Role of Teacher-Mentors in the Supervision of Student Teachers

Student teachers on Teaching Practice are often attached to teacher-mentors in schools for close guidance and supervision as they acquire teaching skills during the practicum. This book, based on a case study of a Technical Teachers' College in Zimbabwe that sought to find out whether teacher-mentors played the roles that were expected of them, shares some interesting results. The findings indicate that mentors were generally not aware of the roles that were expected of them and, therefore, did not adequately fullfil the roles. The book, which is a must read for all teacher educators, mentors and student teachers, recommends measures that aught to be put in place for effective mentoring to take place. These include, among others, the training of mentors by the parent teacher training institution and clear communication to the mentors the expected mentoring roles. Above all, mentors expected to be paid for the 'extra' responsibility of training student teachers during their stint in schools.

Autorentext

Mr. Pharaoh Joseph Mavhunga is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Curriculum and Arts Education and Deputy Dean, Faculty of Education at the University of Zimbabwe. He holds a Masters Degree in Curriculum Studies and is currently studying for a PhD. He has published widely in journals and book chapters in Education.