Mentorship in the Professional Practicum: Partners’ Perspectives

Edwin G. Ralph, Jane P. Preston, Keith D. Walker

Abstract


Abstract

The goal of this project was to examine the perspectives of teacher-education mentors and their protégés, regarding the effectiveness of the mentoring program within their extended-practicum placements. The authors examined these views in the light of findings reported in previous related research. They also drew implications from that analysis with a goal of enhancing the mentorship process not only for pre-service teachers, but also for practicum participants in other professional disciplines. The resulting data substantiated findings reported in previous literature with respect both to the positive and negative aspects of mentorship practice. A troubling element that appears across sectors was the persistent challenge of how to reduce/eliminate the negative elements that seem to re-emerge within the mentorship process in all disciplines. A key implication of this study is that mentorship planners and practicum educators from all professional fields should make concerted efforts not only to share promising ways to minimize these weaknesses, but to take deliberate measures to ensure that the processes/procedures deemed effective are maintained as well.


Keywords


mentorship; supervision; professional practicum; coaching

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References


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