ABSTRACT There is increasing recognition in Manitoba, as in many other jurisdictions, of an impending shortage of teacher leaders to fill vacant administrative positions. Thus, an interest in finding how best to attract, support, and guide novice principals has emerged. The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges identified by selected novice elementary school principals working in an urban, western Canadian public school setting who completed their first year as a school principal, and the extent to which they believed that some form of a formal mentorship program for new principals would have assisted them in meeting these challenges. Specifically, the study addressed the following questions: (1) what key challenges (socialization, technical skills, self-awareness) did new elementary school principals identify in their first year in the position; (2) did new elementary school principals believe that a formal mentorship would be valuable in assisting them to respond effectively to some or all of these challenges; and (3 ) if new elementary school principals believe that a formal mentorship program would be of value, what would be the key elements of such a program and was there agreement among the principals on these features? Daresh’s (2002) framework, in which he categorizes the challenges encountered by novice elementary principals into three: technical, socialization, and self-awareness was, utilized in this study. Qualitative research methodology was used in this study. Participants were four elementary school principals, who in the 2006-2007 year were in their second year of appointment as principals of elementary schools. All four novice elementary principals were individually interviewed as well as participated in a focus group session. The results clearly outlined that the challenges identified could be easily organized into technical, socialization and self-awareness categories, each area clearly of importance to the novice elementary principal. The study further suggests that Daresh's formulation identifying the categories of technical skills, socialization, and self-awareness was useful in identifying ten themes that represented challenges for the Winnipeg area novice elementary principals. These themes were: (i) communication issues, (ii) the budget and staffing processes, (iii) building management, and (iv) planning (each fitting into Daresh's category of technical skills); (v) adapting to the new role of principal; (vi) brevity, variety and fragmentation of their workload; and, (vii) change and the existing school culture (Daresh's socialization category); and, (viii) recognizing one's newfound authority as principal, (ix) confidence and delegation, and (x) balance in one's professional and private lives (Daresh's category of self-awareness). The findings in this study also concluded that all of the novice elementary principals though a mentorship program would be valuable in assisting them in meeting a number of challenges. The participants in the study established and agreed that a major goal of the program was to assist new administrators in successfully filling their leadership roles in their respective schools. Some of the key agreed upon elements of a formal mentorship program included: (i) the program would be voluntary; (ii) novice principals have the opportunity to choose a mentor; (iii) protégés have an opportunity to 'opt' out of the program; and (iv) principals would be in the program for one full year. As no Winnipeg area school division currently has any formal mentorship program for novice school principals, this study recommends that school divisions in Winnipeg meet with novice administrators to discuss the merits of implementing a formal mentorship program within the existing divisions and identify what the key elements of such a program, if supported, would be. It is also recommended that Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth in consultation with the council of school Leaders continue to explore how best to prepare candidates that move into administration positions across the province, and the role that some form of formal mentorship program might play in such a process.

