The intent of this study was to describe the complex phenomenon of mentoring student teachers in one elementary teacher education program. A case study research design was used. Interviews, observations, and an examination of documents were used to uncover two major themes, support and challenge, across the three central topics of curriculum, classroom management, and school culture. An operational definition of preservice mentoring was constructed, using the literature as well as data from the participants: Emergent teachers moving through the teacher education continuum of preservice, induction, and inservice, construct a mentoring system to help them manage their professional growth and development: a unique network of people who support and challenge them with curriculum, classroom management, and the school culture. A mentor/protege relationship is characterized by shared beliefs, negotiation, reciprocity, commitment, collegiality, nurturance, and respect for the autonomy of the protege along a developmental path of initiation, reciprocity, separation, and redefinition, always with a goal of increased self-reliance. (Templeton, 1994). The study focused on the cooperating teacher/student teacher relationship that occurs during the student teaching semester in order to arrive at a description of the vital elements that are central to mentoring in preservice teacher education. The study described the context underlying the collaborative mentoring support system that operates within this elementary teacher education program. The questions that guided this inquiry were (1) How does mentoring operate in the cooperating teacher/student teacher relationship in the student teaching component of one elementary preservice teacher education program? (2) What do cooperating teachers and student teachers identify as the key elements of mentoring relationships in the student teaching component of one elementary preservice teacher education program? The study revealed that mentoring occurs at many different levels during teacher development and is interpreted in many different ways, both in the mentoring literature and in practice. Phases of the mentoring relationship were experienced in the same order, but in varying intervals by each of the three student teachers. These phases were initiation, reciprocity, separation, and redefinition. The study may provide a basis for guiding others interested in incorporating mentoring into their teacher education programs. Teacher educators could benefit from this study because the data may exhibit elements which will contribute to a systemic model of mentoring at the preservice level. It is important for teacher educators to start thinking about the skills they need to provide, model, and encourage preservice mentoring processes because mentoring can be a critical element in providing a bridge between preservice education and induction into teaching.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-8948 |
| Date | 01 January 1994 |
| Creators | Templeton, Marion Farrell |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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