Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Mentoring in education'

This research examined the personal, professional, and developmental impact of introducing a constructive developmental perspective to faculty and students in a post-secondary program in sustainability education and leadership development. It also explored the relationship between adult development and sustainability education, teaching, and mentorship. There is increasing emphasis on integrating human interiors (values, beliefs, worldviews) in sustainability work. However, little research has examined the relationship between adult development and sustainability education. The purpose of this research was to explore deepening the transformative nature of learning and leadership development in graduate education through the use of a developmental framework and assessment, and to contribute to advancing the application of adult developmental research to adult learning and sustainability education. The site of study was Prescott College, and the sample of 11 included four Ph.D. faculty and seven students. This mixed-methods study included semi-structured interviews, a five-month action inquiry process, and a pre and post developmental assessment. The findings demonstrate that sustainability is significantly different for individuals assessed at different developmental stages; learning about adult development is transformative developmentally, personally, and professionally; a developmental awareness may deepen the transformative impact of graduate sustainability education and leadership development; and teaching about adult development is more effective when it is developmentally responsive. Integrating a developmental awareness into graduate and sustainability education is recommended to support learning and growth at all stages of development, support the development of the educators themselves, and support skill development for working well with diverse groups.

Educators at a public high school in Southeastern United States depend on mentor teachers to minimize the attrition rate among beginning teachers, yet the strategies implemented by mentors lack definition and clarity. The purpose of this study was to explore mentor teachers’ perceptions of effective mentoring strategies and their needs when mentoring new teachers. Maslow’s humanistic learning theory guided this bounded basic qualitative study. The research questions focused on the mentoring strategies mentor teachers perceived as effective and the needs of the mentors. Ten high school mentor teachers, who currently mentor new teachers, were purposefully selected to participate in individual and focus group interviews. Precoding, open and axial coding were used to inductively analyze the data. The results showed mentors promote school culture, are a source of information, build relationships, use data to drive discussion, provide opportunity for reflection, conduct observations, connect theory with practice, and model professional behavior as effective strategies. Mentor teachers indicated that effective communication is crucial when mentoring new teachers. Additionally, they need specific skills to help beginning teachers better understand the reality of teaching and address their unrealistic expectations of the profession. Based on the findings a 3-day professional development for mentor teachers was developed to address mentors’ needs. This endeavor may contribute to positive social change when district administration provides mentor teachers with professional development to enrich their mentoring strategies which in turn may address the challenges new teachers experience and reduce the attrition rate.

A single case design was employed to explore the implementation of the new teacher induction and mentoring program (NTIMP) from the perspective of new teachers who participated in the program. The district the researcher studied for this single case study had been experiencing a high teacher turnover. To reduce this problem, an NTIMP was implemented in the district. The NTIMP was investigated with a diverse sample of new educators from a semi-rural school district in the western part of the United States. Data sources, including interviews, surveys, and document review, were used in the study to allow for the triangulation of data. Findings indicated that the NTIMP was a beneficial initiative implemented by the study site for helping teachers adjust to the teaching and for reducing feelings of isolation. Responses regarding the NTIMP’s impact on a new teacher’s development of a positive attitude towards teaching and in developing a sense of professionalism indicated both positive and negative experiences. The responses to the survey questions and the semi-structured interviews reflected the importance of access to professional development and both formal and informal mentoring access for new teachers to help them achieve success in teaching. A support system is critical to new teachers who were grappling with seeking answers to questions and gathering assistance to become a more effective educator. New teachers require experienced teacher support through the development of professional relationships, relationships with students and students’ families and caregivers, and additional guidance in professional practice. Future studies should include the long-term impact of the program on participants.

Peer mentoring is a topic that has been prevalent in the literature for the past several decades and plays a significant role in the learning experiences of many students. This study investigated the experiences of peer mentors in one specific mentoring project, in order to learn how the mentors describe and understand those experiences.