ABSTRACT There is increasing recognition in Manitoba, as in many other jurisdictions, of an impending shortage of teacher leaders to fill vacant administrative positions. Thus, an interest in finding how best to attract, support, and guide novice principals has emerged. The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges identified by selected novice elementary school principals working in an urban, western Canadian public school setting who completed their first year as a school principal, and the extent to which they believed that some form of a formal mentorship program for new principals would have assisted them in meeting these challenges. Specifically, the study addressed the following questions: (1) what key challenges (socialization, technical skills, self-awareness) did new elementary school principals identify in their first year in the position; (2) did new elementary school principals believe that a formal mentorship would be valuable in assisting them to respond effectively to some or all of these challenges; and (3 ) if new elementary school principals believe that a formal mentorship program would be of value, what would be the key elements of such a program and was there agreement among the principals on these features? Daresh’s (2002) framework, in which he categorizes the challenges encountered by novice elementary principals into three: technical, socialization, and self-awareness was, utilized in this study. Qualitative research methodology was used in this study. Participants were four elementary school principals, who in the 2006-2007 year were in their second year of appointment as principals of elementary schools. All four novice elementary principals were individually interviewed as well as participated in a focus group session. The results clearly outlined that the challenges identified could be easily organized into technical, socialization and self-awareness categories, each area clearly of importance to the novice elementary principal. The study further suggests that Daresh's formulation identifying the categories of technical skills, socialization, and self-awareness was useful in identifying ten themes that represented challenges for the Winnipeg area novice elementary principals. These themes were: (i) communication issues, (ii) the budget and staffing processes, (iii) building management, and (iv) planning (each fitting into Daresh's category of technical skills); (v) adapting to the new role of principal; (vi) brevity, variety and fragmentation of their workload; and, (vii) change and the existing school culture (Daresh's socialization category); and, (viii) recognizing one's newfound authority as principal, (ix) confidence and delegation, and (x) balance in one's professional and private lives (Daresh's category of self-awareness). The findings in this study also concluded that all of the novice elementary principals though a mentorship program would be valuable in assisting them in meeting a number of challenges. The participants in the study established and agreed that a major goal of the program was to assist new administrators in successfully filling their leadership roles in their respective schools. Some of the key agreed upon elements of a formal mentorship program included: (i) the program would be voluntary; (ii) novice principals have the opportunity to choose a mentor; (iii) protégés have an opportunity to 'opt' out of the program; and (iv) principals would be in the program for one full year. As no Winnipeg area school division currently has any formal mentorship program for novice school principals, this study recommends that school divisions in Winnipeg meet with novice administrators to discuss the merits of implementing a formal mentorship program within the existing divisions and identify what the key elements of such a program, if supported, would be. It is also recommended that Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth in consultation with the council of school Leaders continue to explore how best to prepare candidates that move into administration positions across the province, and the role that some form of formal mentorship program might play in such a process.

The literature indicates that serving as a preceptor for new nurse graduates can be challenging and stressful without proper training in this role. Many organizations appoint preceptors without providing training and support for the role, which negatively impacts both the new nurse and the preceptor. Evidence shows that a preceptor workshop can cultivate the knowledge and skills needed to train and precept new nurse graduates. Further, there is evidence that preceptorship programs ease new graduates' transition to practice, increase employee satisfaction, and improve the quality of care provided to clients. The purpose of this developmental project was to develop a preceptor workshop to prepare registered nurses to serve in the capacity of preceptors within a local agency to ease the transition for new nurse graduates into practice, increase employee satisfaction, increase retention rates, and promote higher quality of care within organizations. The preceptor workshop proposed in this project incorporates Watson's caring theory, Benner's novice-to-expert model, and Wright's domain-specific competency assessment model. These theoretical frameworks served to guide the curriculum and design of an eight-module workshop. This workshop will be shared with the partnering organization with the recommendation for implementation and evaluation within the next year. Development of an effective training program for preceptors will result in positive social change by improving outcomes for preceptors, preceptees, the organization, and the clients. Implementing this workshop will have a positive impact on the quality of care provided to clients within the organization by the affects on retention rates, satisfaction, and transition to practice.

<p>  </p> <p>Mentorship has served as an effective strategy in helping African American college students persist at predominantly White institutions of higher education (Sinanan, 2016). African American students have reported finding these campus environments to be unwelcoming, even racist. These environmental challenges along with the challenges of unfamiliar academic terrain merge to form frequently formidable barriers to their satisfaction and success. The presence of African American mentors has helped African American students overcome the wide range of challenges they face on such campuses. This qualitative study analyzed the perceptions of African American mentors and mentees about the impact of mentorship on the college persistence of the mentees. The target mentorship community was situated at a private school in the Midwest. Semi-structured interviews were used to solicit the experiential knowledge of participants about their lived experiences. The data was codified and thematically analyzed. Six themes emerged from participant responses including (1) targeted mentorship and modeling, (2) belonging, (3) connections (4) advocacy, (5) racism and anti-Blackness, and (6) persistence. These themes fortify the existing research affirming mentorship as an invaluable tool in helping African American undergraduates persist through degree completion. The assertions and recommendations at the conclusion of the study are purposed to assist scholar-activists, university staff, and students with improving the conditions in which African American students’ study and push toward persistence.</p>

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