Date of Award
1-10-2011
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
George Foldesy
Committee Members
Dan Maness; Dixie Keyes; Gina Hogue; John Beineke; Mitchell Holifield
Call Number
LD 251 .A566d 2010 B77
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the teaching practices of experienced teachers and participation in a mentoring program. This study was designed to determine: (a) the extent to which mentoring affects how mentor teachers plan instruction and design learning experiences, (b) the affect of mentoring on understanding and organizing subject matter, (c) the affect of mentoring on creating and maintaining learning environments, (d) the affect of mentoring on critical examination of classroom strategies and techniques, (e) the effect of mentoring on professional development, (f) the motivation to serve as a mentor, and (g) the perceptions of mentor teachers regarding their training for the mentoring process. The review of literature provided evidence that mentoring in education has primarily focused on the benefits received by protégés. Areas addressed in the literature review included: (a) history of mentoring, (b) role of mentoring in education, (c) teacher professional development, (d) perspectives on teacher learning, (e) mentoring as a learning relationship, (f) trends and implications, and (g) summary. This research supports the need for comprehensive training for educators on the benefits of mentoring for school and district leaders. Data for this study were collected using a Teacher Survey sent to 532 teachers serving as mentors. This data provided a broad perspective regarding teachers' perceptions on the effects of mentoring on individual classroom practices. Quantitative research methods were applied for this study. This research found that mentor teachers were motivated by the opportunity to enhance the professional growth of a beginning teacher and the prospect to grow professionally through affective support. The mentors also perceived that their classroom experience as well as their pedagogical knowledge and disposition were quantifiably enhanced by participating in the mentoring process. Future research should include: (a) investigation of the retention rates for mentor teachers; (b) investigation of mentoring as comprehensive professional development; (c) examination of the affective needs of teachers who serve as coaches to novices; (d) investigation of organizational challenges related to the development of a mentoring culture in schools; and (e) the examination of qualitative data such as interviews to determine the level of job satisfaction among mentor teachers. These methods should contribute to current findings.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Burks, Jeremiah Baron, "A Study of the Effects of Mentoring and the Professional Practices Among Experienced Teachers" (2011). Student Theses and Dissertations. 973.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/973
