Universities worldwide are developing peer mentoring programmes to assist first-year students' transition into university life. Awareness of the mentees' experiences in the mentoring programme -the successes and challenges -contributes to ongoing planning for successful transition for first-year students. Also, understanding the mentors' experiences can contribute to the success of the programme and, more importantly, can lead to strong self efficacy for the mentors. This qualitative study appraises a mentoring programme for first-year undergraduate students from the mentors' perspective. The mentors' experiences, both positive and negative, are discussed and a relational model of mentoring is presented. The results of this inquiry have implications for the development of future mentoring programmes, particularly in terms of mentor recruitment and preparation, if first-year students are to be effectively oriented and supported in their transition to university study.

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This paper describes the conduct of, and acquired understandings from, a study designed to promote the professional growth of a group of beginning primary school teachers through participatory action research. The beginning teachers collaborated with university academic staff during the design and conduct of the study. A key component of the study was the formation of action research cells of participating teachers with each group focusing on particular aspects of teaching, for example, assessment, catering for gifted and talented students, and inclusivity in the classroom teaching program. The overall findings from the study, from the view of the university researchers, are presented and reflected upon in this paper. The implications of using action research for the professional growth of beginning teachers are also discussed.1

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