Developing as mentors in school-based teacher training

This article presents interim findings from a 2-year comparative study of two models of Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) secondary Initial Teacher Education (ITE). These models are represented by a newly established school administered programme (SAP) and a higher education-administered programme (HEAP). The nature of the mentoring role and some of the factors which are influential on mentoring-specific professional development are considered. In particular, the paper focuses on two factors; support for the mentoring role and role identity. The findings which are discussed demonstrate how the demands of the mentoring role had, initially, been generally underestimated by participants in the ITE programmes, and that it is both awareness of the time required for effective mentoring and the belief that their most important commitment should be to their pupils which discourages many teachers from involvement in school-administered teacher training