Mentoring student‐teachers in schools: views, practices and access to ICT

Abstract There is evidence from a number of publications that use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) varies amongst serving and student‐teachers in different subject specialities. Teacher‐mentors are an obvious source of support during school experience; the relationship between student‐teachers' use of ICT and that of their serving teacher‐mentors is not clear. This study was part of a series of projects investigating ICT use during initial teacher training across different subject areas. Questionnaires, returned by 216 teacher‐mentors in secondary schools were analysed. The questionnaires investigated use of ICT in teaching, availability of equipment and support, views on using ICT and preparations made for student‐teachers to use ICT. In general, teacher‐mentors were competent and frequent ICT users and were often active in preparing student‐teachers' use. However, using case studies with 13 pairs of student‐teachers and their teacher‐mentors, it seems that similar preparations made by teacher‐mentors did not always result in individual student‐teachers using ICT to the same extent as peers. The possible reasons for differences were difficulties with access to computers, lack of active support and role models amongst serving teachers (including teacher‐mentors) and competing demands on student‐teachers' time. It is suggested that in order to increase the use of ICT in their teaching, student‐teachers are likely to need better access to equipment, more active support from serving teachers and encouragement to include time for ICT in their school experience.