The mentoring experience of Jordanian pre-service science teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine Jordanian pre-service science teachers’ perceptions of their mentoring experience using the five-factor model of mentoring (personal attributes, system requirements, pedagogical knowledge, modeling, and feedback). This study uses a descriptive survey research design, and the Arabic version of the validated Mentoring for Effective Primary Science Teaching (MEPST) survey was administered electronically to collect responses from 49 participants. The data was summarized using descriptive statistics, and t-tests were conducted to test for significant differences in the perceived mentoring experiences between male and female Jordanian pre-service science teachers. The study supports efforts to validate the Arabic version of the MEPST survey. The means of the participants’ perceptions of mentoring were relatively high, greater than four on a five-point Likert scale, indicating that the pre-service teachers perceived their mentoring experience as positive based on the five factors. No statistically significant differences were found in the perceived effectiveness of the mentoring experiences between the male and female pre-service science teachers. The study findings have several practical implications and suggested directions for future research. Researchers are encouraged to investigate mentors’ perceptions and practices related to effective mentoring, and research on identifying and understanding school factors that may influence the effectiveness of mentoring in schools is also needed.