1. Challenges and opportunities Reflections on a collaborative Comenius 2.1 Action project Induction Mentors Needs – a needs analysis approach: The English Perspective and a comparison of findings from twelve European Countries www.tissnte.eu Jones, M (2009) Supporting the Supporters of Novice Teachers: an analysis of mentors needs from twelve European countries presented from an English perspective, Research in Comparative and International Education, 4 (1), pp.4-21

2. Preparatory Visit – Riga, Latvia, February 2006 Agree themes, objectives, activities, intended outcomes and participants Project aims: to map current provision for mentor support across the twelve countries to identify mentors needs in relation to the skills, knowledge and understanding required to fulfil their role effectively to inform the development of training materials for the delivery of a five day training course by seeking answers to the following questions:

3. Schedule of project team meetings January 2007, Leuven May 2007, Budapest January 2008, Innsbruck March 2008, Porto One week training course: October 2008, Budapest

4. First project team meeting Formulating research questions Developing research strategy and tools 1.What frameworks and induction-mentor support systems are currently available in the twelve European countries? 2.What are mentors perceptions of their roles and responsibilities? 3.In relation to which aspects of the mentoring role do they feel confident? 4.Which aspects of mentoring have they identified as areas for further development? 5.What training mode and resources would they find most helpful?

5. Diverse sampling frame in terms of each countrys political landscapes England - statutory induction framework since 1999, revised in 2003 Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia - fundamental reforms, pervading all aspects of political, economic, social and cultural life Greece and Portugal - democratic societies for past 30 years, however, still bear the legacy of the authoritarian regimes of the past Belgium - a special case; Flemish and French speaking communities, distinct cultural heritage and identities, separate education systems

6. Teacher Induction frameworks across 12 European member states Diverse national education systems and professional traditions with different needs and priorities for development Wallonia, Slovakia and Latvia - currently no framework for induction and professional standards Portugal, Hungary and Ireland - in the process of implementing an induction framework Greece acknowledges the notion of induction, but its application in practice is inconsistent England (TTA, 1999) and Flanders (since 2006) - only two national contexts represented on the TISSNTE Team where a regulatory framework including professional standards has been implemented

7. Development of the research tool (survey questionnaire) Linguistic and conceptual challenges 1.Collective production of a draft questionnaire by the TISSNTE team in English 2.Translation of the draft questionnaire into the national languages 3.Piloting of the questionnaires 4.Revision of draft questionnaire taking into account feedback from the pilot 5.Production of final version in English 6.Final version translated into the national languages 7.Distribution of questionnaire in the 12 countries by post, email and via professional meetings 8.Collation of data, including translation of qualitative comments

8. Composition of the survey sample

9. Maintaining a collaborative, democratic culture English – danger of becoming exclusive means of communication, although Russian and German also used as lingua franca Developing a shared understanding of principles underpinning the research process Balance of control / division of labour Establish communicative space where every partners voice is heard Providing common ground for collaboration between practitioners (teacher educators) and academic researchers

10. Administrative and bureaucratic burden Compliance with institutional administrative procedures Meeting EC requirements (e.g. submission of progress reports, completion of timesheets, submission of staffing and travel/subsistence expenses claim forms, external monitoring and evaluation) Accommodating varying working cultures and institutional procedures

11. Logistical issues Pressure to host project team meetings in low cost countries (can involve long journeys) Pressure to use economy travel (not always best use of time) Email not always effectively used by all participants

12. Rewards Research and publication opportunities Dissemination at international conferences Invitations to deliver workshop/seminar and keynote lectures Networking opportunities Travel, professional and cultural exchange