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Morris, Beverley (2010) Mentoring trainee teachers in the voluntary and community sector: a case study in initial teacher training. EdD thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

This thesis is a case study of a small number of Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) education providers in the East of England. It focuses on their response to the introduction of mentoring for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and aims to describe existing interpretations and practice, highlight confusion and concerns and offer insights into the next steps for both the VCS and providers of ITT courses in the wider sector.

From 2007, all new teachers in the Post Compulsory Education and Training sector are required to undergo ITT which includes mandatory mentoring support. This research was undertaken in the period immediately following the introduction of this requirement. Data was collected through a focus group and individual interviews with managers and teachers from diverse VCS organisations. This allowed for a range of opinions to be heard, analysed and interpreted and some comparisons to be drawn across and within organisations. The choice of a thematic analysis using the tools of grounded research ensured that the data could emerge and be constantly questioned as part of the research process, to avoid researcher influence wherever possible. Links have then been drawn between existing theories of mentoring and the research findings leading to conclusions to inform users and providers of mentoring and suggestions for further research.

The findings can be summarised into six key points -

• the definition and purpose of mentoring and the role of mentor leading to a continuum of confusion

• support is identified by VCS providers as the key element in a mentoring relationship

• activity is taking place in the VCS that could be described as mentoring but is unvalued and undervalued

• VCS providers feel that other providers offering mentoring for ITT need to be aware of the specificity of setting and the ethos of individual organisations

• there is little resistance to the introduction of mentoring for ITT into the VCS with an implicit acceptance that it is a good thing

• the models of mentoring currently in use are based on inadequate pragmatism as they are a compromise

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (EdD)
Supervisors:	Atkin, C.
Keywords:	mentoring, initial teacher training, voluntary and community sector
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB1705 Education of teachers
Faculties/Schools:	UK Campuses > Faculty of Social Sciences, Law and Education > School of Education
Item ID:	11296
Depositing User:	EP, Services
Date Deposited:	15 Oct 2010 11:05
Last Modified:	14 Oct 2017 14:24
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/11296

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