Year: 2004
Author: McCloughan, Caron, Cambourne, Brian, Kiggins, Julie
Type of paper: Abstract refereed
Abstract:
There is both anecdotal and statistical data, indicating that a significant number of beginning and experienced teachers in NSW are finding the complexities of teaching in today's primary classrooms more difficult. The NSW DET has acknowledged this and developed policies, which seek to incorporate mentoring as part of a major professional development strategy for on-going professional growth of teachers. While the concept of mentoring is not new, the range of interpretations of what it might 'mean' and 'look like' seems to be wide and varied. Given the interest in a system-wide introduction of mentoring, it was considered timely to explore the various interpretations and/or practices of mentoring within a NSW primary school. In this paper I will report the results of an observational case study that examined the range of perceptions and attitudes a group of classroom teachers from a Sydney primary school had about mentoring. The findings for this study not only have the potential to inform policies and practices of mentoring in other schools but they may also assist in addressing some of the major concerns classroom teachers have about mentoring in relation to the current state of their professional development needs.