Session Information
01 SES 02 B, Research on Mentoring (Part 2)
Paper Session continued from 01 SES 01 A
Contribution
The Council of the European Union (E.U., 2020) draws attention to the urgency of a complementary and comprehensive approach at all levels and in all parts of teacher and trainer professional development aiming to face the challenge of attracting a growing number of new teachers in the coming years and continuously having to support the professional development of those who are already in the career system. To strengthen the professional development of teachers, teacher education needs to be considered as a continuum of lifelong learning, starting with initial training, continuing into the initial phases of the profession, through induction programmes and quality mentoring, and then into career-long development of teachers (European Commission, ET2020, Working Group mandates, 2018-2020). Meanwhile, the results of TALIS survey (OECD, 2014; 2019; 2020) show that an induction programme, as a "bridge" (Earley & Bubb, 2004) for the smooth transition of teachers from their initial basic and pre-service training to their training and professional development, is needed but does not exist or is almost inaccessible in most of the countries surveyed.
It is important to clarify that induction is a concept that addresses not only the support that must be given to newly qualified teachers at the beginning of their careers but also those who are facing new school realities, reducing professional abandonment and prolonged absenteeism (Gu & Day, 2007; OECD, 2019; 2020). One strategy often used in teachers’ induction programmes is mentoring, understood as a specialized program of guidance and reflection, promoted among peers, on teaching practices centered on the learning of students and in schools, which is the most positive intervention in professional development for both sides (Kram, 1983, Frydaki & Mamoura, 2014). Today, structured mentoring programs are being planned, at many countries around the world , in order to improve the quality indicators of the education provided to students (Stanulis & Floden, 2009).
In September 2022 the Greek Ministry of Education established the mentoring process by forming the framework and regulating the terms and conditions for its implementation in all the Primary and Secondary schools in the country but without any special provisions for the training of mentors and for any specific induction program for new teachers in the profession. Meanwhile, the LOOP, an ERASMUS+ KA3 project, has been developed since 2020 by a consortium of 13 entities from seven European countries aiming to contribute to the shift towards a comprehensive teaching profession policy that spans all stages of teaching careers. It also aims to measure the impact and scalability of formal training of mentors’ programme and teacher’s induction programme to improve the career paths in the teaching profession (LOOP, 2021a). The project has started in 2021 planning the development of the best strategies and resources to implement induction activities. During this first phase the consortium analysed the current landscapes and their reflexes in the educational systems, as well as the existence of mentoring (formal or informal) programmes for teachers. During the data collection stage, the partners highlighted practices that had the potential to be used as good practices and set a common body of knowledge that could enable the subsequent phases.
In this paper we will present data from the national report for Greece (LOOP, 2021b) that was submitted from the research team of the University of Peloponnese as a partner of the consortium of LOOP in 2022. This presentation includes the findings from the desk research of existing legislation and the context of induction and mentoring in Greece, as well as from the field research about the best strategies and resources to implement induction activities.
Method
During the data collection stage, and for the Greek National Report needs, we produced a deep analysis of the national legislation, policy reports (e.g. Eurydice reports, annual reports of the Center for Educational Policy Development/KANEP), personal communications with high-ranking education officials (e.g. regional directors, Ministry of Education officials, advisors of the Institute of Education Policy) and an extensive literature review of published papers and relevant PhD and Master theses. To enhance this research, we conducted field research (surveys, interviews and focus group), addressing school directors, experienced teachers and new/recently graduated teachers to better understand their perspectives and perceptions related to the expectations and needs of new/recent teachers and establish the key features and contents to be considered in the induction programme to be designed, as well as the “desirable” profile of a mentor to support and guide new/recent teachers throughout the induction programme, and the key features, form and contents to be included in the mentoring programme allowing experienced teachers to support and guide new/recent teachers throughout the induction programme. The data were collected from: 1. 199 questionnaires (56 submitted from school leaders, 89 from experienced and 54 from new teachers); 2. 8 interviews, promoting a deep analysis and discussion of the results from the surveys collected; and 3. 1 focus group with a total of 13 participants to promote a joint analysis and discussion between teachers (experienced and new graduate). The questionnaires of the 3 surveys include 5 different themes/topics: • Perception, Satisfaction & Motivation • Initial Teacher Training • Induction Programmes • Mentoring • Induction Programmes at the School (applicable to school leaders)
Expected Outcomes
There seems to be a consensus among school directors and experienced teachers that new teachers (usually substitutes) need to be supported when first placed in a school through organizing a school-based induction programme addressing the needs and challenges faced by them. Referring to the duration of an induction programme, the experienced teachers determine at one school year while the new teachers estimate that two school years are needed. Additionally, the majority of all groups believe that a beginning teacher could devote 3-4 hours per week for various induction activities. With regards to the content an induction programme should have the participants (with some differentiations among the groups) prioritized topics, such as • Didactical-pedagogical domain: the inclusion of “different” groups of students; “dealing with students that exhibit problematic behaviour”; “managing group/collaborative work in the classroom”. • Subject matter to be taught domain: “curriculum and students’ readiness”; “updating scientific knowledge”; “curriculum and teaching strategies”. • Bureaucratic and administrative domain: “legal duties and rights”; “class management administrative procedures”. • Emotional domain: dealing with fears and insecurities related with student’s misbehavior and other groups (parents, colleagues, school leaders). • Social and cultural domain: “interacting with students”, “interacting with parents” and “dealing with students with diverse cultural background”. All participants have a very positive attitude towards mentoring as a tool for enculturating new teachers into the profession. All participants pay particular importance in the communication and interpersonal skills that an ideal mentor should have, also considering his/her motivation to become a mentor as a very crucial characteristic but the new teachers, as reasonably expected, seem also highly interested in skills related to a mentor’s technical and professional capacity to communicate his/her expertise and experiences to them.
References
Earley, P. & Bubb, M. S. (2004). Leading and managing continuing professional development: Developing people, developing schools. Sage. E.U., (2020). Council conclusions on European teachers and trainers for the future, (2020/C 193/04). Frydaki, E & Mamoura, M. (2014). Mentoring as a Means for Transforming Mentor-Teachers’ Practical Knowledge: A Case Study from Greece. International Education Research, 2(1), 1-16. Gu, Q., & Day, C. (2007). Teacher’s Resilience: A Necessary Condition for Effectiveness. Teaching and Teacher Educations, 23(8), 1302-1316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.06.006 Kram, K. E. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman. LOOP (2021a). Empowering teachers personal, professional and social continuous development through innovative peer-induction programmes. Link for the project sheet at the Erasmus+ platform: https://cutt.ly/ez8Zkvy LOOP (2021b). The national research report on the state-of-the-art. National report – (Greece). Available on https://empowering-teachers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/National-Report-template-Greece.pdf OECD (2014), TALIS 2013 Results: An International Perspective on Teaching and Learning, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264196261-en OECD (2019), TALIS 2018 Results (Volume I): Teachers and School Leaders as Lifelong Learners, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://doi.org/10.1787/1d0bc92a-en OECD (2020), TALIS 2018 Results (Volume II): Teachers as valued Professionals, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://doi.org/10.1787/19cf08df-en Stanulis R.N. & Floden R.E. (2009). Intensive Mentoring as a Way to Help Beginning Teachers Develop Balanced Instruction, Journal of Teacher Education, 60, 2, 112 – 122.
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