Autumn 2005

Leadership

The why and how of mentoring

Mentoring helps to create a climate of support and growth in schools. It can forge important two-way relationships between the experienced teacher or leader and the less experienced one. And appropriate training helps teachers get it right. JACKIE WALKINGTON explains a professional development strategy that supports teachers at every level.

AMID THE ARRAY of strategic and operational imperatives that school leaders need to address, the leadership of people is fundamental to the development and maintenance of an educational community. As a concept, mentoring provides a realistic framework for all levels of school leadership. It considers the dynamics and outcomes of working together—collaboration that focuses on professional learning. It is not limited to principals but is the domain of all staff where learning, for teachers and students alike, is the focus.

Everyone teaching in schools is a leader of others and therefore everyone has a stake in establishing and maintaining productive relationships. From the principal to the beginning teacher, leadership involves bringing about effective outcomes in learning and growth. Carefully designed mentoring programs have been shown to not only enhance learning at various levels, but also reduce the attrition rate of teachers in classroom and leadership positions.

What is mentoring?

Where professional learning is concerned, the concept of mentoring offers a relationship framework to guide and support development. Definitions of mentoring abound. Academic literature offers many interpretations of the term; however it is what actually happens in the workplace that governs its success as a concept. In the school context, it is most commonly associated with induction, but it is certainly not limited to this.

In general, mentoring involves the relationship between someone of greater expertise in a given setting working with someone of lesser experience (although it is not necessarily just a one-on-one relationship). It is focused on assisting the ‘novice’ to grow and learn as a professional in that context. The outcomes are not one-sided, but are mutually beneficial. The mentor is highly likely to also grow as the partners in the relationship share and reflect. Where a group mentoring model is used, the actual role of mentor diminishes over time, as all participants shape progress and seek outcomes.

It is the aspects of reflection and professional learning that set mentoring aside from supervision. By way of brief explanation, the term supervision has been closely associated with the role of socialisation where teachers are moulded by experienced supervisors to fit the particular school environment. This supervision includes welcoming and enculturating the teacher into the role, modelling and explaining, and providing discussion and feedback. These are still relevant, but mentoring demands a more holistic and multi-directional commitment to the relationship. Depending on the context, the mentor can be a coach, a supporter, a source of information and a learning partner. Above all, a mentor is someone who can capitalise on opportunities that facilitate learning.

While mentoring can be informal or more formally based, it is involved with workplace professional practice and shared responsibility. Some schools and employing authorities have established mentoring programs to provide structured support and practice. In other situations mentoring is less formally organised. A positive reason to develop overt school-based programs is that they explicitly provide a sense of cultural acceptance of professional support. Cultural acceptance promotes respect for, and acknowledgement of, the roles played in mentoring relationships, and the enhanced opportunities for success that are revealed.

The day-to-day management tasks and strategic planning easily consume school leaders at all levels. Finding the opportunities to develop staff relationships and focus on staff professional growth are often put aside (albeit reluctantly) under the pressure of more demanding priorities.

Personal anecdotal and research evidence over the last two years has revealed factors that characterise a supportive school culture in this area. Whether implicitly or explicitly, these reflect the vision, organisation and strategic thinking of competent school leadership. In supportive schools, the school leadership develops, empowers and rewards teachers to be involved in professional support roles.

Who needs a mentoring relationship?

Perhaps the most obvious focus is the support of preservice (student) teachers and beginning teachers. These are intense periods of learning about contextual uniqueness, the knowledge and skills of teaching and professional responsibility. While often given lesser emphasis, teachers taking on positions of higher responsibility (executive teachers, principals and the like) are also on rapid learning curves. While the mentoring of staff by school leaders is accepted as part of the role, leaders need mentoring too.

The support needs of newly recruited teachers, executive teachers and principals vary according to their experience and the context in which they find themselves. There is, however, a general pattern of expectations and requirements that change over the passage of time on the job. What is learnt during the initial period varies with the practicalities of workplace activity as time passes. A mentoring relationship needs to be flexible and adjust as experience and growth occur.

This flexibility is a crucial element and may involve planned and focused meetings at times, or access to ‘just in time’ information and support at others. Utilising the assistance of a number of mentors may suit some situations, while a group of new teachers/principals may find working together assists with common issues. However, all mentoring is underpinned by reflective activity allowing mentors and mentees alike to challenge individual and institutional practice and understanding.

Mentors need training

Good teachers don’t automatically make good leaders; neither do they automatically make good mentors. However, teachers are the most valuable resource in the teaching profession and their talents, skills and abilities should be accessed and recognised.

The attraction of establishing a mentor training program in a school as part of professional development acknowledges the need to learn about the roles and responsibilities, principles and strategies that produce effective relationships. Careful matching of people to work together promotes positive outcomes. Critical considerations of mentoring success include the sharing of understandings and expectations from the beginning, the knowledge of mentoring strategies and activities, the skills of maintaining a trusting relationship, and knowing how to deal with conflict or differences should they occur.

Even if the school is convinced that such a program is desirable, there are potential impediments to its implementation. Training mentors is not the topic of a ‘oneoff ’ session. It may begin with information and theory, but needs an ongoing commitment and regular evaluation as mentoring is about continuous learning and the development of relationships. It also requires resources to support it. If it is seen as just another thing on top of an already full workload, the chances for success are diminished. Providing time and acknowledgement are positive signals that participation is worthwhile. Participants need to realise the benefits for them, therefore creating incentive to commit to the journey.

Seeking networks across schools to develop a mentoring program provides collaboration and a sense of support for principals. Within a school an introduction to all staff can be followed by the targeting of interested participants. An appropriately resourced pilot plan, perhaps new staff or new executive teachers, will communicate positive outcomes and promote wider involvement. The challenge therefore is for school leaders to be both determined and creative in designing what is appropriate for their setting.

Jackie Walkington is the director, professional experience in the School of Education and Community Studies at the University of Canberra.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au