Collins, Desryn
(2022)
Expectations and Experiences: An examination of mentoring in the Associate Degree in Primary Education teaching practicum in Antigua and Barbuda.
Doctor of Education thesis, University of Liverpool.
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Abstract
This is a qualitative, intrinsic case study of mentoring during the teaching practicum of the initial teacher education programme for primary school teachers in Antigua and Barbuda. Although, the teaching practicum (TP) during the initial training of teachers has engendered much empirical focus in diverse education contexts, there is limited understanding of the experiences of student teachers (STs) and cooperating teachers (CTs) from the same practicum. Furthermore, the extant literature suggests that mentoring during TP is of critical importance to the initial training of teachers and it deserves deep contextual examination. Research into the mentoring experiences of CTs and STs in the context of Antigua and Barbuda is practically non-existent. The study reported in this thesis is intended to contribute to fill in this gap. The ultimate aim of this study was to acquire insights which could be used to enhance the preparation of CTs to mentor, as well as enhance the initial training of STs and strengthen their preparation for the primary classroom. A purposive sample of CTs, STs, and the Head of the Department of Teacher Education (DTE) participated in the study. Data were gathered through document analysis, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Social constructivism and the Mentoring Up theory (Hale & Phillips, 2019) were the lenses through which the data were interpreted. The main finding is that mentoring is valued by both CTs and STs as an integral part of the STs’ training to become teachers, but some of the participants had experiences which contradicted the important role which mentoring is expected to play in the initial training of the STs. The experiences of the CTs and STs indicate that the needs of the STs were not consistently matched by the expertise of the CTs resulting in the STs having a continuum of experiences ranging from effective mentoring to experiences which led them to perceive that they were not mentored. The metaphor, ‘uneven playing field’ is used to represent the experiences of the STs. During the practicum exercise, the CTs experienced selection, preparation, support and monitoring practices by the DTE which suggested that they were not valued as an integral part of the initial training of the STs. This left them with a general impression of their experience which can be likened, metaphorically, to a flavour. The study also suggests that the Mentoring Up theory which was developed in the context of the nursing profession, can be a viable tool for evaluating the experiences of CTs and STs because, in teaching and nursing, similar processes are involved in the interactions between mentors and mentees, and the goal of confidencing is as relevant to the ST as it is to the nurse protégé.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctor of Education) |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | cooperating teachers, student teachers, mentoring, initial teacher education, teaching practicum |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Aug 2023 14:50 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Aug 2023 14:51 |
| DOI: | 10.17638/03170135 |
| Supervisors: |
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| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3170135 |
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