Journal of Primary Education

Abstract

Recent concern about the quality of education in schools has led both researchers and policy-makers to examine the nature of teacher education and to consider alternative ways in which teachers might be trained. In several countries, there have been moves towards making initial training more school-based, involving practising teachers as mentors, and making the training more practical. This paper examines the arguments for school-based teacher training and for the establishment of a mentoring role. Drawing on research in teacher education, it then considers the ways in which mentors influence student teachers' developing practice, identifies the skills that mentors may need in order to carry out their role and discusses the substantial implications for staff development in schools and higher education. It is argued that research and development initiatives in mentoring have greatly helped in highlighting the complexity of teaching and teacher education, and to draw attention to teachers' professional development needs.

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