Graduation Year

2007

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ed.D.

Degree Granting Department

Special Education

Major Professor

James Paul, Ed.D.

Co-Major Professor

Jeannie Kleinhammer-Tramill, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Daphne Thomas, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jeffrey Kromrey, Ph.D.

Committee Member

William Benjamin, Ph.D.

Keywords

Mentor perspective, Developmental process, Context, Support

Abstract

Increasingly, mentor programs are being developed in teacher education programs to assist novice teachers. The focus in most of the literature on mentoring is on the new teacher being mentored. While the mentor teacher appears to be the most crucial element in mentoring programs (Feinman-Nemser, 1992; Little, 1990; White, 1995), there is not much information about how a teacher experiences being a mentor or the perceived benefits to a mentor.

The purpose of this present study was to examine the effects of mentoring on mentors in order to: (a) address the gap in the literature by exploring the effects of mentoring on the mentor, (b) inform the mentoring and mentor training process and (c) examine the effects of mentoring on mentors. To meet these purposes, six mentors in a southeastern county in Florida were interviewed using Seidman's, (1998) protocol.

The analysis of the interview data revealed that the mentors felt strongly about the benefits derived from being a mentor. They believed they were a vital part of their school environment. The major theme throughout the data showed that the reason these teachers chose to become mentors was because they wanted to help. Their desire to help new teachers came from either not having a mentor themselves or having been inspired by other mentors. They saw mentoring as their opportunity to help new teachers be successful in their first year as teachers.

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