The purpose of this symposium is to explore the concept of mentoring practice as a mechanism for promoting learning autonomy (James et al, 2009) in mentees in both physical education and sport settings in three countries – Ireland, UK and the USA.   “The idea that educators should entertain as one of their basic concerns the promotion of human freedom of thought and action” (Carr, 1982, p.37) or learning autonomy (James et al, 2009) is a central tenet of the mentoring process. Fostering such learning autonomy (ibid) is often defined in relation to styles and types of relationships involved in mentoring, and to variations in perceived benefits of mentoring and mentorship (Patton et al., 2005). Mentoring is often seen as a reciprocal relationship; one that is mutually beneficial for both mentor and mentee and ‘therefore becomes a profession-building endeavour as mentors and mentees are ‘co-learners on a voyage of discovery’ (Patton et al., 2005). Within situated learning theory, the concept of Legitimate Peripheral Participation, as outlined by Lave & Wenger (1991) seems to subscribe to the view of the mentor-mentee relationship as being that of expert-subordinate.  In Legitimate Peripheral Participation, the newcomer (mentee)  learns  the practices of the community and eventually becomes an ‘old timer’, fully participating in his/her overlapping communities of practice within, for example, a school or sports club. The movement from newcomer to old timer is guided formally and informally by expert ‘mentors’ (oldtimers). According to Armour, Makapoulou & Chambers (in press), learning in communities of practice seems to offer the greatest potential for the development of teachers/coaches as learners who can learn continuously in and through practice, in addition to drawing upon external knowledge and developing it as required. In this view of professional learning, trainee teachers and coaches are nurtured in the community of practice framework, with universities and training institutes having the clear task of developing teachers and coaches who can work effectively within such a structure.  Zachary (2000) proposes a mentee-centred or learner-centred mentoring paradigm in which the mentee plays an  active role in the learning where the mentor assumes the role of facilitator rather than expert as implied in an apprenticeship model. In a mentee-centred model, both parties engage in a learning partnership whereby:

The mentee shares responsibility for the learning setting, priorities, learning and resources and becomes increasingly self-directed. When the learner is not ready to assume that degree of responsibility, the mentor nurtures and develops the mentee’s capacity for self-direction from dependence to independence to interdependence over the course of the relationship. (ibid, p.3).