Abstract
This study examined the lessons learned from the introduction of a teacher mentoring culture within a teacher professional development program in selected pilot schools in Kosovo. Four mentor teachers and four mentee focus groups were involved in the open interviews, and their portfolios were examined. The important themes in terms of developing a schoolmentoring culture in a system that had lacked mentoring practices and is embarking on an ambitious curricular reform were identified. The study revealed that individual, collegial and institutional dimensions are critical in attempting to introduce the mentoring culture. The study concluded that mentoring is a mixed concept and is viewed as hierarchical but is,nevertheless, an important professional development tool for teachers who are facing the pressure of the reform. This formalized way, known as “Balkanization” culture, marks a critical step towards developing a collaborative school culture as the desired end point.
Highlights
In the previous two decades, mentoring practices have been used throughout the world to support school-based practices (Harrison, Dymoke, & Pell, 2006) and teacher educational reforms (Musanti, 2004)
The aim of the mentoring program described in this paper was twofold: to develop school-based mentor’s skills, and at the same time to encourage the collaboration between mentors and mentees in advancing the implementation of the modules offered by the in-service teacher development program
Even though mentoring is mostly defined as a practice that legitimizes the “best teachers” as mentors who are assumed to possess the “best practices” and authorized knowledge (Musanti, 2004), this study demonstrates that schoolbased mentoring needs to be seen as a process rather than an event (Abiddin & Hassan, 2012) with scheduled and regular meetings between mentors and mentees based primarily on peer collaboration
Summary
In the previous two decades, mentoring practices have been used throughout the world to support school-based practices (Harrison, Dymoke, & Pell, 2006) and teacher educational reforms (Musanti, 2004). The mentoring process is used to help build a strong professional culture of teaching and learning, while simultaneously improving the classroom teaching practices of all the teachers in the school (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2000). One of the greatest benefits of the mentors is the enhancement of the mentees’ reflective practices, which helps them develop responsibilities, and build skills and self-confidence (Mathur, Gehrke, & Hee Kim, 2012). The mentorship experience within the school influences the improvement of the mentees classroom knowledge, their assessment, and reflective practices, and school-based practices in general (Fletcher & Strong, 2009; Mathur, Gehrke, & Hee Kim, 2012; Stanulis & Floden, 2009).
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