“The role of mentoring from a leadership perspective “ - Chris Luman: Headmaster Maritzburg College

WHY MENTORING? The Department of Education defines mentoring as follows: “a sustained developmental relationship between an adult and youth or an experienced person such as an educator with long service and an in- experienced (newly qualified) educator, or both qualified and experienced professionals, but where one has acquired the new required knowledge and skills while the other has not. The mentor provides guidance and support to a mentee with respect to a wide range of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values” (DoE, 2008:22).

Lord (2008) “Mentoring is linked to the professional development of an individual person. The mentoring approach should provide guidance to bring about professional growth. “

Robinson (2011) “Mentoring develops and enhances the mentees as well as the mentors. For the success of a mentoring programme, the commitment of both the mentor and the mentee must be confirmed. Novice educators can be supported by mentoring programs.”

Frydaki and Mimoura (2014) “The most important part of mentoring is to help the novice educator to implement what they have learnt successfully. Furthermore, a school mentoring programme will assist both the mentor and the mentee to rethink practices and views about successful learning and to support the novice educator in general.“

Rockoff (2008) “Mentoring is important as it improves the ultimate performance of teachers and helps to maintain the quality of teaching and learning, but also to reduce the turnover among new teachers.“

Borsuk (2009) “Mentoring programme helps to retain educators; and that if an educator leaves the profession, it is because of relocation and a promotion, not because they are challenged by the profession.”

Bush (2009) “Quality mentoring can be employed as a tool to bridge the “ways of doing” with the “ways of being” required in order for school leaders to be effective”

Darling-Hammond (2007) “The school leaders of today need to be “visionaries and change agents, instructional leaders, curriculum and assessment experts, budget analysts, facility managers, special program administrators, and community builders”

What exactly is implied by the term ‘mentorship’?

Farren (2006) “Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The mentor may be older or younger than the person being mentored, but she or he must have a certain area of expertise. It is a learning and development partnership between someone with vast experience and someone who wants to learn”

Iain Shippey (2014) “A mentor creates a positive environment which fosters trust and can then make the team environment a positive one and… facilitate a feeling of cooperation, teamwork and joy ”.

Robinson (2011) “Mentors stand by to remind us of the skills we already possess and what we can achieve if we continue to work hard.”

DOE (2008) “Mentoring can be inhibited by different factors, for example, time constraints, the educator’s unwillingness to change and lack of a formal mentoring process and structure.”

Robinson (2011) “A favourable environment for a new or inexperienced educator should be created to allow him or her to approach an experienced educator as a mentor, to professionally develop and learn all the skills of the trade.”

Lord (2008) “One way to approach mentoring is through team work. In this approach, one individual works with the other for guidance and support thereby gaining knowledge and skills to enhance teaching and learning. The person supporting the individual acts as a mentor.”

What are the characteristics of an ideal mentor ?

Christine (2011) “A mentor should have admirable personal qualities. An outstanding mentor must be compassionate, enthusiastic, generous, honest, insightful, and selfless and have wisdom. Mentors must provide guidance in a productive manner. The mentor must be able to highlight the potential in his/her mentees and emphasize the importance of on-going communication.”

Robinson (2011) “Good mentors are willing to give instructional support and will coach the mentees to improve their performance. Furthermore, he argues that an excellent mentor is a person who assists the mentee to find solutions for him or herself and does not provide ready- made answers.”

Constraints to mentoring

Hansford, Ehrich and Tennent (2004) “The most profound barriers to mentoring are the “lack of time, professional expertise and personality mismatch”. This supports the argument that time can inhibit the mentoring process at the school. Furthermore, they contend that the mentor must be skilled and experienced; and there must be a mutual understanding between the mentor and the mentee. Cultural diversity can also be a barrier to mentoring, and “cultural and gender biases” can make mentoring a negative experience

Crasborn (2008) “Mentoring is done more effectively when there is a formal mentoring programme and process at the school.”

Barreraa, Braleyb and Slate (2010) “Mentors find it very challenging when there are no formal administration processes to guide the mentoring process, when there is nothing in place to support to schedule meetings between mentor and mentee and when there are no formal instructions guiding the mentors and the mentees.”

CONCLUSION: Action points: 1. The purpose of mentoring and professional development should be clearly defined 2. Schools should draw up a unique school policy in relation to mentoring and professional development. 4. Identified mentors should acquire the relevant skills needed to become expert mentors within the mentoring programme and training provided. 5. The school should ensure that what was taught at a professional development opportunity, should be implemented, tracked and monitored.

CONCLUSION: Action points: 6. The school must have a clear induction and orientation programme that ties in with the specific mentoring policy. 7. Mentoring should become a clearly defined strategy of the professional development and must be followed-up. 8. Opportunities must be provided for educators at the school, to give feedback on all professional development opportunities. 9. Mentoring and professional development activities and opportunities should become part of the school calendar. 10. It is recommended that professional development and mentoring must be on – going and not a one-off isolated activity.