The need for improvement in teacher education and quality of teachers are acknowledged worldwide (Aderibigbe, 2014; Gray, 2010). Collaborative partnership between teacher education institutions and schools is taken seriously across the globe. An important component of this partnership is mentoring which is reported to be a tool for strengthening the personal and professional development of pre-service, early career and experienced teachers (Aderibigbe, 2014; Aspfors and Bondas, 2013; Burn, 2006; Kaasila and Lauriala, 2010). However, research indic.ates that a number of challenges hinder the effectiveness of mentoring in the teacher education context (Aderibigbe, 2014; Aspfors and Bondas, 2013; Cosnefroy and Buhot, 2013). Thus, this presentation will explore the barriers and challenges to mentoring drawing on four studies conducted in Scotland, Croatia and Ireland. In studies conducted around teacher education reforms at the University of Aberdeen, the enactment and use of mentoring were found to be challenging due to a number of factors. For instance, Aderibigbe explored collaborative mentoring relationships between teachers and student teachers in the classroom using a concurrent mixed methods approach. The study found that the challenges to effective mentoring include differences in values and opinions, lack of time, personality clashes and inability of teachers to step back. In the same context, Shanks explored the professional learning of teachers in their first year of teaching using a sequential mixed methods approach. The study revealed that physical proximity to mentor and “fit” between mentor and mentee can be barriers to effective mentoring. Marusic conducted a study on Croatian beginning teachers entering the teaching profession by completing a one-year compulsory induction period followed by a state-regulated exam using a quantitative approach. The study found that barriers and obstacles to successful mentoring are organizational aspects of mentoring novice teachers in schools and the inadequate training for the mentoring role. Lastly, Holland’s study in Ireland was to discover whether, in the prevailing teacher education system, the new School Placement Guidelines (placing students in schools for longer) could be implemented, by creating a mentoring Community of Practice with the support of a university academic. The study was conducted within a qualitative paradigm involving multiple methods and a participatory action research approach within a case study framework. Findings from the study suggest that the gaps and barriers related to mentoring are communication and information; values and motives; and power, status and position within a school.

Aderibigbe, S.A., (2014). Collaborative mentoring pedagogy in initial teacher education: Lessons from a Scottish context. In J. Cheryl & L. Orland-Barak (Eds.), International Teacher Education: Promising pedagogies (Part A) (Advances in Research on Teaching, Volume 22) (pp.383-401). United Kingdom: Emerald. Allen, M., (2008). Promoting critical thinking skills in online information literacy instruction using constructivist approach. College and Undergraduate Libraries, 15 (1), pp. 21-38. Aspfors, J. and T. Bondas, (2013), Caring about caring: Newly qualified teachers’ experiences of their relationships within the school community. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 19(3), pp. 243–25. Burn, K. (2006). Promoting critical conversations: The distinctive contribution of higher education as partner in the professional preparation of new teachers. Journal of Education for Teaching, 32(3), pp. 243 - 258. Cosnefroy, L. and E. Buhot, (2013). Workplace learning impact: An analysis of French-secondary-trainee teachers’ perception of their professional development. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 19 (6), pp. 679–694. Gray, D.S., (2010). International perspectives on research in initial teacher education and some emerging issues. Journal of Education for Teaching, 36 (4), pp. 345-351. Kaasila, R. and A. Lauriala, (2010). Towards a collaborative, interactionist model of teacher change. Teachers and Teaching, 26(4), pp. 854 - 862.