for greater policy change that will directly address minority stressors that sexual minority youth face. Findings from the current study make a significant contribution to the social work field by extending our knowledge regarding resiliency among sexual minority youth and offering concrete avenues for intervention. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Thesis advisor: Robert J. Starratt / This qualitative case study examined the effect the first year of an elementary mathematics induction program had on the mathematics content knowledge, pedagogical repertoire, confidence, classroom practice, and student achievement for six new elementary teachers in a suburban school district. The study also examined which components of this job-embedded professional development program influenced the teachers' practice the most. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the six volunteer teachers, questionnaires, journals, and student assessment results. The major findings from the study showed that: (1) teachers' perception of their instructional practice, particularly their ability to question student thinking, math content knowledge, and confidence to teach mathematics improved as a result of the program; and, (2) teachers benefited the most from the opportunity to regularly observe their mentor teach a mathematics lesson, followed by the opportunity to discuss mathematics and related pedagogical issues with their cohort and mentor. Implications from the findings include the benefit of instituting content-focused, job-embedded professional development during a new teacher's first year in a district that provides regular opportunities for new teachers to observe a skilled veteran teacher teach mathematics lessons and to have peer discussions regarding the teaching of mathematics. Limitations of the study included the role of the Assistant Superintendent as researcher and developer of the program and the small sample size. Recommendations for future study include following: the effect on teaching practice after the second year in the math mentoring program; the effect of the program on mentors; the effect of mathematics self-efficacy on mathematics teaching self-efficacy and student achievement. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Education and Higher Education.

Este estudo foi realizado com dezesseis enfermeiros de um Hospital de especialidades Oncológicas, da cidade de São Paulo, teve como principal objetivo, caracterizar a vivência do ser tutor através do relato do enfermeiro na sua experiência de trabalho. Para a coleta de dados foi utilizado um instrumento contendo as seguintes perguntas: relate a sua vivência como enfermeiro tutor através da experiência de trabalho e caracterize na sua vivência o ser tutor. Os discursos foram coletados e analisados qualitativamente sendo utilizada a técnica de análise de conteúdo segundo o referencial de Bardin. Ao analisar as respostas dos enfermeiros obtidos na pesquisa, foi possível extrair os aspectos considerados significativos categorizando-os em ajuda ao tutelado, aproximação entre tutor e tutelado, tempo para a tutoria e a percepção do tutor com relação a sua atuação. A pesquisa possibilitou evidenciar a experiência de vida do ser tutor e as suas características. A ajuda e a aproximação foram elementos importantes na promoção do ensino e desenvolvimento da capacitação técnica do tutelado pelo tutor. O tempo foi um fator que dificultou esta atividade devido às atividades desenvolvidas pelo enfermeiro, porém, para ele a sua atuação neste processo foi uma experiência satisfatória que refletirá na sua vida profissional de modo a promover, sempre, uma melhor assistência à saúde. Na busca do desenvolvimento das habilidades e competências da equipe de enfermagem, o enfermeiro reforçou o seu papel de educador no processo de tutoria, proporcionando assim, condições de uma melhor prática técnica por parte dos seus tutelados / This study was carried out with sixteen nurses of a n oncology hospital located in São Paulo and aimed at characterizing the experience of the mentor through the report of nurses in their work experience. To gather data we used a tool consisting of the following questions: \"Report your experience as a mentor nurse through your work experience\" and \"Characterize the mentor nurse according to your experience\". Responses were collected and analysed qualitatively using the Bardin content analysis technique. When analysing the responses obtained in the survey, aspects which were considered significant were extracted, giving rise to the following categories: help to the mentored, proximity between mentor and mentored, time for mentoring, and mentor\'s perception of his/her role. The study provided an opportunity to focus on the life experience of the mentor and his/her characteristics. Help and proximity were important elements in promoting education and development of technical capabilities of the mentored by the mentor. Time restraints hampered the study, due to the tasks performed by the nurse. However, participating in this process was considered a rewarding experience, having an impact in his/her professional life, promoting better health care. In order to develop the skills and competences of the nursing team, the nurse stressed his/her role as an educator in the mentoring process, providing the setting for improving the technical performance of his/her mentored