Mentoring Abilities and Beliefs of Ohio SecondaryAgricultural Education Mentor Teachers

摘要

Mentoring and induction programs are popular within the public school system in the United States.Additionally, content–based mentoring programs exist, such as those within agricultural education. Anumber of studies yielded results that showed a relationship between mentoring/induction participationand teacher retention. The importance of the abilities and beliefs the mentor teacher contributes to thementoring process cannot be neglected. An understanding of how mentor teachers perceive themselves intheir abilities and beliefs is critical in the selection and training of mentor teachers. The purpose of thestudy was to describe mentor teachers' abilities and beliefs related to the mentor – novice teacherrelationship. The design of the study was descriptive in nature. Survey research methods were utilized inthe data collection process among cooperating (mentor) teachers for the student teaching experience ofan agricultural education teacher preparation program. Data were collected on participants'perceptions of their abilities and beliefs related to the mentoring relationship. Overall, mentor teachersstrongly agree with the statements related to their abilities and beliefs. A substantial relationshipemerged between the two variables. The items utilized in the instrument can be used to guide theselection and training of mentor teachers, hopefully resulting in positive mentoring relationships.