What is the nature of relationships between the teacher leaders and novice educators in the induction and mentoring processes. Findings from my research indicated that there was a clear understanding of the concepts of induction and mentoring in the case study school.
CHAPTER ONE
ORIENTATION TO THE STUDY
- INTRODUCTION
- BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
- RATIONALE FOR MY STUDY
- AIM AND KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
- THEORETICAL FRAMING
- ORGANISATION OF THE DISSERTATION
As a result, I wanted to learn more about the role of teacher leaders in the lives of novices during the induction and mentoring processes in a school. My aim was to describe descriptively the induction and mentoring processes between teacher leaders and beginning educators.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMING
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter I review the relevant literature to understand the various debates surrounding my research. The rest of the chapter focuses on making sense of teacher leadership due to the fact that induction and mentoring is a role that teacher leaders play.
AN EXPLORATION OF THE CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES OF INDUCTION AND MENTORING
- Defining the concept “mentoring”
- Benefits of Induction and mentoring
- People responsible for induction and mentoring
Research also indicates that induction and mentoring can take place at all levels (Earley and Kinder, 1994, p.184). Coleman mentions that induction and mentoring can be supported by an individual in the school.
UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT .1 Leadership and Management – are they one and the same thing?
- Conceptions of leadership and management in the South African context
- Should leadership be a shared activity?
Both "leadership" and "management" are essential to promote a culture of learning and teaching in schools. Distributed leadership has been increasingly used in the literature on school leadership in the recent past and much research has been conducted on this aspect of leadership.
DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP .1 What is distributed leadership?
- The Need for Distributed Leadership
He further argues that distributed leadership is not simply 'delegated leadership'; the issue of initiative seems to be a priority (Spillane, 2006, p.13). Therefore, distributed leadership theory is useful in understanding how power is distributed in an organization.
MAKING SENSE OF TEACHER LEADERSHIP .1 Defining the concept
- Why do we need to develop teacher leadership?
- Formal and Informal Teacher Roles
- Locating induction and mentoring in the work of teacher leaders
- Induction and mentoring by teacher leaders: a professional development initiative
Teacher leaders play a key role in the induction and mentoring of newcomers, and Grant's (2008) model of teacher leadership provides a useful tool for identifying the different areas in which teacher leaders operate and the roles they fulfill. Professional development will then positively influence the interactions of beginning educators and teacher leaders during the induction and mentoring processes.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
- INTRODUCTION
- AIM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- RESEARCH PARADIGM
- METHODOLOGY: A CASE STUDY APPROACH
- Strengths of the Case Study Approach
- Limitations of the approach
- The Case Site
- Access Issues
- Sampling and Participants
- DATA COLLECTION
- Questionnaires
- Journal Writing Process
- Interviews
- Observation
- ETHICAL CONSIDERATONS
- DATA ANALYSIS
- VALIDITY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS
- CONCLUSION
What is the nature of the relationships between the teacher leaders and the novice educators in the induction and mentoring processes. This enabled me to understand the nature of the relationship between the novice educators and the teacher leaders during the induction and mentoring processes. Bias and subjectivity cannot be completely eradicated due to the nature of the research methodology and a person's own belief systems.
I was particularly sensitive that my research would not affect the school's educational program in any way. These participants provided input during the initial stages of the research, which provided an overview of induction and mentoring. At the first level of the research process, my aim was to determine the extent of induction and mentoring, and the form it took in the case study school.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF DATA AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
INTRODUCTION
In presenting the data, I refer to the seven pairs of participants as Novice Educator 1 (NE1) and Teacher Leader 1 (TL1) through Novice Educator 7 (NE7) and Teacher Leader 7 (TL7).
INTRODUCING THE MENTORING PAIRS
Because the subject head is a position appointed by the school, the mentoring relationship is more formal than in the case of TL1 and NE1. NE3 is an ex-student of the case study school who was supported by TL3, as subject head, in the Consumer Studies department. During my study period, this department was further compacted, with the other teacher given a position in the school library.
TL4 has 20 years of experience in the Dramatic Arts Arena and is a woman of Indian origin. However, for the purposes of the study, she describes her relationship in the Life Sciences department, as this is her teaching specialization. In the last mentor pair, TL7 is the head of the course in the Life Orientation department.
EDUCATORS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF INDUCTION AND MENTORING
- Educators’ understanding of Induction
- Educators’ understanding of Mentoring
- The necessity of Induction and Mentoring
- Who requires Induction & Mentoring?
A discussion of the first research question provides clues to educators' understanding of the role of induction and mentoring. Of the staff participants, 95% contributed to their understanding of mentoring, which contributed to the research findings. Approximately 20% of staff participants indicated that, in the mentoring process, assistance was provided with subject-related issues.
Of staff participants, 20% said mentoring involves “helping less experienced or novice teachers” (Question 5). About 90% of employees felt that “induction and mentoring provide a sense of connection, reassurance, ease and confidence” (Question 21). Consistent with this view, 25% of participants believed that mentoring was not just for novice teachers.
THE OCCURRENCE OF INDUCTION AND MENTORING IN THE CASE- STUDY SCHOOL
- The informality of the induction and mentoring process
- Induction and Mentoring: Is it a restricted reality?