Eighteen mentors participated in this qualitative study, which examined mentoring-influenced-by-relational-learning in pre-service teachers through in-depth, phenomenological interviews. These interviews were supplemented by photo elicitation and reflecting processes. These mentors defined mentoring as a multifaceted endeavor, which exhibits, among others, traits of teaching, friendship, learning, building relationships, and communication. They defined relational learning both in terms of the course they took, and as a construct which revolves around working together, talking through experiences, being open to new possibilities and ideas, and, through these, being in relationship with one another. Four themes were identified: (a) Mentors experienced relational learning; (b) Mentors experienced investment; (c) Mentors experienced challenges; and (d) Mentors identified ways mentoring can be different. An overarching theme was, mentors and the mentoring project experienced a process of becoming. Mentors also described their overall experiences, explained the ways in which they feel they benefitted from the project, and discussed why they believe this project has been successful. Implications of these findings are also discussed, as they relate to both research and practice.

While there is an abundant amount of research relative to coaching and mentoring programs, there is little understanding about the interaction between coaches/mentors and students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate student perceptions of their academic coaching and mentoring experiences at two Southern California community colleges. Alexander Astin's input-environment-output (I-E-O) model and theory of involvement was used alongside an interpretive model to help explain students' understanding of their experiences with coaches and mentors. One-on-one interviews and a focus group were conducted and provided data that led to the emergence of themes related to role models, empowerment, and motivation. In addition, the one-on-one interviews and the focus group also illustrated students' strong desires to pursue advance and professional degrees. In addition the findings highlighted the importance of race and ethnicity in the establishment of rapport and the need to validate individuals as college students with the abilities to peruse advance degrees in higher education. Lastly, the research identified role modeling, cultural connectedness, opportunities for mentoring, and the various institutional agents who may occupy the status of a mentor or coach as important factors in the mentoring and coaching experiences.

First-year programs (FYPs) for college students offer extended orientation to campus resources and provide first-time freshmen with essential skills for academic success, and many believe that the effectiveness of FYPs increases with the presence of peer mentors. The present study measured the added effectiveness of peer mentoring in FYP classrooms with knowledge of campus resources as a dependent measure. Ninety one first-year students in nine sections of FYP classes participated in this quasi-experimental study. Seven of the classes had peer mentors (n = 70), and the two control classes (n = 21) did not have peer mentors in the classroom. A 30-item questionnaire regarding the use and location of several campus resources was administered in the first two weeks of the Fall 2009 semester and again in the last two weeks of the semester. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a main effect of time (change between Testing Time 1 and Testing Time 2) and an interaction effect of time and group (students with peer mentors, controls without peer mentors), on knowledge of campus resources. Students with a peer mentor started out with less knowledge of campus resources, and finished the semester with a similar level of knowledge, when compared to controls. The results only partially supported the research hypothesis that students with peer mentors in their FYP classes learned more about campus resources when compared to students without peer mentors. GPA scores for the first semester at the university did not differ between groups.

A Case Study of Initiating Mentoring in an Urban Charter School Most states exempt public charter schools from state policy that regulates the mentorship of new teachers. Regardless, there are charter systems that develop teacher mentor programs on their own. These system-created programs can create a dichotomy between charter expectation and mentor/mentee experience. Utilizing a case study approach, this dissertation offers a unique view into this phenomenon, by examining the inaugural year of a mid-sized urban charter system’s effort to design and implement a teacher mentoring support program. Data include interviews with 15 teachers (paired and unmatched mentors and mentees) and administrators, meeting observations, and reviews of program documents and artifacts. Findings note challenges related to support, guidance, and expectations, in addition to a cautious optimism about future charter mentor endeavors. Miller’s (1976) Relational cultural theory was used as a theoretical lens to explore teacher experiences in mentoring.

The results of this study enhance understanding of urban public charter school teachers engaged in the mentoring process by: (a) identifying clear mentoring program expectations, administrative involvement, and professional development as influential factors in mentoring relationships; (b) recognizing mentor experience, shared subject matter of mentor and mentee, and ability to meet in person as powerful predictors of mentor relationship success; and (c) illustrating how school context can and does affect the mentoring process in an urban public charter school.

