Mentoring for Teacher Development: Possibilities and Caveats

Abstract

Introduction This chapter is 'concerned with how growth in teaching can be fostered in student teachers through mentoring. It begins with an analysis of the growth process by drawing upon recent research on student teachers' learning. It then compares and contrasts this with the conceptions of mentoring and student teachers' learning held by a sample of mentors involved in an articled teacher training scheme. This comparison of the two is used to raise issues concerning the roles and responsibilities of mentors, their potential contribution to student teachers' professional development and obstacles that may have to be overcome to reach this potential.