- Possibilities for induction and mentoring in the case study school
Novices and teacher leaders admitted that due to a lack of policies, there was not much structure around induction and mentoring in the case study school, and where induction and mentoring did take place it was informal. In summary, the evidence suggested that although induction and mentoring was taking place in some cases, there was a call for a formal structure and for management to be more active in this regard. There was consensus among teacher leaders and novice teachers that although induction and mentoring took place, “I just think somebody should be formally responsible for this and make a policy and everyone should adhere to it, there should be some sort of monitoring of the process, and there must be regular meetings of the kind that provide feedback on the process and whether the policy works and what is wrong and constant revision of what has been implemented" (I, T.L2, p.4).
Moreover, the SMT member also recommended the need to establish structures such as policies and programs and strongly referred to future plans for induction and mentoring. I think in terms of where I would like to see professional development at this school go, my view is that there should be a strong professional development policy, and that would include the whole issue of induction and mentoring . The study alluded to the need to establish more formal structures to facilitate the induction and mentoring processes.
THE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIPS DURING THE INDUCTION AND MENTORING PROCESSES
- Mutually beneficial mentoring relationship
- A kind and nurturing mentoring relationship
- An ambivalent mentoring relationship
- A Fledgling relationship
- A Minimalist relationship
The quote above is in line with the "I-thou relationship" advocated by Buber in Gehrke 1998, who mentions that "self-development is a by-product of the I-thou relationship—the stretching to be more because someone believes in your potential" (p . 44). TL3 confidently stated that “the newbie could run the department if something happened to her” (I, p. 8). However, TL2 emphasized the need for management support in mentoring issues, as "a lack of this can cause some individuals to become overwhelmed" (I, TL2, p. 6).
However, she noted that “the relationship between mentor and mentee is mutually satisfying because the mentor has the satisfaction of watching the growth of someone who values his/her insight” (JE 12, p. 13). However, it must be acknowledged that TL7 offered an interesting perspective on “the belief that people in positions of formal authority are leaders is a fallacy and undermines performance in all aspects of life” (JE 12, p. 20). In this document, NE4 stated unequivocally that “the casual approach of the entity manager results in infrequent meetings; any information is rarely available and I have now approached other schools in an attempt to get help' (O4).
CONCLUSION
As an indicator of this minimalist mentoring relationship, it was no surprise that TL4 did not hand over her journal to me during the data collection process, and I was not invited to observe a mentoring session. Therefore, to increase the credibility of my findings, I requested both parties to submit a written document instead of the observation. Unfortunately, this mentoring relationship did not develop due to the different personalities of NE4 and TL4.
This highlights the stark reality of the differences in the nature of relationships between novice educators and mentors. The following chapter summarizes these findings, offers concluding remarks on induction and mentoring and offers some suggestions for future research.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUDING DISCUSSION
INTRODUCTION
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS .1 Role of Induction and Mentoring
- Induction and Mentoring in the Case Study School
- What do these various relationships reveal?
- Conceptualising the findings
- Recommendations
- Reflections on the dissertation journey
- Concluding Thoughts
The research revealed that there were no policies and formal structures in place for induction and mentoring in the case study school. It was also recognized that the processes of induction and mentoring were not in place in some departments. An exploration of induction and mentoring of educators in the case study school took place.
What does the education policy state about the issues of induction and mentoring in South African schools? What are the factors that hinder the promotion of induction and mentoring in schools and the need to develop teacher leadership? Staff have become more aware of the issues surrounding induction and mentoring in the case study school.
On preserving the essence of mentoring as a form of teacher leadership' in Journal of Teacher Education, 39 (1), pp. Distributed teacher leadership in South African schools: the concern of the field, a thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Education. Teacher Leadership in Action: Three Case Studies of Contrasting Schools, in Educational Management, Administration and Leadership.
An investigation into the factors that help or hinder teacher leadership: Case studies of three urban primary schools in the Pietermaritzburg region. To what extent does the School Management Team promote or hinder the development of teacher leadership. Producing educational leaders through induction programs. 2004) 'Variabilities and Dualities in Distributed Leadership' in Educational Management Administration and Leadership.
APPENDIX A
I have also attached a copy of the Research Proposal submitted to the University's Higher Degrees Council for approval.
APPENDIX B
APPENDIX C
O4/ 2010 Dear Participant
A.KAJEE (MS)
I am also aware that the information I provide will be kept strictly confidential, but the findings of the research will be published in the form of a dissertation and reviewed by others. I also understand that I will not receive any compensation for my participation in this study; however, I will contribute to a body of knowledge that will be made available upon completion of the research. After reviewing the above information, I freely and voluntarily agree to participate in the research process and acknowledge that I am not coerced to do so.
I also understand that I have the right to withdraw from the project at any time should I wish to do so.
APPENDIX D
STAFF QUESTIONNAIRE
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
In your experience, is there any policy that exists about induction and mentoring at your school.
APPENDIX E
A voice recorder will be used to record the interview and I will jot down brief notes as the interview progresses.
APPENDIX F
Describe this person's personality and how the person made you feel comfortable. Describe your meetings and how you felt during the interactions with this person (was it supportive, punitive, etc.). Think about yourself in the classroom as a teacher during your first few years of teaching.
Think about any other aspect of your experiences during the induction and mentoring processes that you would like.
APPENDIX G
Provide assistance in the following areas and how: - (a) Curriculum development; c) Any other classroom related problem (specify). In your relationship with the novice trainer, think about your leadership (each aspect) within that specific context (provide examples).
APPENDIX H
