Abstract
For more than one and a half decades in the Singapore education system, a mentoring attachment was specially designed for aspiring school principals. During this eight-week mentoring attachment, the participants shadowed established principals selected by the Ministry of Education who were deemed role models. Many of the protégés of the mentoring principals are now practicing principals themselves. A study was conducted to understand aspects of their school management practices. The findings suggest that the protégés practise selectively what they had learned from mentoring. They choose not to abuse their authority in working with teachers. In particular, they choose not to relate insensitively to their teachers. The protégés abandon what they perceive as inappropriate or wrong practices of school management. The results of this study challenge concerns that mentoring preserves conservative or traditional practices unthinkingly. Advocacy of formal assessment of the protégés by their mentors is also put into question.
| Keywords: | mentoring; school principals; school management practices; Singapore |
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