The Teacher Consultant Role: Impact on the Profession

The Role of Mentors and Teacher Tutors in School Based Teacher Education and Induction

“…Godley, 1987;Tickle, 1989 andCrawley, 1990) is that mentors should be required to be not only supportive but pro-active trainers demonstrating their qualities as reflective practitioners as well as encouraging reflection in their beginning teacher charges. Recent evidence (Eraut, 1985) suggests that providing these mid-career professionals with a new role in the school and with training to enable them to carry it out gives them a new lease of life and the recognition of their new role gives them new esteem within the profession.…”

“…The title MENTOR, apparently self explanatory, is variously used to mean: a school based tutor jointly appointed by the university to supervise students on school based practice and experience (e.g. Sussex University as reported in Lacey (1977)); the school based tutor responsible for a licensed teacher; a person appointed by the LEA as an outside and independent source of advice for probationary teachers (Burke & Schmidt, 1984); as a pro-active senior colleague engaged in actively training new teachers without an evaluative role (Heath-Camp & Camp, 1990); as resource persons, problem solvers, evaluators and providers (Godley, 1987); as examplars -successful teachers who share grade level and subject matter and who work in close proximity to the new teachers (Huling Austin, 1985;Huffman & Leak, 1986); and, in general usage as the identified person in each school responsible for working collaboratively with trainee teachers and giving them advice and support. Andrews (1985) has argued that the Mentorat the most sophisticated level of the titlebecomes: exemplar -demonstrating teaching and management techniques; peer supervisorobserving and giving feedback; curriculum management adviser -helping with lesson and longer term planning; supervisor of classroom researchencouraging the reflective practitioner; and also provider of a resource and consultancy service.…”

“…They suggest that mentors needed training in demonstrating teaching, observing teaching and coaching teachers and they should also study teacher development, new teacher needs, effective teaching, supervision skills and professional development. Godley (1987), compared his own observations of mentor effectiveness with how mentors perceived their roles. He found that they saw themselves as most successful in being resource persons, problem solvers, evaluators and providers.…”