Keywords: mentoring, charter schools, beginning teachers, teacher development

The current demands placed on administrators, specifically principals, have become progressively more complex due to litigation, pressure from parents, societal changes, internal workplace expectations, and more than ever, mandates levied from state and federal government. Support through mentorship may be one means to help administrators meet the demands. This study examines the extent, to which mentorship leads to increased morale and perceptions of autonomy, which the literature has shown are important attributes of effective school leaders. The conceptual basis for the focus on morale and autonomy derives from `sponsored mobility', a notion that leaders/managers follow a path into effective leadership that relies on a supportive and trusting relationship with experienced peers. This can be contrasted with `contest mobility', an approach that implies leaders' transition into effective leadership through competition, trial and error (Turner 1960). This study, then, searches for evidence of the associations between mentorship (sponsored mobility) and self-reports of higher morale and autonomy. Sponsored mobility, in some measure, has substantial impact on the overall school culture. Trusting and supportive relationships with experienced practitioners may well guide emerging school leaders in a more thorough manner than learning through trial and error in a competitive (contest mobility) phase of practice. This single study draws on two sources of evidence: responses to the O'Connell et al. (2005) survey, and guided discussion in focus groups of practicing school leaders in 2013. The study investigated the relationship between mentoring and administrator morale and autonomy through a secondary analysis of an earlier study combined with a focus group of currently practicing administrators. This study asked two main questions: 1. Is there a difference between the morale levels of mentored and non- mentored administrators? 2. Is there a difference between mentored and non-mentored administrators in their feelings of autonomy in their work? Of the study's findings, three are of interest. First, of those surveyed in 2005, a higher proportion of female school leaders than male school leaders reported having a mentor. Further, of those surveyed in 2005 who had mentors, female school leaders were more likely than male school leaders to report that the mentor significantly influenced the decision to become a principal. The latter finding was not borne out in focus groups, which differed in point in time (2013) from the population of school leaders surveyed in 2005. Focus group discussions revealed a feeling among practicing principals that mentors do have the effect of increasing morale and a sense of job autonomy. Third, focus group discussion uncovered social emotional needs as a possible distinguishable feature of the transition into effective leadership. Here, supported social emotional needs might join increased morale and a greater sense of autonomy as conditions for a successful, effective leader. Given the high turnover rate in K-12 administrative personnel, this study's findings helped elucidate a way to alleviate such swings. The findings contributed to what we know about the influence of mentoring on job morale and autonomy thus helped to inform policy, practice and perhaps will influence the design of preparatory programs for school administrators.

The purpose of the correlational research study was to examine if there was a relationship between the nurse educator mentor’s perception of their mentoring effectiveness and a mentee's perception of a mentor’s mentoring effectiveness. An extensive review of the literature revealed that it was unknown if the perception of effectiveness of mentoring in nursing education was congruent between the nurse educator mentor and the new nurse educator mentee. By understanding relationships in the perception of the effectiveness of mentoring between both mentors and mentees and focusing the research on a potential gap in perceptions of mentoring effectiveness, nursing academia can have useful scientific knowledge to improve the mentoring process for new nurse educators. Bandura’s social cognitive theory formed the theoretical framework supporting the research in identifying relationships in this study. A convenience sample of 119 nurse educator mentors and mentees that were currently employed full-time nursing faculty in the United States and its territories completed the Principles of Adult Mentoring Inventory via SurveyMonkey^®. Cronbach’s alpha results indicated reliability of the Principles of Adult Mentoring Inventory instrument. Correlational statistics yielded statistically significant relationships in the mentoring behaviors relationship emphasis and confrontive focus. Although only two statistically significant relationships were determined, it was a noteworthy point that the mentor role competency profile indicated that mentors consistently rated themselves higher than did the mentees. Further exploration was recommended, as there was little research in the perceptions of mentoring effectiveness among nurse educator mentors and mentees. The findings could prove beneficial to nursing education by providing additional research on mentor-mentee perceptions of their mentoring experiences.