This study was an investigation of mentor teachers who work in a Master of Education teacher preparation program. It examined mentors who work with teacher candidates to understand their conceptualization of their purpose in teacher education. The teacher preparation program that was the site of this study placed teacher candidates in the classroom for a year-long field experience aligned with the actual teaching calendar in schools and reflective of the clinical-based preparation called for by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE, 2010). Attention to teacher preparation program outcomes has increased significantly in the past few years (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, 2013; Council of Chief State School Officers, 2013; Greenburg, Pomerance, & Walsh, NCTQ, 2011; NCATE, 2010). Within this focused interest on program outcomes and on the impact well-prepared teachers make on school improvement, field placements are viewed as more essential in the preparation of teacher candidates (Bullough, Draper, Smith, & Birrell, 2004; Korthagen, 2004; Valencia, Martin, Place, & Grossman, 2009; Zeichner, 2010). Therefore, because mentor teachers affect teacher candidates in the field, it is crucial to understand how mentor teachers conceive their role and purpose within teacher preparation, and how they can be supported prior to assuming this responsibility and throughout the time they spend with the teacher candidates. The dissertation research was divided into two major phases: Phase One was a survey administered to all mentor teachers who work with the program (n=54) early in spring, 2014. The analysis of the survey provided the data necessary to use purposeful sampling to select mentors who reported a commitment to diverse mentoring practices. Data was collected on the interview sample (n=6) in Phase Two through interviews and observations to document and analyze how mentors enacted practices that may or may not be consistent with their perceived purpose and role or with the existing literature on mentoring teacher candidates. Considering the importance of this mentoring relationship on the teacher candidates' preparation outcomes, identification of the approaches to mentoring that can be strengthened by preparation are important in order to emphasized these points as part of the development of partnerships that will strengthen the mentoring system. This research offered insight for teacher preparation programs relating to how mentors internalize their role and areas for development that may align mentoring practices with the educative functions that develop responsive teachers. The findings of this study offered suggestions for preparation that target the mentors' professional growth through collaborative and ongoing instructional and personal support.

The thesis is focused on the process of mentoring and its application in the process of professional adaptation of teachers in secondary schools. The aim of the work is based on a literature review of available literature and the results of the research to describe and analyze the process of mentoring in a period of professional adaptation of secondary school teachers. In the theoretical part are explained the basic concepts related to the topic, are described the process of adaptation of teachers, characteristic of mentoring, role of mentor, mentoring relationship, further characteristic of mentor, forms, strategies, risks and benefits of mentoring. In the empirical part are described the implementation and results of quantitative research by the semistructured interview with the directors of the secondary schools, which focused on the way, how the process of mentoring in a period of professional adaptation of teachers in the secondary schools works and what specific ways of support are in the process of mentoring in a period of professional adaptation of teachers in the secondary school applied. The results of the research are useful for recommendations for the creator of the educational system. KEYWORDS Adaptation, beginning teacher, high schools, mentoring, mentor, mentoring relationship, role...

Work explores the benefits of mentoring for the professional development of teachers and students of teaching. The aim is to contribute to discussions of mentoring in the Czech Republic. The theme of mentoring in our conditions is relatively new, so the work seeks to contribute to the theoretical grasp of the subject too. Research is conducted in qualitative approach using case study design. Case there is interaction between the mentor and mentee, where are defined other criteria for the selection of teachers in the role of mentor to the research sample. Used data collection methods are: questioning by interview via instruction manual, expert interviews and a questionnaire with open questions. Other methods are the video analysis, documents and focus groups. Obtained data were analyzed according to several theoretical frameworks according selected strategy seeking hits/congruence and these initial theoretical concepts were enriched with data from case analysis and compared with each other. The results show that the benefits are perceived more on mentee side and benefits are accentuated and focused on the development in the profession, mentee gain as hints, tips and advice based on experience and the development of their independent thinking within the teaching profession. The benefits for the...