A closer look at the role of mentor teachers in shaping preservice teachers' professional identity
Abstract
This paper focuses on the extent to which mentoring relationships played a role in creating changes in the professional identity of seven preservice teachers. Semi-structured interviews, observations and reflective journals were used to document the changes experienced by participants as they went through their two placements during their one-year teacher education course. The data indicated that when the mentoring relationships were positive and expectations were met, preservice teachers felt more confident as a teacher. However, for some participants, who experienced a partially negative mentoring relationship, their confidence declined and they felt they did not improve. Implications for practice are discussed.
Keywords
[RSTDPub], Teacher professional identity, Mentoring relationship, Preservice teachers, Teacher education
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
2015
Publisher
Elsevier
School
School of Education
RAS ID
21654
Copyright
subscription content
Comments
Izadinia, M. (2015) A closer look at the role of mentor teachers in shaping preservice teachers' professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education. 52, 1-10. Available here